From Puzzles to Problems: Fun with STEM

When I first read Sophie's World, which opened by asking two provocative questions: "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?", I was all but sure that these were questions worth pondering over for a lifetime. I enjoyed writing and thinking about the big questions, and I was simultaneously terrible at doing crosswords and sudokus, so a career in STEM was not particularly on the cards when I was growing up. When I ended up pursuing a subset of STEM themes in college more or less by accident, my attention remained divided inside and outside the classrooms. I kept plotting my transition out of academia, but one more influential book later, I am still introspecting and figuring things out, while still pursuing a career that involves thinking about the potential and limits of computation, and the problem solving involved here in this is not entirely unlike solving the puzzles that I dreaded in the past. While I may not have overcome my fears, I'll share my journey of coming to terms with my limitations, and discovering what I enjoy. The talk will also feature glimpses into the kinds of games we play :)