AN OPEN NOTEBOOK / BY SHASHAN PANDE
Twelve short reads on the things that make me stop and ask another question. Technology, old stories, distant stars, good food—and being a beginner.
Showing 12 notes
What I’m learning about language models, messy web data, and the gap between a bigger model and a better product.
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A tiny mechanism with a very large job: making a complicated product feel effortless.
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The delightful trick behind a gesture that never touches the screen.
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What happens between your finger landing on glass and a button responding?
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Why Hinduism’s long history interests me more than a simple “oldest religion” label.
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Why I admire the epic—and the scale of Bibek Debroy’s translation work.
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A red supergiant, a dramatic dimming, and why “soon” is a slippery word in astronomy.
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The appeal of reuse, difficult engineering, and a very ambitious system.
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Generation is one part of the story. Timing, storage, and the grid are the rest.
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My favorite Italian restaurant—and the craft behind the place.
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A personal note about starting something new, without pretending I’ve mastered it.
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A book on my radar for a mind that likes connecting subjects.
READ THE NOTE +THE INTERESTS BEHIND THE NOTES
A product-minded perspective, a growing interest in markets, and plenty of curiosity beyond work. These are things I enjoy exploring—not a finished list of things I know.
I’m interested in what AI can help us learn, build, and do differently. I like exploring practical uses, understanding limitations, and learning through hands-on work. In my professional life, that includes AI-assisted development and analytics tools.
I’m a history enthusiast, drawn to the bigger picture of how people and societies change. Learning about the past gives me another way to ask questions about the present.
A BOOK ON MY RADAR
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Geography is another interest I keep coming back to—learning about places and how the world fits together.
I’m currently learning to snowboard. It’s a new challenge, and another reason to keep learning beyond a screen.
I’m a foodie, and Pane e Vino in Miami Beach is my favorite Italian restaurant. Good food and new flavors are another way I enjoy exploring beyond the familiar.
I’m a tech enthusiast and a product-oriented person. I enjoy learning about new tech products: the problem they solve, how they feel to use, and what makes them different.
Features catch my attention. Understanding why someone would choose one product over another keeps it.
I’m a stock-market enthusiast, still learning. I’m interested in understanding the companies behind the prices—how they make money, what drives growth, and how expectations shape the market.
For me, it’s an ongoing learning process: asking better questions and building a clearer understanding of businesses, value, and risk.
Credit cards are a professional focus and a personal interest. I enjoy understanding how they work, why issuers design particular offers, and how rewards and benefits influence customer choices.
I also enjoy the optimization side: comparing offers, understanding the terms, and figuring out how to get more value from rewards and benefits. It’s a mix of product curiosity, consumer behavior, and numbers.
I like learning new things. I don’t need to be an expert to be interested.