Author: Tanay B.
It’s the final day. Just one more day until we are ejected from the solar system SSP-Zoom-universe and are thrust back into the real world. One more day of Saturday activities. One more day of being with all 35+ NMTers in one Zoom meeting. But a day at SSP is long—one might even say a SSP day is equal in length to a Gaussian day.
In an SSP day you can question the universe: Does the surface of an expanding balloon have a center? Why do astronauts use so many units? Why don’t they just use decimals and radians like a normal person? (I guarantee you, those conventions have wrecked many an SSPer’s orbit determination code.) In an SSP day you can experience the true limits of the universe as well: from running 7 million Monte Carlo simulations to using chi-squared tests and solids of revolution to rigorously prove that Squidward plays the oboe, not the clarinet, we’ve got you covered.
Critical research being performed at SSP
In an SSP day you can try (and fail) to wrap your mind around computing Jacobian matrices or take the standard deviation of the standard deviation of the standard deviation…….
Or maybe you’re up for something else. From existential crises to memes and pranks, the SSP day is far from short of any of these.
Desperately calling Dr. R for help in the final minutes of work-play block
Yet, with the apparent length of an SSP day, there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of time for sleep. The lack of sleep seems to be a constant theme in the program—the insomnia monster will catch up to you, sooner or later. I went into the program thinking that I could get at least 7 hours of sleep per night—which was mostly true, until this week. Case in point? I’m writing this blog post at 3:30am after submitting our team’s OD report at 2:30am. SSP has virtually transported me to a different time zone—I can see the daylight outside Rom’s windows, and Tanvi’s still up at 6:30am. To quote Antara, the 3:30am PST Zoom meetings are like a red-eye flight: quiet, calm, and tiring.
The last day of SSP 2021 is today, and it’s almost surreal. I remember wondering whether or not I’d be able to survive the workload for a full five weeks—it isn’t sustainable. Yet, somehow, here we are. We’re leaving the SSP-Zoom-world, and I don’t know how I’m going to adapt. Will our teachers get annoyed at our incessant questions? When will we meet our friend, the problem set? Only time will tell. For now, I know we’ll be basking in the glory of our finished OD reports and soaking in every remaining moment that this summer has to offer.
Hi! I’m Tanay, and I’m from the Bay Area in California. I’m interested in math, physics, and computer science, and I love to learn languages as well. I also enjoy playing table tennis and speedsolving the Rubik’s cube.
