BZBYou can call me BB.

About me

I’m BZB; close friends also call me BB. The image behind my pen name is the Busy Beaver—BB for short. It is also the name of a famous problem in theoretical computer science: among little machines with a fixed number of rules that eventually stop, which can run for the most steps? I love the question, and I love beavers: focused, industrious, natural builders. The little beaver writing here is my avatar.

I received my university education at the University of California, Berkeley, where I spent some of the happiest and most fulfilling days of my life and experienced real personal growth. I made many good friends there, and feel fortunate to count them as fellow alumni. Go Bears!

I’m interested in cognitive science, mathematical logic, computational complexity, and Knightian uncertainty. I also enjoy exploring historical change, especially Roman history and the Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson years. I love Russian literature and traveling. My favorite city is Istanbul—though, as a Roman history enthusiast, I still sometimes find myself calling it “Constantinople.”

I especially love cooking; my specialties are authentic northeastern Chinese food and Mediterranean flavors. I also enjoy tango and barbecue. I play table tennis, badminton, tennis, and golf—table tennis is my strongest game. Alongside writing with care, I hope this site helps me meet more people I connect with. If we get the chance, come share a meal I’ve cooked.

P.S. I’m from northeastern China. In the dialect of my hometown, BB sounds like “bībī” (逼逼)—used here in the sense of chattering on and on. Give me a subject I care about, and I can be hard to stop.