Farmward Bound (Again)
This fall, I’ll find myself back at Stanford for a couple of reasons. The first is my 5-year reunion, which is strange enough. More improbable, however, is the fact that I will be starting on my way towards a PhD in Computer Science. In many ways, the coincidence of these two events makes me appreciate all the things that have happened since graduation that have brought me to where I am today.
I technically graduated with my B.S. in Mathematics and an M.A. in Philosophy in 2006 (so I’m sort of an impostor in the Class of 2005 tent). In some ways the shift to Philosophy reflected my interests in logic and the principles of rational thought — much of my scientific interest at the time related to the differences between how people should think and how people really do think. In other ways, the choice to do a Masters was motivated by my desire to hang around on campus for another year (though the prospect of another 5 years does seem a tad daunting right now!)
After realizing that degrees in Mathematics and Philosophy didn’t really qualify me to do anything other than win arguments, I started something of a first-world spirit quest; I wandered for a few years, working at a couple of big companies (fighting click-fraud at Google, learning about frequent-flier programs at Deloitte), and then freelancing with some smaller companies (writing, marketing, data analysis, and anything I could get my hands on). Along the way, I got to travel to some interesting places, as well. This included partying under the full moon in Thailand, learning how to kite-surf in the Dominican Republic, zip-lining in Costa Rica, and trekking through one of the highest mountain passes in the world (Thorong-La) in Nepal.
Despite all of these great experiences, it took a bit of serendipity for me to finally end up on my current path. At a wedding for a former roommate in the Summer of 2008, I happened to sit next to the wife of someone I knew during my time at Stanford. We talked a bit about my interests, and she suggested that I talk with her sister, who turned out to be Brynn Evans. Despite my usual social anxiety, I got in touch with Brynn, and after talking about her research in social search, we hit it off. It was through Brynn that I joined the Augmented Social Cognition group at PARC; working with her and Peter Pirolli, we undertook a project looking at changes in question/problem formulation and domain understanding as a result of social interaction during search (PDF here). After finishing this project, I was lucky enough to get invited to stay on as a research assistant at PARC, where I got to work on a number of social computing research projects with the group and to develop my research interests and expertise.
It was this chance encounter at a wedding, a fortuitous seating arrangement, that led me on my current research path in 2 ways. First, in bringing me to PARC, it gave me the opportunity to learn about and pursue research in social computing. Also, by demonstrating to me first-hand the power of weak ties, it motivated me to study in depth how information/expertise/social captial are exchanged in social networks.
As I contemplate (re)-starting Stanford in the fall, I think back to the people who made this possible. Obviously, I am appreciative of family and friends for their support, especially during the times when I was pretty lost. I am especially thankful to Peter Pirolli, Ed Chi, Brynn, and all of the members of ASC for taking a big chance on an intern with little research experience in social computing but a great deal of interest. Thanks also to Michael Bernstein, who as one of my few close friends to bridge both my personal and academic life, has provided more than his fair share of advice.
I’m excited to start this new chapter in my life, and I’m just as curious as anyone to see where it will lead!