By Suraj Chaudhary On options Read on my website Hey Reader, Suraj here – Is having options a good or a bad thing? Any sensible person would say that it is a good thing because you get to compare and pick the better one. But is it really that simple? Most definitely not. Studies have shown that having too many options often leads to a person not picking any at all, and also that fewer choices result in more satisfaction. But this issue of Figuring Things Out is not about the difference...
8 days ago • 2 min read
By Suraj Chaudhary On caring about what other people think Read on my website Dear Reader, Suraj here – I can, and I often do, come off as a very rude person. I’ve struggled for a long time to understand why it is that people misunderstand me so often. And by people, I’m referring to the ones I might call friends or those close to me. It’s something that I truly hadn’t been able to make sense of. When thinking about what others think of me, I’ve always considered: “Am I going to have to be...
15 days ago • 2 min read
By Suraj Chaudhary On reference groups Read on my website Dear Reader, Suraj here – How does one determine one’s self-worth? How does one decide how to feel about oneself? One possible way of doing so could be: based on reference groups. Let me explain. As a kid in middle school, I only needed a Nokia 3310 to feel like I was on top of the world. However, with the introduction of newer phones and a new reference group (I had moved to the capital of Nepal), that didn’t feel enough. In the...
22 days ago • 2 min read
By Suraj Chaudhary On using AI in school Read on my website Hey Reader, Suraj here – I get this nagging feeling every time I use AI to solve problems. I’ve used it to get drafts for assignments, summarize large texts, solve difficult problems, and so on. This, on the surface, doesn’t seem that bad, but there is this uneasiness that compounds with every use. Almost all the students I’ve talked to, including myself, very rarely read a given material in its entirety. We mostly use AI or search...
29 days ago • 2 min read
By Suraj Chaudhary Impulse Read on my website Dear Reader, Suraj here – All of us have certain quirks. Some of those quirks we are willing to accept, and others we are not. My being impulsive is the latter, or at least it’s something that I haven’t accepted so far. Now, however, it is time that I do so. I am impulsive. It isn’t just one thing that I’m impulsive at, either. I make most of my plans for going out at the last moment. My best friends can attest to that. Most times, I’ve just shown...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
By Suraj Chaudhary Eureka moment Read on my website Hey Reader, Suraj here – "I get my best ideas when I'm in the shower" is a very common experience. I've had similar experiences, but in my case, these eureka moments usually occur when I'm either commuting or cooking. Why is that, though? And, is there a way to take advantage of such a thing to maximize quality work? Turns out there indeed is. When we are doing something that isn't cognitively demanding, our mind is able to subconsciously...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
By Suraj Chaudhary On sources of information Read on my website Hello Reader, Suraj here – Alongside Philosophy that I mentioned recently, I have also begun to take an introductory class in Journalism. One of the major things we do in class is that we go through news stories published across multiple media outlets. The reason I’m mentioning this here is that there is a concerning pattern I’ve noticed. The pattern is that every media outlet has chosen a side, and they tend to skew the facts to...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
By Suraj Chaudhary My problem with friendships Read on my website Dear Reader, Suraj here – Friendship is often regarded as one of the most important human virtues. I am and have been aware of it for quite some time, yet I do not regard myself to possess this virtue to the extent I’d consider sufficient. It isn’t that I am incapable of it, for I have some very wonderful people as my best friends. My concern is that I have become almost incapable of making new friends. In regard to...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
By Suraj Chaudhary But why? Read on my website Dear Reader, Suraj here – About a week ago, I started taking an introductory class in philosophy. While the readings for the class are dense, it has been phenomenal for sparking ideas, and at times, they have also helped make sense of things. There is one idea from the class, however, that I have not been able to stop thinking about. It is: Why do we do or not do certain things? We often seem to have obvious reasons for our actions and inactions,...
2 months ago • 2 min read