Search Our Writing:
Why We Don’t Say What We Mean
January 20, 2022 | By Serena Puang DC ‘22+1
I grew up in Arkansas, but for most of the last eight months, I’ve lived with my aunt and grandma in Taiwan. This lent itself to more than a few moments of culture shock and miscommunication. For the first two months, I felt like no one at church or in my ballroom dancing club wanted to be my friend. I would say hi and try to make conversation, but it always felt one sided.
These interactions led me to conclude that Taiwanese people, in general, were not friendly. After all, if a new person had showed up at my church/school/club meeting, I would never treat them that way. Was there something wrong with me? What was I doing that was putting people off?
Numbers Be Damned
January 20, 2022 | By Shi Wen Yeo MC ‘23
Memory is like a haze that gradually sharpens into focus as one grows up. One of my earliest, albeit haziest, memories is of Saturday afternoons when I was nine years old. For any child that age, Saturday afternoons were synonymous with pee-wee baseball games, time spent hanging from tree castles or playing in the sand. For me, Saturday afternoons were the longest afternoons of the week. Instead of basking in the gentle sunshine, I spent those afternoons suffocated by harsh, luminous lights that dangled from the ceilings of my “tuition center.” And I was not the only one.
Climate Despair and Our Death Wish
January 20, 2022 | By Sharla Moody BK ‘22
Water surges past the Statue of Liberty’s waist, empties into the crowded rush hour streets of Manhattan. Cars, trucks, and buses surf on the wall of filthy water bearing down on terrified bystanders. The sky erupts with hail the size of basketballs, indiscriminately falling on people frantically running to take shelter. Enormous tornados engulf entire skyscrapers in Los Angeles, spitting rubble down onto screaming bystanders, the carnage raining down beyond any Old Testament judgment.
The Case for AlphaZero: Openings and Pawn Progression
January 20, 2022 | By Timothy Han SM ‘22
On December 6, 2017, AlphaZero, a new chess program developed by Google, changed the world. AlphaZero made its world premier in a match against Stockfish, the most dominant algorithm in chess history. Ever since IBM’s DeepBlue defeated world champion Garry Kasparov in 1997, engines have reigned supreme over humans in the world of chess. Stockfish, the latest in a long line of formidable chess algorithms, could evaluate 70 million moves per second; AlphaZero could only manage 80,000. An open-source program that has been ceaselessly improved since its debut in 2004, Stockfish came armed with countless formulas, strategies, and even endgame sequences to plan for every contingency.
The Age of the Prophets Has Ended (Or So We Thought)
January 20, 2022 | By Vienna Scott BF ‘21
I was vaguely aware of astrology in high school but, my real introduction occurred in my freshman year at Yale. As far as I was concerned, Leo was an actor and Cancer was a disease. But when a classmate offhandedly mentioned that there hasn’t been a Pisces president since 1897 in a seminar and the professor didn’t guffaw, I realized I needed to study up on all things above the stratosphere.
How Firm a Foundation: Pandemic Science Tests The Limits of Our trust
January 20, 2022 | By Raquel Sequeira TD ‘21.5
“I’ve never felt as dependent as I am today on shaky data to make what could be life or death decisions.” I was struck reading the words of Dr. Neel Shah, an obstetrician describing what it’s like to care for pregnant patients in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. [1] As I watch the world through my internet browser, scientific facts seem to flip-flop like pundits. A graph of biotech stocks, responding to daily progress reports from the companies racing to produce a vaccine, might as well be tracking the sentiments of Facebook users as each new pandemic model urges hope or despair.
Upcoming Events:
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William Blake Private Exhibition Tour
THURSDAY, OCT 2ND, 10:30-11:30 AM, Yale Center for British Art
Peter Wicks of the Elm Institute will guide us through the traveling exhibition ‘William Blake: Burning Bright’ at Yale Center for British Art. No previous experience with art or William Blake required. Meet in the Yale Center for British Art lobby.
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Vibe Meeting
THURSDAY, OCT 9TH, 6:15-7:15 PM, William Harkness Hall, RM 012
This week, we will have a more relaxed meeting to chat, have snacks, and play some board games!
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Second Draft Workshop
THURSDAY, OCT 23RD, 6:15-7:15 PM, Location TBD
Second drafts for our print publication are due Oct 31st, so this meeting will cover common problems in the first drafts, what to think about for the second draft, and some ideas on how to make the pieces talk to each other and flow.
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Dinner at Justin and Moriah Hawkins' House
THURSDAY, OCT 30TH, 5:30-7:30 PM.
Justin and Moriah Hawkins have graciously invited us to their house for dinner and conversation! Please email using the link below if you are interested in attending! Transportation provided. -
Content Editing Workshop
THURSDAY, NOV 6TH, 6:15-7:45 PM, Elm Institute
For our print publication, we will be conducting content editing in person. At the Elm Institute, and guided by Peter Wicks, you will be paired with a partner and will each edit each other’s pieces for content and discuss what worked and what didn’t.
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Copy Editing Workshop
THURSDAY, NOV 13TH, 6:15-7:15 PM, Location TBD
For our print publication, we will be conducting copy editing in person. You will be paired with a partner and will each edit each other’s pieces for grammar and punctuation, and polish off anything else needed in the draft.
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Veritas Weekend
FEB 6-8TH, Boston
Save the date for Veritas Weekend in Boston! More information below!