Category: Mindset

Navigating Without GPS: Understanding Cardinal Directions in Moscow | March 13 2026, 18:41

The spokesperson for the Phystech press service explains how to determine cardinal directions in Moscow when navigation systems are down. Find the North Star or use the sun: it rises in the east and sets in the west. Also reminds us how to determine directions using trees. Ziya, do you know how to find cardinal directions using trees? — What’s there to know? Fir tree points north, palm tree points south!

Overall, it seems the Phystech press service is not aware that in Moscow, the annual amplitude of sunrise point movement is almost 90 degrees. That means, it only sometimes (like now, in March) actually coincides with the east. But they do know the word “asterism”. I think most readers will place it somewhere near the word “flatulence”

Nadezhda’s Firsts: Oil Painting and Piano | March 12 2026, 18:55

Last week, Nadezhda Shulga painted an oil painting for the first time in her life and played the piano with one hand for the first time in her life! Nadya, well done!!! She asked me so many times to paint nature, that she eventually went ahead and painted it herself.

Exploring English: Verbs, Misunderstandings, and Learning Through Contrast | March 06 2026, 23:57

About the English language. When Yuki sees another dog, he adorably places his chin on the ground and presses his paws to his face, but I have to tell him every time not to approach because once he lets them get closer, he suddenly starts growling and instigating a fight. And what verb would you choose for that?

Well, from school I knew that roar meant growl. And I even told everyone “roar” for the first week until I googled it and realized that in roar, it’s tigers, lions, and motorcycles, but for dogs, it’s growl or even snarl (with teeth showing).

Or take the phrase “cook food.” To cook comes to mind, but actually, to cook implies thermal processing (fire, stove). If you’re “cooking” a salad, tea, or a sandwich, a native speaker would say make. Saying “I’m cooking salad” is like you decided to boil it.

Or suppose you decided to watch a movie. In English, the choice of verb depends on where you are and how large the screen is. When you go to the cinema, you use the verb see. “Let’s go see the new Dune movie at the cinema.” If you say “I watched a movie at the cinema,” they’ll understand, but it sounds a bit technical, as if you were sitting there closely studying the screen like a security guard monitoring it.

But. When you turn on your television, laptop, or projector in your living room, watch comes into play. The verb watch implies extended attention to something on a smaller (relative to theater) screen. By the way, if the screen is off, you look at it (as an item). Once you turn it on and a picture appears, you start to watch it.

Generally, for an advanced level, it makes sense to attach each concept to a scale, to remember the words in shades of intensity. For example,

Cry -> Weep -> Sob.

Annoyed -> Irritated -> Angry -> Furious -> Livid.

Smile -> Chuckle -> Laugh -> Giggle -> Guffaw

Spitting -> Drizzling -> Raining -> Pouring

and so on.

And then further distinguish them by paired opposites, like the smile-cry from the example above.

It’s very easy to remember when put together.

But it’s necessary to try to apply them, otherwise it’s no good. Some words may be bookish, and here it’s important in what context it is said. If you told a friend in a pub: “I cannot comprehend this beer” – it would sound as if you’re writing a dissertation on that beer

Unmasking the Self-Interest Behind Global Giants and Altruism Claims | March 04 2026, 19:00

I don’t believe in the altruism of giants. When it comes to large states or billionaire corporations, believing that they are guided by “principles of good” and “the common good” appears, in my view, to be either naivety or dangerous self-deception.

The real goal always remains in the shadows. Why? Because if everyone understands the true intentions, achieving them becomes much harder and more expensive. Or more precisely, everyone does understand them; it’s just that the circle of those in the know is small.

Take “liberation wars.” When a dictatorship receives democracy at the point of a bayonet, it’s not about human rights. It’s a way to infiltrate another system and show who’s the “alpha.” There are always specific interests in that state. Simply put, it’s about creating a geopolitical “roof.” In certain cultures, respect is earned only through strength. If you don’t show dominance, you’re not listened to. But if you do show it, you get invited to the “council of elders” and asked to “solve some problems.”

