David Abel

Some Short Writings

Below I've collected a few of my favorite short stories (and other writings) that I've come across over the years; I hope others will enjoy them, too!

• The Egg, by Andy Wier: A brief and epic story, originally shared with me by Torben Noto.
• Who Can Name the Bigger Number? by Scott Aaronson: A fascinating discussion results from a very simple question - what is the largest number that can be written in 15 seconds?
• What the Tortoise Said to Achilles by Lewis Carroll: A lovely counterargument to Modus Ponens done in the fanciful style of Carroll.

• The One's Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula Le Guin: An enjoyable exploration of utopia.

• The Library of Babel by Jorge Luis Borges: A stroll through a library containing all possible information.
• Lastly, there are two quick papers I've found really helpful. The first, for reading academic work: How To Read a Paper by Srinivasan Keshav, and the second for choosing research problems: How To Choose a Good Scientific Problem by Uri Alon.

Cheers!

-Dave