Wassup fellas! This was perhaps one of the most satisfying weeks of my stay in Bangalore!
I started really learning renormalization. I think it is one of the most physically intuitive pieces in the landscape of quantum field theory, and in fact the most fun I have had while learning something. Studying doesn’t feel like studying when it is fun.
I started work on the next leg of the complexity project, and am currently poring over two papers on defining complexity in QFT by Myers et al and Chapman et al. Early glances show that Myers discretizes the QFT space to define complexity, which is a la Nielsen’s geometric interpretation of complexity. Chapman on the other hand considers the continuum limit itself. Should be interesting reads.
In the gravitational waves project, I built more intuition for the two point correlation function, and what they actually mean in position and theta space. Read up about why the heck one would expect a peak due to Baryon Acoustic Oscillations in the correlation data. Next week will involve trying to reproduce plots from one of the standard SDSS BOSS collaboration papers. I had planned to start this itself, but turned out that the data I was working with had some problems in it :(. No problem.
IISc has its annual festival this week, and some great quizzes! I attended one on Friday, and participated informally, and ended up topping the prelims and second in finals. But no prize, coz not registered :(. Also Thaikkudam Bridge is performing today, and really looking forward to it.
In the last TWTW, I forgot to talk about the books that I had read over the winters. I’ll let my Goodreads reviews do the talking. I have a new found literary love - Gabriel Garcia Marquez! Currently reading Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbag, a short book.
The Siege: 68 Hours Inside The Taj Hotel by Adrian Levy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
In 2008, I was overjoyed, as schools were shut down in Pune. Now, I was almost reduced to tears by some stories in the book. Especially those of Karambir Kang, and Faustine Martis. Strength to everyone still reeling from the loss and trauma.
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Following Fish: Travels Around the Indian Coast by Samanth Subramanian
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Some 3-star essays, but boy, those 5-star essays were absolutely amazing!
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Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have been very wary of reading classics, even the more modern ones. I have known Marquez’s work for a few years now, but have put off reading him for the same reason. But I somehow gathered up the motivation to give his shortest book a go.
You know that feeling when you come across something totally new, totally mindblowing, and hence lose the ability to describe the feeling in words? That is exactly the state I am in. The only thing I can conclude right now is that Gabriel Garcia Marquez is one of the most artistically brilliant authors I read. And that I have a strong liking for magical realism.
At 120 pages, it is hardly a two-day read. A nice, short introduction to Marquez’s style, I am sure everyone who likes it would want to delve into his other work as soon as possible.
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A lot of things lined up for next week! Hope it is a good one for me.
And for you too :)