Hello, World!

My name’s Pieter. I’m currently a Senior at the University of Washington, where I’m studying Computer Science. After graduation, I’ll be joining Tableau in Palo Alto!

Books

Here’s some books I enjoyed reading over the last four years.

Fiction

Someone once said to me that they didn’t think there was anything to learn from fiction. I couldn’t disagree more, and have found that novels have fostered as much personal growth as nonfiction has professional.

  • Tortilla Flat - A subtle and slow (but short) story following a house of friends. How do humans give meaning to their lives and defeat boredom?
  • Our Sister Killjoy - I think this novel was written as a response to Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. What would the colonial narrative look like, inverted and through the eyes of an African student living in Europe?
  • The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - A hilarious series with the traditional subversion of tradition found in comedy. How do humans find happiness and confidence in a universe seemingly indifferent to their existence?
  • One hundred years of Solitude - A biblical allegory following the generations of a single family. What is human nature and what do we share with our ancestors?
  • The Lord of the Rings - Needing little introduction this work asks just about every “stone tower” question about human nature. How does greed manifest and appear in humans?

Non Fiction