The Global Files: From Indonesia, Neoprana Soemardjan ’24 names his Top 3 things about Quest, shares an unexpected fact about one of his many hometowns (hint: it’s not in Indonesia) and gives us a list of his Favourites.

Q: What are the Top 3 things about Quest?  

A: The course catalog, the interdisciplinary curriculum, the research opportunities, and the Block system. (Yes, I know that’s 4. I couldn’t choose one to throw out of the list!)

Q: What’s one thing you wish everybody knew about your hometown? 

A: I guess I’ll pick Singapore. (I moved around a lot throughout my childhood, so a choice had to be made.) One thing everyone should know about Singapore is that there is no human being that’s genetically from Singapore, since the first people to get there are actually from Kalimantan.

Q: How is remote learning going so far?  

A: Pretty well, actually! Aside from timezones and occasional blackouts, of course. But hey, those are out of our control, so there’s not much we can do about them. Other than that, pretty great!

Q: What’s the most interesting thing about Cornerstone? 

A: Definitely the level of depth we go into when it comes to the readings and the different ways they can be interpreted in order to learn something from them that, if I were to read them myself without this course, would not have been captured otherwise.

Q: Have you been able to make connections with other students at Quest? 

A: Not yet, but that’s on me. Socializing isn’t exactly one of my strong suits. I’m usually that one gremlin in the corner that watches people like they’re some kind of test subject.

Q: What subjects are you most interested in? Any idea what you want to explore?  

A: Moral philosophy, hands down. I’ve been very interested in the ethical and moral implications of advanced AI and brain-machine interfaces, and how they’ll shape future civilizations for a long while now, and I hope I’ll be able to make some related breakthroughs here at Quest at some point.

Q: Give us a rundown or your favourites! Band? 

A: I absolutely love songs that are have meaning, like the stuff made by Stephen, Tristam, and Unlike Pluto. Feels like there are way too many love songs out there!

Q: Favourite colour? 

A: Black has always felt like an interesting colour. Despite the whole edginess stereotype, it can be used to symbolize the unknown, the undiscovered, that which is a gold mine in the eyes of explorers, those who wish to extend the limits of our reality. Is that not the realm that researchers revel within? Is that not where many forms of novelty lie? Also, it looks great with neon colours, as demonstrated by Tron.

Q: Favourite activities? 

A: Painting and writing have been my go-to stress relievers. Video games and anime count too!

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