My name is Bill. I graduated from college three years ago with majors in philosophy, computer science, and cognitive science. I'm still interested in those things, and so I spend most of my time thinking about them. Since college, I've hopped around AI research programming jobs in universities, trying to work on projects that match my interests. I quit my most recent job to travel around the United States while thinking about things on my own for a while.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

There are two main tasks that I'm currently working on:

1. Challenging my own personal, political, and ideological biases by talking
to people who come from a wide range of backgrounds.

2. Gaining an understanding of the structure of my conversations
that might aid in the construction of general methods and tools (like computer
programs) that will improve communication.

With these tasks in mind, I recently started travelling around the United States
to talk with lots of different people. So far, I've spent a few weeks in an
intentional community called "East Wind" in the middle of the woods in Missouri.
This community is mainly composed of left-leaning hippie-ish sorts of people who are
dissatisfied with various aspects of mainstream life in the United States. Now, I'm on
my way to NYC to talk to entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and finance people who
likely maintain views that are very distant from the views I encountered at "East Wind".
After that, I plan on travelling to a few more intentional communities, monasteries maintained
by various religions, and any other places I can think of where I might find people
who hold distinctive opinions. I'm hoping that couch surfing will allow me to meet some hosts with such opinions, and also provide me with an affordable method of travel.

Interests

I enjoy a lot of things. Here are some of them:

- Drawing
- Reading novels
- Reading various non-fiction (about economics, mental illness, cognition, etc)
- Learning about new kinds of math (working out proofs)
- Watching movies
- Watching commercials
- Reading and doing philosophy (to me, "doing philosophy" is trying to work out how to think about things consistently in ways that don't make me cringe)
- Having conversations about things that I don't understand
- Biking
- Going to the gym
- Rock climbing
- Programming
- Staring at computer screens
- Asking stupid questions

I try to do these things one at a time. I don't do them all at once. That would be difficult.

• working out
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• drawing
• cycling
• hiking
• surfing
• rock climbing
• computer science
• economics
• mathematics
• religion
• science
• parks

Music, Movies, and Books

I don't have many favorite things. I enjoy different things at different times.

Some bands I've enjoyed recently are "Future Islands", "Johnny Flynn", "Regina Spektor", "Austra", and "Devotchka". I generally like folk, synthpop, some other alternative stuff, and things from before the 90's (e.g. "Depeche Mode", "The Doors", etc).

I generally like movies that either make me think or laugh. I really liked "There Will Be Blood" and "Little Miss Sunshine".

My favorite book I read in the past year was "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". Some books that I read a long time ago--but still stand out in my head--are "The Idiot", "Godel, Escher, Bach", and "The History of Western Philosophy".

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I worked in a conservation corps in Arizona for a few months. We built and maintained hiking trails in national forests and parks like the Grand Canyon.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can try to teach people how to write computer programs, do various kinds of math, or draw.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can share views I've encountered and stories I've experienced while traveling. I've also dabbled in many different academic subjects, and I can share knowledge about them (but my breadth limits my depth... I'm not an expert in anything).

I'm also generally willing to help you out with things around the house like washing dishes or mowing the lawn.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States