giant_fern

I took dabeaz's course on the Raft algorithm a few years ago.

It was engaging, challenging, and all the other students were there specifically because they wanted to be there. I've never experienced anything like that in school, it was uniquely motivating.

I always thought I'd get to try his compilers course one day, but I waited too long!

All the best to him on his next adventure.

> Motorway is an hour out from where I live. Each tweak meant hopping on the bike and carving out hours to test.

It's easier said than done, but you might want to approach this like a data science project. Record the data from your test runs, annotate the behaviour you want, and build up a dataset. You should be able to experiment with any number of tweaks (admittedly except for the data sampling itself) without having to get back on the bike.

Self-confidence is helpful alongside agency, but I think it's a totally different concept.

Agency is about self-awareness and realizing that you have a choice. Lack of agency means going along with the default, societal script or what is handed to you even if it is not a good option for you.

One example is dropping out of a university program, even if you are capable of graduating. There is a strong social expectation that you finish, but maybe you don't like it, or your time is better spent elsewhere. Agency is that realization that you can choose.