Terence Tao on Nostr: But, in what was close to the first time ever for me, I got knocked down a few levels ...
But, in what was close to the first time ever for me, I got knocked down a few levels of the pyramid. I have had the honor of serving for the last few years on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), and in particular co-chaired our report on AI which we sent to President Biden. I continue to serve on PCAST for the next two months or so, but it is clear my term will not continue after that, and with that (and with the broader impacts of the election), some sense of self-worth and belonging was lost. As such, I felt a loss of purpose, to the extent that I had to seriously debate with myself whether to show up to teach my scheduled class yesterday. (Which I did.)
However, as one would predict from Maslow's model, I then sought out the connections to restore the levels of the pyramid I had been taking for granted. I reconnected with distant friends and acquaintances. In these conversations, we discussed what gives us purpose, and what we envision for the future, and what role our interests (for instance, math and AI in my case) could play in that. And through these reflections and conversations, I felt restored, and in fact strangely even more energized than I had been in the past. (2/3)
However, as one would predict from Maslow's model, I then sought out the connections to restore the levels of the pyramid I had been taking for granted. I reconnected with distant friends and acquaintances. In these conversations, we discussed what gives us purpose, and what we envision for the future, and what role our interests (for instance, math and AI in my case) could play in that. And through these reflections and conversations, I felt restored, and in fact strangely even more energized than I had been in the past. (2/3)