Hi! I’m Ishmaam. I’m curious about all sorts of things. This is where I share some of what I’ve been learning, building, and thinking about.
You might enjoy some of my writing.
Computers!
I was 13 when I learned that the apps I used were made with code. The idea that I could learn to write it and build something myself was so exciting that I had to try.
A few months and a lot of trial and error later, I’d made something simple that actually ran. If you’re a programmer, you know the feeling. If you’re not, imagine spending ages making something and finally seeing it work exactly as you intended. I couldn’t wait to make something else.
Eight years later, I’m still at it! I’m a backend software developer, and I mostly use JavaScript and TypeScript. I also know Java, Rust, and Go. I’ve built quite a few things over the years, most of which I’ve kept to myself. Maybe I’ll share some of them here one of these days.
As I learned more about programming, I became interested in computer science more broadly. I’ve since taught myself a fair bit, with a huge amount of help from freely available courses and lectures from MIT, Harvard, Stanford, and others. Lately, I’ve been exploring AI, particularly machine learning. I haven’t studied any of this formally yet, but I plan to. I’ll keep you posted!
Science!
Like a lot of kids, I was fascinated by space. I never grew out of it.
When I was 11 or 12, I came across Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time in my father’s rather enormous book collection. The subtitle caught my eye: From the Big Bang to Black Holes. Black holes!!! Of course I had to read it.
Very little of it made sense to me at that age. Mostly, I picked up fascinating little facts that I’d share, unprompted, with anyone who happened to be around. They weren’t usually as excited as I was. Still, I kept returning to the book over the years. Each time, I understood a little more and began to appreciate ideas that had gone completely over my head before. I’m so grateful to that book for sparking my curiosity and getting me to ask questions I might never have considered otherwise.
Physics has been a particular love of mine ever since. Psychology gets me excited too — I could happily spend hours learning about how our minds work! And I couldn’t leave mathematics out of this. I love it too!
Philosophy!
Reading about physics, especially in A Brief History of Time, left me with questions that led me to philosophy. I started reading philosophy to explore them, and it’s been a huge part of my life ever since.
What interests me? Pretty much everything! I’m not even joking. I’ve yet to find a branch of philosophy that doesn’t interest me. I especially love how the different areas connect with one another and with other fields. You might start with a narrow question and discover that answering it means rethinking something you’d always taken for granted.
If you asked which subjects I’d feel most comfortable discussing in depth, I’d probably say free will, metaethics and ethics, and philosophy of religion. Those are the areas I know best, but I’m always happy to talk about others or learn about something I haven’t explored yet.
Other things!
Beyond all that, I have a particular fondness for language, especially English — at least for now. I love reading something so well phrased that I stop to admire the wording. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to bring that same care to my own writing and conversation. I admire people who can make a complicated thought easy to follow without losing any of its subtlety. That’s a skill I wish we valued more, and one I want to keep developing.
I watch a lot of movies and TV, too. According to my media tracker, I watch more drama than anything else — apparently! I would’ve guessed science fiction, which comes next, followed by action and crime. I much prefer live action to animation, though a few animated films and shows recommended by friends are on my list. For someone who watches so much fiction, I’ve read almost none. My reading has been overwhelmingly nonfiction, but I’d like to change that.
As for music, I mostly listen to pop and rock, with some rap here and there. I don’t listen all that much, and I tend to come back to the same favourites. I’d like to branch out, though, so if there’s something you think I should hear, send it my way!
I also care a great deal about digital privacy. We spend so much of our lives online, and I think we deserve control over what we share, who has access to it, and how it’s used. Exercising that control shouldn’t require a technical background. I try to help where I can, whether that means explaining why privacy matters or helping someone make a few practical changes to protect their own.
