About Me

My Education

My academic educational background is in Economics, International Relations, and Public Policy Studies. I am currently studying Information Systems and Technology at York University in Toronto, Canada.

I chose to study the social sciences because of my interest in discovering the deeper reasons behind different social phenomena. I was brought up on the stories of great kings and statesmen whose actions shaped history. As I grew older, I realized even the greatest of these people must contend with the constraints their environment and society placed on them. I firmly believe we need to uncover the truth behind the seeming pivotal events in history, so we can learn from the actions of our ancestors and avoid making mistakes with potentially catastrophic consequences.

How human actors and environmental factors shape history has been a subject of intense debate between scholars and philosophers from the earliest days of recorded human history. As Aristotle summarized more than 2000 years also, humans are social animals that tend to naturally coalesce into groups. Therefore, the question of the best ways to organize these groups, to ensure needs and wants of the members are met, has been one of the oldest questions in history.

I like to brush up on my knowledge of history and current events. I am fascinated by questions such as why some organizations are more innovative, or why some are more resistant to shocks. I like to understand the strengths and weaknesses of different ways to organize, and how these different organization types influence decision-making. In a time when organizations must change rapidly due to social and technological pressures, structures must be adaptable yet organized in order to take advantage of the ever-changing circumstances.

My Hobbies

Technology

I am a technology enthusiast who likes to build and optimize my own computers and tweak settings on my electronic devices to optimize them. Computers hold a special place for me, because of their flexibility and their ability to be endlessly reconfigured.

Like many technologists, I started my journey in technology with video gaming. The desire to optimize existing tools, and upgrading my PC to play newer games, drew me to learn about different PC components and how they work.

Since then, I have also branched out into homelabing and self-hosting. I believe people who can see the benefits of their studies are more motivated. I was able to do this with my home lab experiments. Setting up a home lab allowed me to migrate many services that I use to computers that I built and manage at my home. I am a firm believer in owning the data and privacy, and setting up self-hosted services in home servers has taught me important lessons in planning, implementation, networks, and technology infrastructure.

Fiction

Outside of technology, I am also interested in science fiction and fantasy. This is because science fiction and fantasy stories must take place in settings much different from our current society. The setting of these stories means the author often must engage in comprehensive world building exercises. Sci-fi and fantasy authors such as Tolkein and Herbert must almost always create extensive background materials to support their settings.

For a history nerd like me, digging into a setting’s background materials is one of the main pleasures of dabbing in these genres. So is seeing how characters within these stories are shaped by the setting. The Hobbits are as unique to Middle Earth and Tolkein’s philosophy as the Ewoks are to Star Wars and George Lucas’ outlook. And of course, both of these settings have extensive lore and expanded universes for lore junkies to dig in and analyze over.

My fascination of the fantastical is also why I enjoy board and video games so much. Games with deep lore is one of the genres I return to time and again. The Elder Scrolls series is one of my favourite video games when it comes to the freedom to role-play and the world its creators built. Games that tell epic stories, such as Horizon Zero Dawn and the new God of War games, are also fit into this area. Even strategy games, such as the Total War and Age of Empires, are similar as players must use critical thinking to create their own stories of triumphs and losses.

Outdoor Activities

I enjoy hiking when I need to take a break. For me, hiking helps to clear my mind from the chaos of everyday busywork. Hiking trips are also opportunities to catch up on my favourite podcasts on technology and history.