About Me

Econometrics has caught my attention: one of the best things that I have ever seen. Engineering courses on Machine Learning and Data Science tend to trivialise the elegant and rigorous statistical theory behind inference and prediction to the ground in my opinion. Over the summer, I have come to a better understanding of what it means to see data: many of us think data are objective, which in my opinion is not completely correct. Data are a singular source of information, but the way an empiricist chooses to see data by themselves is by definition, subjective. Essentially, it has been assumed traditionally that the data by themselves, without any deeper understanding of the system they reflect information about have nothing much to say. Charles Manski, one of the best academics and mathematicians I have come across begged to differ way back. His opinion: economists waste quite a lot of time debating what is the correct interpretation of the data by debating about the veracity and definiteness about their own assumptions about the process that generated the data. In order to build a consensus, look at the bare data, let it tell it's own story about what it reflects, however inadequate. This leads to a universally acceptable area of solutions/inferences and at least helps in establishing areas of agreeability amongst empiricists which can further be narrowed by credible assumptions and such. This is a small part of what is called partial identification. 

Since I am new to Economics, I don't think I have taken in the nuances of the things that I would like to do in the future vis-a-vis research. However, I think that research is a process that brings the best out of me and I thoroughly enjoy doing stuff that doesn't make sense all the time and suddenly something strikes and then I think I am stupid not to have seen something that obvious, staring at my face like a reflection in the mirror.

However, I think if I ever do anything nice in Economics, it would be related to Math, because I THINK an equation can say what all the words put together in this universe can't. I think you can essentially touch and feel the abstract if you can play around math, if you can get the feel of what it means to solve an equation, if you know what it means to divide, multiply or even add something to something. Computer Science is the closest I have been to applying math and believe me. coding is something everyone can do; visionaries do something that everyone can't do. 

 Nonetheless, if you want to see and understand what I have worked on, you can get a brief idea here. (Pardon me for the use of a text file :P)!!

You can have a look at my thesis with Dr. Neeldhara Misra @IITGN here.