Emily Sokolow

The gambler needs to learn new knowledge about the machines and simultaneously use what they have already learned to optimize their decisions. In the literature, these two activities are referred to as exploring and exploiting. You can’t do both things at the same time. When you explore, you are pulling new arms on the bandit trying to figure out... See more

one of the most important and subtle questions in science is problem selection. How do you choose what to work on? No one tells you what to do. And you do have to answer this question multiple times. With a company, in some sense, you have to decide it once, and then it's an iterative process from there. Whereas in science, you're frequently... See more

Not everything I've wanted has manifested. This has usually been a blessing in disguise. Too many times I've believed that I wanted and needed something, but it was all for the wrong reasons. Over the years I've gained clarity and sighed with relief for not getting what I thought was surely meant for me. Often, I've not got what I wanted, only to... See more

It’s up to artists to use language to turn the sublimity of the mystery into nuggets that we can cognitively behold.