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December 2, 2025

Issue 12 of 2078

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Culture

When suggesting games to friends, I’ll often get a response along the lines of “Oh, I’m not good at games.” This statement can be a bit confusing in that it is so general. What does it mean to be “good at games?” There are definitely types of games one might not be good at, for example I suck at shooters, but I find it hard to believe that one can be bad at all games. I think it comes from a common misconception of video games among non-gamers that all video games are based around combat or some

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Culture

Many talented artists have existed throughout history; these people—Van Gogh, Da Vinci, DeVito, etc. —have a special connection to their craft, every creation advancing the world of art one stroke at a time. Presently, people can only observe their works in museums and exhibits, but never witness their creation. However, as I learned this summer, these masters of art still walk among us. Hidden Master It’s a hot Singapore day ( 91.4°F, 80% humidity) and I came across a reel about an elde

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Inner Voices

There will always be that strange feeling—the fear of not belonging, the sense that everything I do is so tiny, so fragile and transient that nothing will remain. That maybe all of it is fiction, and one day I’ll wake up and realize this exhaustion inside me, this fear and uncertainty, were never real—just the product of my imagination. I will wake up in my little room on the fifth floor of a concrete building, stained by rain and time, its renovation work postponed for years, in the perfect It

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Inner Voices

The November air was 50 degrees when we lined up outside the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. I adjusted my layers—comfortable but warm, as the email instructed—and felt my heart racing. It had been so long since I’d heard Italian sung like this. I’m from Verona. Yes, that Verona—Romeo and Juliet’s city, but more importantly to me, the city of opera. The Verona Arena has been the world’s largest open-air opera venue since 1913, hosting performances under the stars in an ancient Roman amphitheater for

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Column

On Sunday, Nov. 9, Caltech hosted its inaugural campus bird walk with the Pasadena Audubon Society (PAS), a local nonprofit dedicated to birding and bird conservation. Although birding on campus has long been a cherished tradition—including the weekly bird walks led by Dr. Alan C. Cummings since 1986 (more on that in a future issue)—this was the first time the event was organized as an official PAS field trip, opening Caltech’s habitats to many local birders beyond the campus community. The tri

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Culture

Gold has captivated humanity for millennia. In 1848, the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in the Sierra Nevada foothills initiated one of the largest migrations in U.S. history and left a lasting impact on the environment. In artistic expression, gold also plays an important role. Beyond mines and the economy, what different stories does gold tell when encountered in art? When Associate Curator Maggie Bell and Assistant Curator Lakshika Senarath Gamage began combing through the gold objects o

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Inner Voices

I Don’t Know How to Explain What Wicked Did to Me I’m sitting here three days later, and I still can’t get it out of my head. The movie, I mean. Wicked. I went because everyone was going and I needed a break from studying for finals and maybe because I was curious about all the hype but I wasn’t expecting… this. I wasn’t expecting to leave the theater feeling like someone had reached into my chest and rearranged everything. I can’t quite explain it properly. It’s like when you’re loo

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