Hi, I am Sunaina Pati. I am currently in my third year of the BSc (Hons) Mathematics and Computer Science program at Chennai Mathematical Institute.

This site is my little archive of thought, a space where I share the things I learn with everyone :)

Contents

The (actual) about me

An intro to my journey through math and theoretical CS

  • I am currently reading about Algebraic Complexity theory, Coding theory, Algebraic Geometry and Galois Theory.
  • I was a math Olympiad enthusiast, and I still love thinking about Olympiad problems occasionally. I have discussed over 500 Olympiad problems (IMO, EGMO, RMM, INMO, etc.) on my old (and inactive) blog Sunaina thinks absurd, which has over 150k views.
  • I love teaching! I was a counsellor (Teaching Assistant) at PROMYS India 2024 and a student there in 2023(supported by Mehta Fellowship and Ramanujan Fellowship 2023). I have also lectured at multiple Olympiad camps (IMOTC, EGMOTC, INMOTC and STEMS) and TAed a few undergraduate courses.

Courses I have TAed/ TAing

  • Discrete Mathematics - Taught by Professors V. Arvind (2026 even semester)
  • Algebra 3 - Taught by Professor Clare D’Cruz (2025 odd semester)
  • Algebra 2 - Taught by Professor Clare D’Cruz (2025 even semester)
  • Discrete Mathematics - Taught by Professors V. Arvind and Professor Amit Kumar Sinhababu (2025 even semester)
  • Algebra 1 - Taught by Professor Aditya Karnataki (2024 odd semester)

Random non-academic things which probably shouldn’t be here

  • My MBTI type is ISTJ-T (currently, previously I was INTJ-T), and the Sorting Hat put me in Ravenclaw (though a few friends insist I should have been in Slytherin). And I also lie on the neurodivergent spectrum.
  • I enjoy solving jigsaw puzzles, preferably not single-colored ones (those are more shape sorting than fun!) and nonograms.
  • I love doing digital art. Check out my artwork page if you want to see some of my artworks! It takes me 3-4 months to complete one work ( that is because of the coursework and mandatory sleep I have to do).
  • I am very artistic in general. I love watercolours and oil painting. Recently, I have started Resin artwork. I also love visiting aesthetic cafés, restaurants, and art museums.
  • My favourite genres are Slice of Life and Thriller.
  • I am learning Korean (very slowly though).
  • I love listening to Metal, Prog and math rock (and sometimes K-pop). The bands I love are: Bad Omens, Pineapple Express, The Yellow Diary, Polyphia, aswekeepsearching and Plot in You. I started listening to K-pop in 2019 and have been keeping up with it since then.
  • My father linked my site in his, so I should do it as well :). He got me interested in Mathematics, so extremely grateful to him for that!