Miscellaneous

How to do Research

How to do research
How to write
How to present

Philosophical Musings & Hobbies

My philosophy towards research (and life) is heavily influenced by minimalism, Taoist beliefs and the slow science movement. Common to all three is the intrinsic belief of “utility in simplicity“, i.e., that the meaning of life, science and the creative arts is to capture the key essence of the world around us in order to further human understanding. This core belief is the underlying reason behind my interest in information theory as well as my hobbies (writing and dance). For a more detailed exposition of my philosophical beliefs and its connection to information theory and my hobbies, I encourage you to check out this page.

Information Theory Resources

Information Theory and Coding by Norm Abramson – an underrated gem of a textbook on the topic by the inventor of ALOHA. Unlike traditional math-heavy expositions, this book captures the high-level essence of the field via lucid examples and intuitive explanations. I was fortunate to stumble upon this book by accident during my undergraduate studies, and have been hooked ever since.

Fundamentals of Wireless Communication by David Tse and Pramod Viswanath – although not technically an information theory book, it is a perfect example of the power of an information theoretic understanding of (wireless) systems.

Wave Theory of Information by Massimo Franceschetti – an excellent exposition of a deterministic (electromagnetic wave-based) theory of information as opposed to the traditional stochastic theory.

Elements of Information Theory by Tom Cover and Joy Thomas and Network Information Theory by Abbas El Gamal and Young-Han Kim – the quintessential textbooks used in graduate-level course offerings on the topic.

The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood by James Gleick and An Introduction to Information Theory: Symbols, Signals and Noise by John Pierce – two excellent popular science introductions to the topic for the mathematically-inclined lay reader.

University Physics Resources

The Feynman Lectures on Physics by Richard Feynman, Rob Leighton and Matthew Sands – the quintessential textbook to learn physics from.

Problems in General Physics by I.E. Irodov and Aptitude Test Problems in Physics by S.S. Krotov – two delightful Russian classics with university-level physics problems that kept me happily occupied during high school.