If a corporation suddenly starts caring vehemently about the planet—look for the ulterior motive. Most likely, their old production method has become too costly to maintain and needs changing. But under the guise of “reducing emissions,” modernization is warmly welcomed. Tax breaks, grants, and the chance to earn on government contracts come as bonuses. Ecologically, it’s just a pretty façade for expense optimization.

Often, the initiative does not come from inside the system, but from outside. Example: A luxurious park with benches and ducks is being built in the area. Concern for people? Relatively speaking. The main stakeholders are developers. Apartments in buildings near the park cost 20-30% more and sell twice as fast. Whether it’s a business or a politician, they just support an idea that generates profit (financial or electoral) for specific groups.

Even the holy of holies—science—is not held up only by curiosity and the desire to create a better future for people. A huge part of discoveries is driven by mere vanity. For a scientist, it is important to leave a name for the ages, step higher in the hierarchy, or at least feel like a “rock star” at a profile conference. Personal ambitions move progress more effectively than an abstract desire to help humanity.

When tech giants launch free satellite internet or distribute cheap smartphones in developing countries (Africa, India), it’s presented as a “mission to connect the world.” The real interest—markets in the developed world are saturated. The only way to grow is to create new consumers. By providing “free” access, the corporation hooks people to its ecosystem, gains access to the biometric and behavioral data of millions who are yet not protected by privacy laws. It’s the colonization of the digital space in the 21st century.

The largest philanthropic organizations often spend billions fighting diseases or hunger. The real interest—tax optimization and “soft power.” Transferring assets to a foundation helps avoid inheritance or capital gains taxes. Meanwhile, the founder maintains control over the funds through the board of directors. A bonus is the status of being “untouchable” in the media: criticizing someone who “saves children” amounts to reputational suicide. It’s the best insurance against antitrust investigations.

Mass promotion of “agendas” in Hollywood is often seen as a triumph of liberal values. The real interest—risk minimization and audience expansion. Film studios are huge bureaucratic machines. For them, “diversity” is a checklist that insures against boycotts and scandals (which cost money). Additionally, by adding a character from a specific ethnic group, the studio automatically taps into that group’s local market globally. It’s pure reach arithmetic.

The world is ruled not by kindness, but by interests and hierarchy. And possibly, that’s even good—at least, it’s predictable and logical. This was all about the altruism of giants. But I very much believe in the altruism of individual people.

Harnessing Productivity: Personal Techniques That May Just Work for You | February 17 2026, 22:21

I formulated for myself how I manage to get a lot done (actually, I don’t). It’s not a fact that it will work for others. But still, here are the points:

1. Do what you like. You need to do what your heart is in at the moment. If you force yourself, efficiency drops tenfold.

2. Sports anger as a catalyst. You need to treat failure not as a tragedy, but as a personal insult from the task. Anger is the quickest way to enter a state of hyper-focus, turning “didn’t work out” into “oh really, now watch me”.

3. Seamless switching. As soon as energy in one task has waned or the task is done — leap to the next funnel that beckons right now. It might not always be work-related. For instance, I might play the piano, draw, program, write a book, or do work.

4. Completing. Take a chunk that you can chew and bring it to a plus-minus norm. Don’t drop it midway, while there’s still momentum. Finish and refine – that’s a task for the next “high”.

5. If you can’t break through a wall — don’t smash your head against it. Mark the point of stopping, say “I’ll remember you” and retreat to return with a different tool or a different mood. The main thing is to keep this “open gestalt” in active memory and not tuck it away for too long.

6. An external promise is sacred. If you promised a deadline by Monday, personal comfort (like sleep on Saturday) is sacrificed. This pain teaches you to filter promises in the future. Your word must have physical weight.

7. The plus one principle. Always do a bit more than expected of you. How much more is a question of context, resources, desire, but the delta should be tangible.

