Do You Have Any Advice For Students?

We undergraduates are heavily concerned with our purpose, and rightfully so. Everything you commit to is a tradeoff. Every decision made is another trajectory or opportunity walked away from. What should I devote my time to? What internships do I like? What should I learn about? It can give people a lot of paralysis. 

But I don't think you need a purpose to move forward. You just need momentum. Create contacts, talk to people, gather resources. Be experimental. Try something you normally wouldn't, and let yourself gain skills and build relationships from spaces you didn't expect to be in. 

I attended a talk recently by Steven Kelts, who spoke about the difference between prediction and anticipation. He referenced Goodhart's Law: "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure." I think that applies to students too. The moment you fixate on a specific outcome, whether it's a job title, a salary, or a five-year plan, you stop paying attention to what's actually in front of you. Anticipate, don't predict. Stay responsive to what's happening now rather than trying to map out something you can't control. 

He also made a point that if the 19th century had focused exclusively on improving existing tools like better looms and plows, humanity would have missed out on entirely new categories of technology like antibiotics, jet engines, or rockets. 

The breakthroughs came from discovery, not optimization. 

I think that applies here too. If you fixate too narrowly on one trajectory, you might miss the innovative paths you didn't know were available to you. Give yourself enough space to go to that conference around the corner that has nothing to do with your field. Tag along for an opportunity that isn't relevant to you. That's how you capture chance in a bottle. 

When a purpose clicks, and eventually it does, you'll have an arsenal of tools to draw on in the form of experiences, lessons, failed and successful attempts in entirely unrelated projects.