Incoming links: Software engineering
The musical study of software engineering.
Ciro Santilli is obsessed by those in order to learn any new concept, not just for bug reporting.
This includes to learn more theoretical subjects like physics and mathematics.
So that he can work full time on OurBigBook.com and revolutionize advanced university-level science, technology, engineering, and mathematics eduction for all ages.
Donating to Ciro is the most effective donation per dollar that you can make to:
- improve hardcore university-level STEM education for all ages
- help make every child into the next Nobel Prize/Fields Medal/deep tech unicorn co-founder
Ciro's goal in life is to help kids as young as possible to reach, and the push, the frontiers of natural sciences human knowledge, linking it to applications that might be the the next big thing as early as possible. Because nothing is more motivating to students than that feeling of:rather than repeating the same crap that everyone is already learning.
Hey, I can actually do something in this area that has never been done before!
To do this, Ciro wants to work in parallel both on:
- the multi-user website e-learning platform of OurBigBook.com
- creating amazing teaching content that motivates that platform, and that deeply interests Ciro, notably quantum mechanics and its related applications:
- quantum computing
- molecular biology
- condensed matter physics and chemistry
- slightly more theoretical stuff in somewhat related fields of:
- continue to dump his brain/research in areas Ciro has expertise in: software engineering and open source software
Ciro believes that this rare combination of both:produces a virtuous circle, because Ciro:
- proven passion and capability to learn and teach science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects
- proven programming skills, including web development
- wants to learn and teach, so he starts to create content
- then he notices the teaching tools are crap
- and since he has the ability to actually improve them, he does
As explained at OurBigBook.com and high flying bird scientist, Ciro is most excited to make contributions at the "missing middle level of specialization" that lies around later undergrad and lower grad education:But on that middle sweet spot, Ciro believes that something can be done, in such as way that delivers:in a way that is:
- at lower undergrad level, there is already a lot of free material out there to learn stuff
- at upper graduate level and beyond, too few people know about each specific subject, that it becomes hard to factor things out
- beauty
- power
- in your face, without requiring you to study for a year
- but also giving enough precision to allow you to truly appreciate the beauty of the subjectCiro's programming skills can also be used to create educational, or actually more production-like, simulations and illustrations.
Ciro believes that today's society just keep saying over and over: "STEM is good", "STEM is good", "STEM is good" as a religious mantra, but fails miserably at providing free learning material and interaction opportunities for people to actually learn it at a deep enough level to truly appreciate why "STEM is good". This is what he wants to fix.
The following quote is ripped from Gwern Branwen's Patreon page, and it perfectly synthesizes how Ciro feels as well:
Quote 1.
Omar Khayyam's chill out quote
. Omar Khayyam also came to the Vizier... but not to ask for title or office. 'The greatest boon you can confer on me,' he said, 'is to let me live in a corner under the shadow of your fortune, to spread wide the advantages of Science, and pray for your long life and prosperity.'
In addition to all of this, financial support also helps Ciro continue his general community support activities:
- writing and updating his amazing Stack Overflow answers: Section "Ciro Santilli's Stack Overflow contributions"
- saving the world from the CCP: Section "Ciro Santilli's campaign for freedom of speech in China"
When in doubt, choose the course that has the most experimental work Updated 2024-12-15 +Created 1970-01-01
You can always learn pure theory later on for free or very cheap from books.
And above all, you can always learn software engineering later on for free, because the programming community is so much more open than any other so far, notably e.g. with Stack Overflow and GitHub, see also: Section "Ciro Santilli's Open Source Enlightenment". Ciro Santilli is trying to change that with OurBigBook.com, but don't hold your breath. But it is increasingly hard to understand why there isn't an university that forces teachers to publish all their notes and lecture videos (which should be mandatorily recorded) with a Creative Commons License, and then let anyone take whichever exams they want for a small fee or for free.
Actually, there is a good chance you will learn to program, like it or not, because chances are that you won't be able to find as decent a job doing anything else.
But there is one thing you cannot learn for free: laboratory work. Laboratory work is just too expensive to carry out outside of an institution.
Basically, if you don't do laboratory work in undergrad, you will very likely never be able to do so in your entire life.
Because laboratories are so rare and expensive, it is laboratories that put you in the best most unfair position at creating world changing deep tech startups, which is why when in doubt, choose the course that has the most experimental work. Yes, you won't be able to achieve those insanely concentrated equities of the early-Internet, as you will need more venture capital to run your company, but those days are over now, deal with it.