sync: update content from obsidian vault

src/content/blog/2025-06-21-crowdsourcing-exam-problems/index.md

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+---
+title: A platform for crowdsourcing exam problems
+description: Dreaming of a better way to share and curate academic problems
+date: 2025-06-21T00:00:00.000Z
+tags:
+  - teaching
+  - tools
+  - ideas
+---
+
+I want to create a platform for crowdsourcing problems (the sort that go into exams/quizzes/assignments for undergraduate/graduate courses), with features like tagging, voting, comments, and easy export of problems/collections to typst/latex formats (with custom points).
+
+The closest I can think of is Trueshelf, sadly now no longer operational AFAIK.
+
+I imagine there is a substantial feature overlap with stackexchange-like platforms, so something like qpixel might work, with a custom export extension.
+
+---
+
+*Originally posted on [Twitter](https://x.com/neeldhara/status/1936331381631799383)*
+

src/content/blog/2025-07-05-hypothetical-grading-policy/index.md

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+---
+title: A hypothetical grading policy
+description: Thinking through fairness and gameability in grading
+date: 2025-07-05T00:00:00.000Z
+tags:
+  - teaching
+  - grading
+  - education
+---
+
+Hypothetical grading policy. Would it be easy for participants to get grades that do not reflect their competence either in terms of underestimating it (i.e, the grading policy is unfair) or overestimating it (i.e, the policy is easy to game)?
+
+This is a question I keep coming back to. Any grading system is a tradeoff between:
+- Accurately measuring competence
+- Being robust against gaming
+- Being fair to different learning styles
+- Being practical to implement at scale
+
+---
+
+*Originally posted on [Twitter](https://x.com/neeldhara/status/1941338792025096409)*
+

src/content/blog/2025-07-09-math-human-flourishing-struggle/index.md

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+---
+title: On struggle in mathematics
+description: Reflections from reading Math for Human Flourishing
+date: 2025-07-09T00:00:00.000Z
+tags:
+  - mathematics
+  - reading
+  - education
+---
+
+Encountered "struggle" from *Math for Human Flourishing* during our reading group today. It reminded me of this lovely video by Courtney Gibbons.
+
+<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kenf8E1RuoA?si=6MoEl-gMZUlpEh0K" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
+
+I was a little alarmed that the original tweet no longer exists: very glad to have found it on Youtube!
+
+The idea that struggle is an integral part of doing mathematics — not a sign of failure — is something I wish more students internalized early.
+
+---
+
+*Originally posted on [Twitter](https://x.com/neeldhara/status/1942995589370659117)*
+

src/content/blog/2025-07-17-teacher-training-initiative/index.md

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+---
+title: A new initiative for teachers in higher education
+description: Soft-launching a training program for educators
+date: 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
+tags:
+  - teaching
+  - education
+  - community
+---
+
+We will be soft-launching a new initiative for teachers in the higher education sector in India, centered around a training program but will also feature a community and regular live events (workshops, talks, etc).
+
+This has been in the works for a while. Excited to see it take shape!
+
+---
+
+*Originally posted on [Twitter](https://x.com/neeldhara/status/1945713140974686624)*
+

src/content/blog/2025-07-21-capacities-pkm/index.md

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+---
+title: Capacities — a delightful PKM system
+description: Quick impressions of the Capacities app
+date: 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
+tags:
+  - tools
+  - pkm
+  - productivity
+---
+
+Capacities is a tastefully designed PKM system. If you don't mind the trade off of a proprietary format (ie it's not a wrapper for a folder of plaintext files) + slightly limited support for offline/collab, definitely give it a spin!
+
+Delightful UI/UX & some very handy features. The object-based approach is quite different from the note-first paradigm of most PKM tools.
+
+---
+
+*Originally posted on [Twitter](https://x.com/neeldhara/status/1947311487573500367)*
+

src/content/blog/2025-08-07-nptel-underrated/index.md

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+---
+title: NPTEL is vastly underrated
+description: Thoughts on why NPTEL deserves more recognition
+date: 2025-08-07T00:00:00.000Z
+tags:
+  - education
+  - nptel
+  - india
+---
+
+NPTEL is vastly underrated and frequently mistaken for some ill-maintained half-hearted "sarkari thing" from the early 2000s. Sighs.
+
+The effort they put into conducting the exams alone is remarkable... a ton of quiet, solid work behind the scenes.
+
+---
+
+*Originally posted on [Twitter](https://x.com/neeldhara/status/1953365865627554004)*
+

