I have been admitted to Vellore Institute of Technology for the course CSE with Bioinformatics, and this is my first post on my website, in which I go over my interests in this field and what I wish to do additionally during my time in college. I am splitting these thoughts into three categories: computer science, bioinformatics, and additional interests. I am also going over what I think these subjects will be about and my ideas and thoughts about what I can do here. I could be very wrong and completely off the mark with this, and my ideas can be feasible in many places. But I am writing this as a reference to a future person who will look upon this and maybe get some creativity instilled in them. Or I could just look back at this and laugh at my stupidity.
Computer Science
I have always had an interest in computers. It has always been fascinating to me since I first held my father’s iPhone 3Gs. As I learn more and more about the software and hardware aspects of it, I have developed a special interest in Artificial Intelligence. Not just because of the recent innovations I am sure you have heard of, but because of the way it works. Since around 2019, I have had a sudden interest in evolution-like topics such as palaeontology, human evolution, languages, the spread of cultures in ancient civilizations, and of course, Artificial Intelligence. I assume AI is like evolution because, when creating models, we train it through random mutations in the coefficients of suitable variables filtered by natural selection. Since then, I have always wanted to learn and experiment with these types of concepts. I want to learn how to use AI and machine learning and learn about the ways data can be used to make predictions or train programs to do certain tasks.
In my head, I find it very interesting and kind of fun. I happen to be taking a machine learning course as I am writing this, and I can’t wait to learn about all the different types of ML. For now, I am stuck in regression.
Bioinformatics
To be completely honest, I do not fully understand what this is. But anyway, I developed an interest in evolution and genome-based sciences during COVID, when I had infinite time, nothing to study, and endless YouTube. I learned from YouTube channels like ‘Veritasium’, ‘PBS Eons’, and Be ‘Smart’ about this. I learned about Crispr and how they use this technology to study how DNA works and what each segment contributes to an animal’s body. I learned about the 40–60-year-long experiment on bacterial evolution and how, after many decades, a certain colony evolved to start consuming citric acid, which they had never done previously. From shows like ‘Cosmos’ and ‘Star Talk’, I learned about researchers in Australia and Sweden trying to create and control neurons and make them learn things. And I believe the future of this technology is humanoids, like in Detroit Become Human and iRobot. In the past year, people in Australia have created an ‘organoid’ that has been conditioned to play pong, and in Japan, they have created a synthetic skin-like substance that they can modify and attach to robots. This all points to a future where we can have both computer-brain interfaces and a synthetic brain accomplishing tasks that a computer cannot. We could have humanoids, which can maybe have things like human skin, which can heal and protect hardware, and a synthetic brain that can learn and adapt faster with more efficiency to certain conditions with a minute dataset. We can create some that can take care of tasks that computers cannot and that require human touch, like farming, machining, drug testing, and other manual labor. We already see companies attempting to create computer-based humanoids.
I could be completely wrong, and this could be impossible and just science fiction, but it does raise curiosity and interest for me. This could also be completely far off from what bioinformatics deals with, so let me see what this is about.
Other Things I want to do
Like any child, I have a huge interest in gaming. And during COVID, one of the first things I discovered were game engines like Unreal Engine, Unity, and Godot. Since 2020, I could not take my mind off of this. I very much wanted to create games, movies, and even just 3D particle effects. But I entered 10th grade in 2021 and have not had time since to learn about this passion. Hence, I hope I get the free time I was promised in college and get to focus on this area. I also had a tiny interest in philosophy, and I want to write about how humans would have behaved with no previous conditioning. I hope that during my time in college I maintain some good habits and control my time so that I can manage to focus on all my interests while maintaining a good CGPA.
In VIT, I have heard there are many programs conducted by various companies and colleges, and there are many clubs too. I wish to join whatever interests me, the RC racing club where you try to build the perfect remote-controlled car and compete with other groups. This, I hope, will test my machine learning skills and teach me the basics of mechanics and electrical engineering.
I can’t go on forever about these thoughts so… that’s it. Let’s see if college
is what I hope it is and if I can manage what I want to do. Or if it is all
going to crash and burn.