michael's update #3
winter 2022
hello 🌊,
we’ve kicked into high gear at tks with a 4 week energy challenge with shell, as well as exploring open sessions with 22 custom sessions over 2 week time span.
in this newsletter, there’s
4 second spotlight: global challenge with shell
3 quick updates from me: tks, retreat, community
2 ideas from the web: different ways of thinking
1 photo to enjoy: samosa meme
enjoy!
4 second spotlight: global challenge with shell
every year in activate, we do a 4 week global challenge to understand economic opportunities in an industry. this year we partnered with shell for an energy challenge, exploring potential answers to this problem statement:
how might we identify major problems to tackle to start leading to a net zero carbon economy by 2050?
some highlight project standalone decks:
mikael and aahaan have a hypothesis to capture the ~20k MWh of wasted heat.
naila and team look to save $4.65M by repurposing oil platforms into electrical substations.
karthik and team explore ways to use sensors to predict pipe corrision to potentially save $71M a year in operational costs.
🎊 this spun out from the web summit crew getting to meet the shell team irl.
3 quick updates from me: tks, retreat, community
1️⃣ tks activate highlights
publishing annual letters. to start this year, many activates reflected on their journeys and shared highlights for them. check out some letters →
open sessions. we used feedback from students to design 22 new sessions in two weeks where they could attend their own. more here →
visiting toronto was a major highlight for irl sessions and 1-1s. still cannot quite bridge the same level of energy and support of in person gatherings online. photo post coaching session with kevin →
2️⃣ global team retreat in collingwood
bringing the tks director team together feels like the marvel avengers movie, as everyone has their own super power and own universe of program to run.
3️⃣ chalking mural art party in the streets of the mission
im still exploring ways to bring the neighborhood and community together. this was one of my favorite street events so far. chalking was something many people enjoyed participating in and a collab with an artists group made it a fun time. photos here →
2 ideas from the web: different ways of thinking
i.
mit professor lex fridman with tim urban on specialization v. generalization:
the pencil problem (extreme): if we materially lost everything, but retained all knowledge, how long would it take to remake a perfect iphone 13? what strategies would be needed for building, communication, cooperation, finding resources, and more?
source: tim urban: elon musk, neuralink, ai, aliens, and the future of humanity #264 | lex fridman podcast
ii.
mit professor lex fridman with elon musk on using first principles to solve problems:
lex: what’s your problem solving framework?
elon: physics is law and everything else is a recommendation. i’ve met people who can break the law but have yet to meet someone who could break physics.
for any technology problem, you need to make sure you are not breaking physics.
first principles boils something down to it’s most fundamental parts, what we know is most likely true, and then reasons upwards from there. conclusions are cross checked against these axiomatic truths.
this helps establish “is it possible?” and understand what are the limits when pushed to a very large or small scale.
source: elon musk: spacex, mars, tesla autopilot, self-driving, robotics, and ai #252 | lex fridman podcast
if you enjoyed these, his interview with mark zuckerberg (#267) was also a good authentic conversation on the role of social media in society.
1 photo to enjoy: samosa meme
bringing in product managers from billion dollar companies like meta or grail pale in comparison to becoming an internet meme for those in tks. check out meme thread →
t/y chaat house for the delicious samosa.
what’s next for me
prepping for earthshot hackathon. we’re gearing up to end the year strong in tks and are designing a new strucutre for the end of the year sprint.
building better sessions and virtual community. with more and more data points and direct feedback, we have been designing new sessions week to week as well as finding ways to build better connections in the community as a whole.
built with biology conference. 10 tks activates and alumni are coming to the bay area for the built with bio conference! i'm excited for some more irl experiences.
forward onwards,
michael
✌️
ps. if you made it this far, here’s one recipe from the season: dal. im currently exploring ways to make it like beloved cafe with mixed grains and a simple, wholesome flavor profile.
h/t to james clear for the newsletter format style inspiration.