src/content/blog/2025-08-16-interactive-fiction-textbooks/index.md

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+---
+title: Textbooks as interactive fiction?
+description: Exploring unconventional textbook formats
+date: 2025-08-16T00:00:00.000Z
+tags:
+  - education
+  - books
+  - interactive
+---
+
+Do you know of any examples of textbooks written in the style of interactive fiction?
+
+I've been thinking about how the "choose your own adventure" format could work for learning materials. The branching structure could naturally accommodate different learning paths, misconceptions, and levels of detail.
+
+---
+
+*Originally posted on [Twitter](https://x.com/neeldhara/status/1956570918924255273)*
+

src/content/blog/2025-08-27-vibecoding-manim-slides/index.md

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+---
+title: Vibecoding slides with Manim
+description: Experimenting with manim-slides for presentations
+date: 2025-08-27T00:00:00.000Z
+tags:
+  - manim
+  - presentations
+  - tools
+---
+
+Recently vibecoded some slides in Manim via [manim-slides](https://github.com/jeertmans/manim-slides).
+
+The whole experience was... interesting. It's not replacing my current default for now, but might find ways of integrating it in modular ways.
+
+There's something appealing about having programmatic control over animations, even if the iteration cycle is slower than traditional slide tools.
+
+---
+
+*Originally posted on [Twitter](https://x.com/neeldhara/status/1960769417597362361)*
+

src/content/blog/2025-08-29-grok-a-book-new-editions/index.md

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+---
+title: New editions of grok-a-book
+description: Reading group announcements for the new term
+date: 2025-08-29T00:00:00.000Z
+tags:
+  - grok-a-book
+  - reading
+  - community
+---
+
+Happy to announce new editions of grok-a-book this term! We start effectively on the 8th of September (with a meet-and-greet type meetup on the 5th).
+
+In the mornings IST, we are reading *Theory of Probability*.
+In the evenings IST, we are reading *DCIC* (Data-Centric Introduction to Computing).
+
+I am likely to be very off in my estimates of how long the chapters will take, but we'll figure it out as we go along :)
+
+---
+
+*Originally posted on [Twitter](https://x.com/neeldhara/status/1961325143852024045)*
+

src/content/blog/2025-09-05-pocket-shutdown/index.md

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+---
+title: RIP Pocket
+description: Saying goodbye to my first read-it-later app
+date: 2025-09-05T00:00:00.000Z
+tags:
+  - tools
+  - apps
+  - nostalgia
+---
+
+TIL that Pocket shut down :(
+
+Was my first read-it-later app. I haven't used it in ages, but still feel like I'll be missing it! I remember setting up IFTTT workflows to spam people when I tagged them on a pocket entry.
+
+There's something bittersweet about apps we've outgrown shutting down. Even if we moved on, knowing they were still there was oddly comforting.
+
+---
+
+*Originally posted on [Twitter](https://x.com/neeldhara/status/1964050592470347788)*
+

src/content/blog/2025-09-23-ten-years-iitgn/index.md

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+---
+title: Ten years at IITGN
+description: A milestone worth reflecting on
+date: 2025-09-23T00:00:00.000Z
+tags:
+  - iitgn
+  - career
+  - reflections
+---
+
+Clocked ten years at IITGN today :)
+
+Thinking of writing a retrospective of sorts, if you have any ideas for what you might find useful in such a reflection, let me know!
+
+---
+
+*Originally posted on [Twitter](https://x.com/neeldhara/status/1970532422832853347)*
+

src/content/blog/2025-11-17-iisc-time-tracking/index.md

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+---
+title: On tracking time in labs
+description: Thoughts on the IISc time-tracking controversy
+date: 2025-11-17T00:00:00.000Z
+tags:
+  - academia
+  - research
+  - policy
+---
+
+In the light of the recent news from IISc about tracking time-at-labs, timely to check out [this compilation](https://www.openaccessrepository.it/records/143371/files/20120417Clocking-white11.pdf?download=1) of opinions from the international scientific community on the matter, in the context of a similar situation that arose in Italy.
+
+Research is not a 9-to-5 job. The nature of intellectual work means that breakthroughs don't follow a punch clock. Some of my best ideas come during walks, in the shower, or at 2 AM.
+
+![](./G567YZgXoAAwHPU.jpg)
+---
+
+*Originally posted on [Twitter](https://x.com/neeldhara/status/1990234115510010029)*
+