Po-Shen Loh on Mathematics, Network Theory, and Anonymous Pandemic Control with Novid

The conversation with Po-Shen Loh, a distinguished mathematics professor and coach, explores his multifaceted intellectual journey, from marveling at human engineering feats like flight and architecture to his early forays into programming and competitive mathematics. Loh articulates a consistent attraction to challenge and the profound satisfaction derived from building solutions from the ground up, whether it's crafting early computer games or tackling complex mathematical problems. He highlights the importance of abstraction, collaboration, and the cumulative network of human knowledge in advancing civilization and improving quality of life.

A significant segment of the discussion is dedicated to Loh's groundbreaking work with Novid, an application designed for anonymous and privacy-preserving contact tracing during pandemics. He critically analyzes traditional disease control strategies, which often rely on involuntary isolation, arguing that such methods create detrimental feedback loops that conflict with fundamental human incentives. In contrast, Novid introduces a paradigm shift: it empowers individuals by providing them with anonymized information about their 'network distance' from an infection, enabling them to make autonomous, informed decisions to safeguard their health. This innovative approach harnesses principles from network theory and game theory to align individual self-interest with the broader objective of public health optimization.

Loh delves into the technical architecture of Novid, detailing its reliance on Bluetooth proximity detection between smartphones to dynamically map physical relationships without collecting GPS data or personal identifiers. This decentralized, anonymous system informs users of their proximity to the nearest known infection, thereby cultivating a positive feedback loop where the perceived threat of a disease directly amplifies the incentive for individuals to utilize the app and adjust their behavior. This model stands in stark contrast to centralized, authoritarian interventions, championing freedom and knowledge as foundational elements for effective societal response to crises.

Beyond his pandemic response efforts, Loh shares his distinctive teaching philosophy, which champions invention and discovery over mere memorization. He advocates for presenting students with challenging problems and guiding them through an improvisational, collaborative process of solution-finding, allowing them to actively participate in constructing proofs and concepts. This method reframes the inherent 'hardness' of mathematics from a daunting memory task into a deeply rewarding exercise in cognitive invention. The discussion ultimately underscores the transformative potential of applying rigorous mathematical thinking and efficient algorithmic design to address real-world challenges, from software development to global health emergencies, emphasizing solutions that are scalable, efficient, and uphold individual autonomy.

"it's incredible that humans are able to get into a box and fly in the air and and safely and land in the same it seems like and everybody's taking it for granted"

"how amazing it is with the high winds like structurally just the earthquakes and the vibrations I mean natural vibrations in the ground like how is this how are all of these you go like new york city all of these buildings standing"

"most of our lives most of the quality of life we have has to do with the the richness of that network of knowledge of that collaboration and then sort of the ability to build on top of it levels of abstractions"

"the hard part is telling the computer what to do and how to do it if you can master that asking the computer what to do then you could conceivably achieve more things"

"the math problems struck me as things which are hard and with significant amount of extra work I could figure it out and maybe they would actually even be useful like that mathematical skill is the core of lots of other things"

"I actually don't want to ever just tell somebody here's how you do something I actually prefer to say here's an interesting question I know you don't quite know how to do it do you have any ideas"

"the feedback control loop for controlling disease by asking people to be removed from society against their will was not working it was running against human incentives"

"the trivial idea was the distance between you and a disease is not measured in feet or seconds it's measured in terms of how many close physical relationships separate you like these six degrees of separation like linkedin simple idea what if we told everyone that"

"this is game theory right and effectively what we did is analogous to free market economy as opposed to central planning"

"if you just line up the set of incentives correctly so that people have in their purely selfish behavior are contributing to the optimization of the global function"