• Miscommunication

    Miscommunication

    I entered the dating market for the first time two years ago. Correction, I stumbled in like a lost explorer who didn’t think to bring an extra torch. Let’s call him gym buddy (major: ECE,  class: ‘24). He was a 6am gym regular and the only other one who seemed interested in powerlifting. After a…

  • First Impressions Matter

    First Impressions Matter

    I’ve always been told not to judge a book by its cover and, in the same breath, told that my messy hair made me look like a “crazy person”. This pissed me off. Admittedly, I can be a bit crazy, but not because I don’t like tidying my hair- that’s laziness >< People, including me,…

  • The Papers that Made Me (So far)

    Some time ago, NPR interviewed three economists about the papers that inspired their careers. I’m no economist, but in the past three years, I’ve gone from Russian History nerd to aspiring social psychologist to aspiring “”””economist””””. Econ research club takes a lot of credit for this shift, but I’d be remiss to not bring up…

  • Claimed’s Basement

    Claimed’s Basement

    To distract myself from admissions doomposting, I figured I’d do a bit of writing. Yes, it is supposed to read like AI wrote it. Two predocs wake up in the basement of Littauer Center for Public Administration, chained to student desks. On each desk is a laptop sitting on top of an old copy of…

  • Behavioural Economics in the Application

    Behavioural Economics in the Application

    When I pressed submit on the last of my uni application, I was elated to be done with what I thought would be the last admissions cycle I’d ever have to participate in; Last set of standardised tests I’d ever have to take; last time taking classes just to look impressive; last time in waitlist…

  • My New Years Resolution Tip

    My New Years Resolution Tip

    Tomorrow is new years. Millions have committed to various forms of self improvement…. After the hangovers wear off. Unfortunately, 75% give up within a week. Who can blame them? Sticking to ambitious goals is hard. Sprinkle in some (quasi) hyperbolic time discounting and the next thing you know, December rolls around and it’s another round…

  • Stack Exchange Approximation Theorem

    Yesterday at 6:30pm, I turned in my real analysis final. I am now (in theory) mathematically competent enough to do econ. Whether that is actually the case remains an open question… Over the course of the semester, we learned dozens of definitions and theorems. However, one theorem is a workhorse that got me through the…

  • …. My Friends made me……

    …. My Friends made me……

    At some point, every kid has said “my friend made me” after screwing up. The adult usually responds with some derivative of “would you (insert deadly activity) if they asked you?” Well… now that I’m technically an adult, I find that I still do incredibly dumb things under the influence of friends. The difference now…

  • To Skip or Not to Skip

    To Skip or Not to Skip

    So you’re stuck in a line… it is x people long.  You must now decide whether to wait or skip, and how many people to skip. The model is as follows: For every person skipped, payoff increases by a(x), a constantly increasing function where payoff/person skipped increases as the number of ppl in line increases.…

  • Baking Models

    Baking Models

    This post is inspired by a comment my professor made in class I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about, making and watching content related to food. Not to brag, but my friends agree that it’s paid off. Model writing is a lot like baking. The flavourings and proportions may be different, but the base…