There is a branch of mathematics called optimization theory that is behind all sorts of algorithms, including AI. These algorithms search through the space of possible solutions to find one that minimizes some sort of an error metric.
One can imagine this space of possible solutions as a sort of topological map, where the mountains are bad (big errors) and valleys are good (minimizes error). The crucial part in the working of these algorithms is guessing a good direction to start trekking in terms of finding the valleys, and also a good method to course-correct when it doesn't look like you are descending into one.
Typically we use differential mathematics to guess at a good direction. Put simply, we take a few steps in each direction, and then pick the direction that produced the largest decrease in altitude...and then keep walking in that direction. We change course iteratively when it looks like we are stopping going downhill and started to go uphill. The search for the valleys is renewed in the next iteration.
What I just described pretty much sums up all major algorithms operating on the principle of gradient descent, which form really the backbone of most popular approaches in data science.
But that is not what I really want to talk about in this post. I'm just using the data science background as a metaphor to talk about...life. I want to talk about what I call gradient ascent!
The Complexity of Life
Life is complex. What makes our appreciation of our life even more complex is the plethora of factors that are constantly trying to distract us from original thought and seemingly offer a path of lesser resistance. Why go on a profoundly difficult quest for answers to what your life is supposed to mean when the answer is right over there! "There" could point in the direction of cultural conditioning, things you learned in your education, ideas derived from religious beliefs and all the various voices that you see on some screen or read about online (I suppose including this!).
The Challenge of Introspection
Introspection is hard. Confronting your own shortcomings, building on your strengths, and in general improving yourself towards a "better" you is one of the toughest things to do. If that wasn't hard enough, it is easy to start walking in a direction that represents someone else's idea of a "better you". In our increasingly connected world, odds keep going higher that the path you are walking may not be the optimal path for who you really are.
Finding Your Own Direction
You can't avoid the voices that profess to and share deep insights about what a good life should look like and how you should improve yourself. These may be voices that tell you to achieve financial independence, career growth, or travel the world, or forge certain types of friendships, or care more about certain things and less about other things. Listen to these voices, but give yourself breaks to skeptically parse these thoughts relative to what gives you more satisfaction, meaning, purpose...and dare I say, happiness.
Try not to let the roar of these confident, optimized-for-eyeballs content drown out your original thought and inspiration that is trying to tell you which direction to start walking in. Use the considered opinions of others as a useful guide in learning what others have found as they traversed the map of their lives. Humans are similar however we don't live in identical worlds. Your topological map of life looks different and is shaped by your experiences, your nature and nurture, circumstances, and also by what stage in life you find yourself in.
Your Personal Algorithm
Take a few steps in many directions. Pause and think about how that makes you feel, and then pick a direction to start walking in that represents the most return on your investment of the most precious currency you have, time. As you move through stages of life you may find that the same path no longer is trending up towards what gives you more fulfillment. Iteratively repeat the process and find a new direction that is trending upwards given who and where you are now. Hear other voices, but ultimately find and listen to your own.
Happy ascending, and wish you a great 2021!