Hello! I think of myself as a curious and fortunate individual who is rather obsessed with solving problems. On a local level, I care about doing things that bring more meaning to people's lives; on a global level, I care about increasing the potential of humankind (that is, the potential for current and future generations to lead more meaningful lives and solve more problems they find important or interesting).
On top of practical considerations, I value knowledge for its own sake. There are arguments one could make about the unknown future applications of knowledge justifying its acquisition, but, personally, I simply find the story told about the universe through the truth and its pursuit to be a beautiful one.
My path through life is essentially like trying to find an integer \(x\) such that \(\alpha^x = \beta\) and recognizing that it can be rewritten as \(\alpha^j = \beta(\alpha^{-m})^i\)—I'm confident I can get there in time \(O(\sqrt{n})\). (Just a little group theory/cryptography humor, forgive me.)