[15th September 2024] Interesting Things I Learnt This Week

 1. Our Memories Are Stored in Triplicate - This is an article about how the brain stores memories. It discusses what part of the brain is involved in memory storage and how different types of neurons are involved. The article also discusses how memories can change over time. Some important points are that memories are stored in multiple copies and that different copies are used for different purposes. Also, early-born neurons are involved in long-term memory and late-born neurons are involved in short-term memory.

My Take: The research on the brain is fascinating, as it delves into the least understood part of our body. It reminded me of the 3-2-1 backup rule for data, emphasizing the importance of preserving memories. The most intriguing aspect is how memories can evolve over time, a phenomenon we all experience to some degree, particularly when reflecting on past experiences.


2. The Illustrated AlphaFold - This is an article about how AlphaFold3 works. It discusses the goals of the model, which are to predict the structure of a protein complex from sequence alone. The article then details the steps involved in the process. Some important points are that AlphaFold3 uses a more complex featurization/tokenization scheme than previous AlphaFold models, and that it retrieves other molecules that are presumed to have similar structures to the user-provided molecules.

My Take: I dont know if I can say more than that I was blown away by this whole paper. I still cant claim that I understand it very well, but I know a little more than what I knew before reading that doc. Must read if you are keen on ML and transformers being applied for biotech.


3. Radicle - This is a peer-to-peer code collaboration stack called Radicle. It discusses what Radicle is and how to get started using it. Radicle is an open-source project that is designed to be a collaborative, local-first, peer-to-peer extension of Git. Some of the features of Radicle include an extensible peer-to-peer gossip and sync protocol, social interactions such as issues, patches and code review, and a secure authentication and authorization protocol. Radicle is also designed to be private and secure, with truly private repositories and built-in Tor support.

My Take: Git was supposed to be local and P2P system, but along the way with Github it got lost and became a centralised repo system. I have not tried it yet, but this seems like the right way to approach with decentralisation. I hope it gets the right visibility and is adopted by popular open source projects.


4. Practical approaches for more effective teamwork - Seth Godin's blog post outlines practical principles for successful teamwork.  It emphasizes clear communication, shared goals, and mutual respect. Key takeaways include giving credit and taking responsibility, setting clear deadlines, establishing a budget and calendar, avoiding grudges, and open communication.  Teamwork thrives when members are comfortable sharing fears and progress, and actively seeking out skilled collaborators.

My Take: Seth Godin is always to point and conveys the message in a very few words. Every professional should read this and apply them in their life. Would definitely make life better for everyone.


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