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# creative work

creative outlets are real builder credentials. they differentiate you from the "STEM robot" stereotype and teach communication skills that transfer to everything. the best builders I know are also musicians, writers, filmmakers, or artists — because creativity is creativity, regardless of medium.

## video production

### YouTube: Dumb Derivatives

I ran a YouTube channel called "Dumb Derivatives" where I made educational science/math videos:

- **RL intuition video** — submitted to Breakthrough Junior Challenge, placed top 40%. the production quality matters as much as the science in BJC. it's a video competition, not a research competition.
- **Manim mathematical induction video** — used 3Blue1Brown's Manim library for mathematical animations. learning Manim is a superpower for anyone who needs to explain math visually.
- **Pi estimation video** — Monte Carlo pi estimation, visualized
- **piano performances and ukulele covers** — music content, because why not
- **Pause launch video** — product launch videos are an underrated way to get users for the things you [[shipping-products|ship]]
- **Databox timelapse** — timelapse of building a [[hardware-projects|hardware project]] from start to finish. documenting the build process makes hardware projects 10x more shareable.

### Breakthrough Junior Challenge

the BJC is a global video competition for teens (ages 13-18) to explain a complex scientific idea in under 1:30. the winner gets a scholarship, their teacher gets $50,000, and their school gets a $100,000 science lab. deadline is usually late June.

I placed top 40%, which isn't a win — but making the video taught me science communication, video editing, and how to distill complex ideas into short formats. even if you don't win, the video lives on your YouTube channel forever as a portfolio piece.

### video production skills

tools I use: Premiere Pro, After Effects, Photoshop. these are industry-standard and free through many school licenses. DaVinci Resolve is a free alternative that's genuinely professional-grade.

project videos, demo recordings, launch trailers — video production skills make everything you build more visible. a 60-second demo video gets more engagement than a 2000-word blog post.

## music

music is the thing I do purely because I love it. it's not strategic, it's not for my resume — but it ends up mattering anyway.

- **piano:** self-taught, started 9th grade. being self-taught at something is its own kind of proof that you can learn independently.
- **ukulele:** self-taught, summer 2024
- **Ableton production:** original compositions — "Edge of Chaos," "Contemplation," "Changing All My Colors." music production is programming-adjacent (sequencing, signal processing, layering) and the creative process is identical to building software: start with a rough idea, iterate, refine.

music is worth mentioning because the [[anti-pipeline-manifesto|anti-pipeline]] explicitly values being genuinely interesting. admissions officers, mentors, investors — they all respond to people who have depth outside their main thing.

## writing

### Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

I submitted in December 2025. the categories cover everything: poetry, short story, novel, journalism, personal essay, humor, science fiction. if you write at all, submit — the regional → national pipeline is worth engaging with.

### other writing

- **literary magazine submissions** — school and external magazines
- **blog drafts** — "The End of Fragmented Software" and other essays. even unpublished writing sharpens your thinking.
- **essay writing as self-understanding** — writing about what you're building and why forces you to articulate things you only vaguely understood. some of the best writing I've done was never published — it was just for me.

## creative work as competition entries

creative work can be submitted to:
- Breakthrough Junior Challenge (video)
- Scholastic Writing Awards (writing)
- Congressional App Challenge (if the app has creative elements)
- film festivals (short films, documentaries)
- music competitions

the [[anti-pipeline-manifesto]] point: being genuinely interesting means having genuine interests — not just strategic extracurriculars. creative work that you do because you care about it reads as authentic because it is authentic.