If I Believe in You This Much
The watch, the timer, and the limits of love in The Last Five Years.
Read the essayHi, I’m Will.
I study computer science and mathematics at the University of Washington. My interests were previously in combinatorial optimization and probability; I’m now shifting toward empirical AI.
Writing
All writingExtended lecture notes
All six notesI sometimes expand lecture notes into a more systematic treatment, filling in proofs and connecting ideas. Here are a few of those notes.
PCA Without the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra
Proves the real spectral theorem using compactness and Lagrange multipliers, then develops SVD, optimal low-rank approximation, and PCA—without invoking the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra.
Spectral Clustering Through Courant–Fischer
Develops k-means and spectral clustering from an optimization viewpoint, with a proof of the symmetric-matrix Courant–Fischer theorem and a random-walk interpretation.
Ridge Regression and the Influence of a Single Point
Derives the Lagrange multiplier condition geometrically, connects constrained and penalized ridge regression, and uses Sherman–Morrison to derive Cook’s distance. Ends with autoregression.