8. The principle of useful output. Any product of activity should be in a form that can be delivered. The English word for this is ‘deliverable’. Simply getting to grips with something is not a product. But understanding it and documenting it in Confluence is a product. A letter, an article, code – anything.

9. “You gotta, Fedya, you gotta.” Perform mandatory ceremonies and necessary bureaucracy as an inevitable evil that simply has to be done anyway. Need to pass some stupid training every six months? Allocate an hour for it and suffer through.

10. Have the best tools for the task. If you don’t have them, strive to possess them and learn to use them.

Three more principles, which seem unteachable but are very helpful:

0. Don’t get irritated and don’t irritate others.

1. The ability to instantly separate the important from the junk, and the urgent from the hustle. This is an intuition that only develops with years “in the field”. And total curiosity – the ability to find excitement in any topic. This applies to everything – including who to talk to and when to go to the store.

2. If you’re bored — it means you just haven’t dug deep enough. Interest is a matter of immersion scale and having the right people, books, YouTube videos, etc. Eventually, there simply are no topics that seem boring.

3. Lifetime learning principle. Any project is a legal excuse to become smarter at someone else’s expense. Look for what ignites you in routine and what you’ve long wanted to learn. See a task that would be more elegantly solved with a script in Haskell, a language you’ve never seen before? Then today, we are learning Haskell. True, enthusiasm should not bury the deadline. You need to deliver results, even if the experiment completely fails. Promise foundation first, then decorate with the new skill.

These principles have a downside. For instance, I progress very slowly in playing the piano because good progress requires two other principles that don’t “get along” with my principles above:

1. The “one more lap” principle. If you sat down, and got tired after an hour, you need to spend two more, and then you can get up.

2. The “clenched teeth – go” principle. If you’ve taken on learning something, do it regularly, preferably at the same time, and if necessary, through “I don’t want to”.

Understanding Fever: A Physiological Defense Mechanism | February 17 2026, 09:00

I’ve only slightly (hopefully) gotten sick here and realized during the process that many people around me take pills for a minor onset of fever, considering it normal.

I’m sharing my understanding of the process, which should be very close to scientific. When an infection penetrates the body, foreign bacteria or viruses enter the bloodstream, which the immune system attacks. During the attack, signaling molecules are produced, the purpose of which is to declare a general alert throughout the body. Specifically, cytokines are produced, which also inform the brain (hypothalamus) that action is needed. Pyrogens (fever-inducing agents) include cytokines and external pathogens. The hypothalamus activates a fever through the synthesis of prostaglandins. Why: at a temperature of 38.5°C, the immune system becomes more active, antibodies are produced in larger amounts, microbial reproduction slows down, and some viruses do not reproduce.

If you consume, for example, Ibuprofen, it blocks the enzyme (COX) that creates these prostaglandins. Meaning, the pyrogens are still in the blood, but the brain “can’t hear” them and doesn’t raise the temperature.

There are only two cases when you should reduce fever: if you truly feel awful, have a severe headache, vomiting, etc. Unnecessary stress does not help the body. And if the temperature exceeds 39°C. At that point, the harm from high temperature outweighs the benefits. Even then, there are so many “buts” that a doctor should make the decision. For example, if the heart is problematic, these are special cases.

Oh, here’s something else interesting. Why when the temperature is high you feel “cold” and want to cover up. In the hypothalamus itself, there’s something like a thermostat, normally set to 36.6°C. When pyrogens arrive, it raises the temperature through prostaglandins, but since it’s the brain, it immediately cranks up its own “normal temperature” in its thermostat to, say, 38.5°C. As a result, a body temperature of 37°C suddenly feels low, and it feels like “it’s cold around, need to cover up.” Covering up is passive thermal insulation, and generally, it helps to more quickly raise the temperature to the target level. Later, when the temperature reaches 38.5°C, the chills may disappear (unless the hypothalamus further raises its thermostat). And when the temperature plateaus, around 38.5°C, covering up is harmful.

