The following is an incomplete list of things or people I found some inspiration in, sometimes accompanied by a brief description and in no particular order. I encourage you to reflect on, and find, what inspires you, as inspiration helps color the world in a particularly pleasant and envigorating way.
3Blue1Brown is the YouTube channel of Grant Sanderson, containing explanations of mathematical concepts driven by exceptional visualizations. It's hard to overstate just how good Grant is (and these videos are) at communicating the essence of math concepts in a manner that proves as useful to an expert as to someone encountering the topic for the first time. He has set the bar for quality of online educational content and shares insights that extend far beyond the particular topic of discussion.
While there are countless excellent examples to choose from, I recommend "Alice, Bob, and the average area of a cube's shadow" as an especially thought-provoking one for people of all backgrounds.
Li-Yang was a professor of mine on the topic of computational complexity, one of my favorite fields of inquiry. His positivity and passion for the field was tangible, and he was an exceptional story-teller. He has undoubtedly influenced the way that I frame and share ideas with others.
Doug was a computer and internet pioneer, responsible in large part for defining how we use and interact with computers. He has been an inspiration to me directly, through his work, and indirectly, through his wide-reaching influence on mentors of mine. He had a remarkable vision for enhancing human cognitive capacity in service of making the world a better place, and the skill and determination to tackle it as a serious engineering problem; I highly recommend you read his 1962 report "Augmenting Human Intellect: A Conceptual Framework" .
I often recall the following quote of Doug's:
I confess that I am a dreamer. Someone once called me "just a dreamer." That offended me, the "just" part; being a real dreamer is hard work. It really gets hard when you start believing in your deams.
Krishna was a pioneer of brain-computer interface technology, a one-time professor of mine, and a co-founder and advisor to Neuralink (where we work to advance the field on the shoulders of the remarkable work of Krishna and his lab at Stanford).
He was perhaps the kindest person anyone knew, for anyone who ever knew him. He was humble, had a great sense of humor, and placed immense value on both his own personal relationships and connecting others.
Krishna passed away on January 21, 2023 from pancreatic cancer, and, on top of so many other reasons, I am regretful that he could not be around to see and share in the progress we have made and will make.