About Simulated Annealing

Simulated annealing is a statistical algorithm in computer science and applied math, used to approximate the globally optimal solution in large search spaces when time is a significant constraint. The term is based on the technique of annealing in metallurgy which alters a material to improve its physical properties.

I chose “simulated annealing” as the name for this newsletter because it’s a perfect representation of the subjects I want to explore—that is, the intersection between key technological concepts and corresponding real-world, physical phenomena. I have also written more than 4,000 words on how you can generalize the algorithm to be an effective framework for making life decisions.

If you like to read about technology, software engineering, creativity, and good books, this is the newsletter for you! You can also check out my writing on my blog.

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About Vivian 👋

By day, I am an engineer and product thinker. I am currently a software engineer at Meta building user experiences for the VR/MR platforms. Previously, I was Head of Engineering at an early-stage B2B SaaS startup and an iOS engineer at Pinterest.

I currently live in Oakland with my husband and our border collie, Knuckles. Before that, we lived abroad in Tokyo for a year.

I grew up in the hilarious and strange swamplands of Orlando, Florida. My childhood home left me with an enduring love of baby alligators, sweltering summers, and Disney World. You can read my analysis about Disney's data tracking or how to optimize your trip to Disney World.