When the temperature starts to drop back, the internal thermostat switches to 36.6°C, and to cool down faster, the body produces sweat. So, if you’re sweating, it’s a sign of recovery.

(Well, what else is there to do at four in the morning, when because of all this, I can’t sleep)

From Camels to Bishops: The Fascinating Evolution of Chess Pieces | February 14 2026, 16:24

It all started with a question – why does the elephant ♗ have this notch? And in general, where is the elephant, and where is the bishop, and is this notch about the elephant or the bishop? Anyway, listen to what I dug up, there’s a lot of interesting stuff here.

Chess originates from India. There, this figure was initially called a camel. And their elephant was what we call a rook – which if you think about it, a rook is basically a boat – or in English, rook, which if you think about it in Persian, it means chariot.

The name “Tura”, which we often hear in colloquial speech, is a pure import from Europe. In French – tour. In Italian – torre. In Latin – turris. All of these mean the same thing: tower. When chess arrived in Europe, knights and monks didn’t really understand what a “battle chariot” was (they were out of fashion by then), but they knew very well what a siege tower was.

So, returning to the elephant and the notch.

The short answer – to distinguish it from a pawn. But there’s a long answer.

When chess came to Europe, the Indian camel was switched to the Catholic bishop, and thus the piece was named bishop. The notch supposedly symbolizes a miter – the high headgear of clergymen. That’s precisely why in English the piece is called bishop. Though to me, it’s just a mouth from the Muppet show.

Interestingly, in French, it’s le fou – the jester. In German, it’s Läufer – runner. In Greek – officer (Αξιωματικός). Why officer? I don’t know, but I dug up that in Chinese chess, xiangqi (象棋), the “elephant” piece is indicated and pronounced as xiàng (象). This character indeed means “elephant.” However, in Chinese history, there was a high state office called xiàng (相), usually translated as “chancellor,” “prime minister,” or “chief minister.” This is a different character, although the pronunciation coincides. Probably, the officer comes from here too.

The chess knight is almost a horse in all languages, only in English and a few others, it’s a knight (although, in German, for example, it’s Springer – jumper, and in Sicily – donkey).

So, in German, there is a jumper and a runner. And a little horse in German is actually a king.

I also learned that there are ready-made solutions for ANY chess endgame in which there are seven or fewer pieces on the board, regardless of the position, the composition of the remaining pieces, or possible moves. This information, known as endgame tables, currently occupies 18.4 terabytes.

from the comments: “The most interesting thing is that this week a multi-year work was completed, and there is now a ready solution for any position with 8 pieces or fewer (7 pieces was already about 12 years ago, but there’s a very big difference)”

My Ambitious 2026 Plan: From Galapagos Travel to Academic Achievements and Creative Pursuits | January 20 2026, 04:44

My plan for 2026:

– Travel to the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador for a week (summer)

– Finish and release a book on Information Retrieval (also summer, progressing slowly, first couple of chapters are already written. Already spent about 50-100 hours on this, the easy part)

– Release at least one scientific paper, probably on Data Mining (spring). Ideally, submit it somewhere to a journal (challenging). Already spent about 30 hours on this topic, a lot left to do.

– Make a step towards a PhD. Find professors, visit universities, understand the cost and assess my capabilities and resources.

– Continue studying fundamental mathematics and not die (linear algebra, calculus, probability theory, statistics, classical ML). In 2025, I spent about 200-400 hours on this topic.

– Continue studying Deep Learning and reach the “can teach” level. In 2025, I spent about 100-200 hours on this topic.

– Continue studying Data Mining/NLP.

– Update my book on RecSys, releasing version 2.0 with updates and corrections (autumn 2026)

– Make noticeable progress in painting and playing the piano. Specifically, learn Schubert’s serenade (Ständchen, D 889) completely and create at least one canvas that I wouldn’t be ashamed to give as a gift.