Books
BookReview: ‘Nexus’ by Yuval Harari
Harari’s Nexus bridges AI, ethics, and evolution. As a technologist, I found his insights on humanity’s future gripping, though I question some leaps he makes.
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read
Gridleaf Blog
Insights on AI, energy systems, and technology
Books
What Generative AI can do for Clean Energy (and vice versa)?
In my upcoming book, I unpack how generative AI can transform clean energy solutions. It’s a deep dive into tech with actionable insights for energy experts.
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read
Books
Books I Read in 2024
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read
Books
Books I read in 2023
2023 was a year of discovery, and my reading list reflects that. These books helped me grow, dream, and tackle life’s questions one chapter at a time.
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read
Books
Books I Read in 2022
2022 was the busiest year I have ever had, Yet, I found sometime for thought-provoking non-fiction, educative business self-helps to one cozy novel by Mr. Pamuk, here’s a list that shaped my year—and maybe yours too.
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read
Writing
My Self through My Gita
My latest project recalls my journey to the US and my homecoming back to India through the timeless prism of the Bhagwad Gita
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read
Writing
Orhan Pamuk: How to build cities with words
An ode to the man who can recreate geospatial entities with words, memories and recollections
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read
Writing
Gabriel García Márquez: The Man Who Turned Memory into Myth
As I read One Hundred Years of Solitude for the third time, I found myself tracing Márquez’s gift for blending the fantastical with the deeply personal. What can writers learn from his “impossible realism”?
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read
Writing
The Spell of Salman Rushdie: Analyzing a Literary Magician
My attempt to deconstruct how Mr. Rushdie wields language, history, and magic to build immersive worlds.
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read
Writing
Does the World Need More Novels?
While emptying my shelf before leaving the US, I wondered if my unwritten novel could ever stand out in the huge pile of novels I was about to donate to the thrift store. I began to wonder if originality still exists—or even matters—in literature today.
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read
Writing
Why poop makes everything funny
Creating poop rhymes with my elder son is my favourite thing to do. Especially over long Thanksgiving weekends with nothing else to do. It makes me wonder why poop is the comedic glue (goo?) of the Universe
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read
Writing
Where Do Story Ideas Hide? And how to find them
I spent my first week back in India jotting down snippets of overheard conversations, random dreams, and childhood memories—only to realize the best stories were hiding in plain sight. This piece dives into the art of unearthing tales from everyday life.
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read
Body
Ready to fall asleep? Read this article.
My latest job role has me thinking why smartphone companies are filing patents on sleep patterns and why smart mattresses are even a thing. I am impressed to know that sleep research might one day save your life.
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read
Body
Sick Days in the age of biohacking
A recent bout of sinusitis. A friend in coma from ceberal stroke. With sickness and grief all around me, I look up biohacking in a dictionary.
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read
Body
Cheat Day Cheatsheet
I learned the hardway how one cheat day can ruin months of mindful eating. Based on scientific research, I took a dip, and then a dive, into the psychology of setbacks
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read
Body
Our Spice Garden Stop at Munnar (Kerala)
Walking through an Ayurvedic garden while coming back from Munnar to Allepey, I was surrounded by plants promising everything from digestion relief to anti-aging miracles.
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read
Body
What’s the “Perfect Weight”?
Almost at the point of giving up tracking weight and snacking on one more desi ghee laddoo, I review some lessons I learned from 10 years of Weight Gain and Loss See-Saw
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read
AI
What AI Can't Write
How do you teach emotional nuance to a machine built for efficiency?
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read
AI
The Secretive World of AGI Development
I have been hanging out with AI engineers at the watercooler, and hear them candidly caution about open-source models and the risks of Artificial General Intelligence. But how bad can it be?
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read
AI
An AI Image that Haunts Me: Using AI to study aging.
I uploaded a finetuned DALL-E model to create photos of me, at different ages, under different potential health conditions.
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read
AI
Small Models, Big Dreams
Can Small Language Models (SLMs) based on Regional Languages be Effective?
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read
AI
When nations starts formalizing an algorithmic moral compass
I have been reading the White House's AI laws, and it seems we, the people, have given up hopes that we will ever be ethical, and can neither trust machines to save us from ourselves. So, what do we do?
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read
AI
A Day in my Life when I did everything with AI
Last week, a simple question to ChatGPT spiraled into a deliberate over-dependent day on letting GPT's responses take over my education and common sense.
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read
Experiences
My experience with 2024 Canara Bank 10K Run Bengaluru
It was a fun experience
Sayonsom Chanda, Ph.D.
•5 min read