I dislike hot temperatures, but it’s necessary to bear heat from the friction of work. Luckily, my own projects continue to fuel itself after TKS’s showcase, which was also a flaming event.
I Will Discuss
TKS Showcase
Another Year of High School
John Hopkins University: BMEI
Insights of the Month
Life Updates
The End
TKS Showcase
In short…
I went to UBC Robson Square in June to present my research and current projects surrounding the mitochondrial theory of aging.
Presenting about the mitochondrial theory of aging and its therapeutics was a great experience! I had fun preparing for the presentation and planning out humour and style. I had a few people, both students in TKS and people in industry, come up to me afterward to tell me how they understood the science-heavy talk even without a background in biology. I’ve been trying to build my ability to communicate my learnings in a way that allows anyone to listen, not just someone who’s worked or researched in the field. It increases the range of people I can interact with, and to be honest, there’s no point to understanding a lot if I can’t communicate a little.
Some pictures:
The end of my year at TKS is a little bittersweet. I made a few friends and enjoyed the process, but I’ve chosen to reject an acceptance to another year for a few reasons. I’ve learned the principles of the program, and I’ll keep them as I keep working in the future. I’ll also maintain connections with friends I made and the community, so it isn’t a full loss either.
Another Year of High School
In short…
A secondary school year is over, again. I only have one more time of experiencing that!
It’s shocking how quickly a year can vanish. The above picture is a model lung I made in Anatomy and Physiology 12 last semester. It reminds me about how important it is to have good teachers. My A&P12 teacher was one of the best I had during my high school years, which, when combined with my liking of the subject, made the entire experience extremely enjoyable. Learning well is a critical, lifelong skill; it’s a shame grades can sometimes hamper my ability to appreciate the learning. I’ve been working all year to focus on the good experiences rather than the marks posted each semester. Don’t get me wrong– my grades are up to my standards, but that shouldn’t be what I focus on. The anxiety of waiting for them can be worse than the glowing effect of some numbers.
Turning 180 degrees or π radians around from that thought, I’m also happy my AP scores have been doing well (along with the SAT). I got a 5 in Physics C: E&M, but I’m also happy to have gotten a 5 in English Language and Composition, because I sat the exam with only my English knowledge from English 11 and no practice tests at all– I think reading a lot does wonders for my comprehension.
John Hopkins University: BMEI
In short…
Biomedical engineering innovation (BMEI) is a summer course offered by JHU, and I took it. I built models, circuits, and learned some more about anatomy and physiology.
This summer, I applied for a course called JHU biomedical engineering innovation, or BMEI. The course focuses on modelling the human body and experimenting using said models to determine pathologies and biological relationships.
This was my first time using an Arduino. I decided to make an adaptive sound sensor. Basically, the sensor runs a test and sees if sound value is different enough from silence to trigger the LED. I added this because the sound sensor sometimes detects a loud noise as a really small sound value: there were many cases of values around 20-50 before turning into a number larger than 500 in the next measurement. By adding a double-sided threshold, the sensor could consistently shine if loud noises are made. The sensor ran 60 times per “trial”, then calculated a mean and standard deviation.
After each trial, if the standard deviation of all sound values was higher than the threshold value, the threshold value increases to [standard deviation + 15]. That way, if I’m in a constantly loud environment, the threshold adjusts so that the light doesn’t just keep flashing. It also flickers the LED a bit to emphasize this change. If the standard deviation of all sound values is lower than the threshold, then the threshold decreases by 15. This means that, in a quiet environment, it will take progressively less sound for the light to shine.
Anyway, I also modelled the circulatory system using wires, but I don’t want to explain this mess:
My JHU experience was good. I was impressed by how smoothly the process went in general, considering how most of my experiences with school websites and management hasn’t been great.
Insights of the Month
Insight #1: Anti-Tunnel Vision
A problem I’ve consistently struggled with is tunnel vision. I’m the type of person to focus on a few interests at a time. I tend to obsess over particular problems or ways of thought, which is usually fun and useful. It’s helped me dedicate my efforts towards a singular subject, understand it deeply, and analyze abstract thoughts.
The issue arises when my tunnel vision covers up new routes of taking up options. Most recently, I’ve been trying to get a project approved and my tunnel vision could have sabotaged that goal.
Some context: during Industrial Coding and Design 12 in my school, we had a project where we worked with students with developmental disorders, and a common symptom was fine-motor disabilities. Despite this, many were still able to do tasks independently, albeit using much more time. One common problem was the elevator buttons. In order to press small elevator buttons, some students spent up to 20-30 seconds aiming their finger properly in order to hit the right one.
It’s not just people with dyspraxia that struggle with this– countless elderly citizens with Parkinson’s or arthritis have the same issue. Many people with these symptoms rely on elevators to take them up and down floors, but their buttons may be impractical.
As such, two of my friends and I at RAD Academy modelled small devices that could be used for these buttons. The main hurdle is contacting people at the city government in order to get approval.
I:
Quickly found a person who seemed responsible for the project
Emailed them with the proposal and a demo video
Waited for their response
It seems perfect! Unfortunately, that person later auto-replied saying they were out of the office.
Well, that’s a shame.
I fully intended to wait for their reply even more, or locate other versions of their email. My tunnel vision stopped me from realizing that they’re not the only option– tons of departments could have permits. My tunnel vision also blocked out the fact that, even if the other department leaders aren’t as perfectly placed, any one of them could introduce me to the person who was responsible.
I could have wasted so much time if I didn’t think carefully about my choices. I realized that my focused effort on one singular person was likely going to sabotage my changes of getting this proposal in any reasonable time frame.
So, I reached out to 3 more, and (surprise, surprise) I got a response and a meeting.
In short, I need to wear my anti-tunnel vision glasses more often to open my eyes to every path.
Life Updates
I went to Science World in June and watched a drone show. It was… fine, but I expected more from something I heard about very often.
Still, it’s always nice to spend time with friends and family.
The End
Only half the summer remains. The next big hurdle are university applications, so I’ll be knee-deep in preparing stuff. Still, I shouldn’t let that consume all my time. My work is important even if not every university sees it in time.
As always, thank you for reading.
Signed,
Daniel H. Liu
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I really hate the heat.
Letter from the Elephant
Flaming Utopia
The fires are only beginning. See how the dawn may be split.
[Cipher: Vigenère]
You’ll find the key.
Dearslc Dapeos,
Ihat’p a enlt chiio. T’d nry asd updtrnlaod ths lymbenenm, bul lt studlt mt. Sl mlght rsirlttil htw ths wcrod lal npmuptacpeutcy bo caiipfold apd hulgry? Aiyway, P htps ycu’on ktoe ytur wiol abeue ypu an yiu mtve tecs shsc oexo srupcac nlagc ic ycur ocft. Phn saic cf havnpg sl chte-phosi ypur athpcvemsect ald nhiw tff octy whac ysu walp lt ip… rpmarkaboi. E kiiw ytu hats nhl clauphnottsney pf aplcmpoosg ep whonp yourppof clpi ihe tdpao laldsdalc ic aey icsuapptn, acd nhl fals phal ihe sdusaccpi cyetsm rpoctn io thtl ac anc. Ah wosp. You eae’c gis ovnryihicg ycu wase ei slfe?
Ialcny, ef ylu di cnd ul wrocclg phn clsvaner tslry, yiu’d bctopr fnpd a btplcr way tn mpcaohprsoaply rsirlttil dcath.
Pogsid,
Sho Npelhaec