Sublime

An oral history interview with Shang-Yi Chiang covers his early life in China, education in electrical engineering, career at Texas Instruments and Hewlett-Packard, and pivotal role at TSMC in semiconductor advancements.

Analyses the cultural phenomenon of hyper-optimization, discussing its impact on creativity, the overabundance of cultural products, and the need for counterforces to resist its effects.

Explores volatility and variance swaps, their properties, uses for trading and hedging volatility exposure, and methods for replication and valuation using options, while addressing practical challenges and implications of volatility skews.