About me

Hey there. Before we start, if you're looking for something formal and straight to the point, my CV is right over here. This is not a serious description of myself, it's more like a piece of art or a friendly conversation. Not something I'd necessarily give in an interview, so to say.

Still here? Neat. I like your spirit. I started this piece expecting it to be more of a chore than a challenge, but if the Kafka quote at the top of this page didn't give it away, I definitely have a tendency to embed art in unlikely places. It also just so happens that my specific brand of art has a certain fascination with good prose, symbolism and theatrics, so a normal description of myself was, I suppose, never truly an option.

Let's start from the bottom. Hi! I'm Sam. I'm an Italian student currently living in Trieste. I graduated in March 2026 in Physics and I am currently pursuing a master's degree in Data Science. If the sudden jump from one field to another seems odd to you, don't worry. It's not the first time it happens and it certainly won't be the last. I just work like that. I don't see it as "betrayal" of sorts, I am simply not one to stay in the same mental place for too long. Deep specialization is charming to see, but it is not for me. I am one to try everything and put it all together in ways you can't predict, making new from the old, seeking a sum greater than its parts and breaking barriers of convention to venture into the untamed wilds beyond. All on a long march towards polymathy.

Oops, I got carried away. Wouldn't be me if it didn't happen at least once per day. If you ever see me lost in thought (and believe me, if you ever meet me in person, you will), this is the kind of random musings that go on in there, especially if I'm listening to music.
I'll come clean and say that the original reason why I went down the road of physics has been lost to the ravages of time. I do not remember what force took me the day I walked out of high school with my diploma and had me stoically announce "Yes, this is my path. This is my future." It likely had something to do with being interested in the fundamental aspects of our world, and also because I like space. (Granted, these are still very true.) Indeed, it was not such a clear choice, for at that time the specter of philosophy was trying to pull me away from a physics bachelor's degree into a philosophy one. I never caved in to temptation, but it was a potent influence for the better part of the first year of my studies, one that has never quite left me. If this style of writing didn't make it clear enough, I find philosophizing to come quite natural to me.

What I can give you, reader dearest, is the current reason that drives me. Over the years spent staring at equations, code and art I have come to understand that the truest wonders of the world are not in the things we understand, but in the things between them. In the things that tie them together into a greater whole, a collective unity that is invisible yet foundational to much that we experience. If I had to compress the breadth of my interests into one word, it would likely be connection. Between fields, between people, between atoms, between ideas, between functions, between anything. The exact nature of the objects being analyzed is largely decorative: what matters is the mechanics of their bindings and their consequences. In less artistic terms, complex systems. It is emergent behavior, networks, complexity and, perhaps most of all, chaos that endlessly fascinate me, as well as the universality of complexity across fields as disparate as physics, sociology, computer science and so many more.

But enough of that: I do other things in life besides musing about chaos and writing overly grandiose About Me pages. I listen to music a lot, mostly alt rock, hard rock, synthwave, videogame soundtracks and some classical and jazz. Yes, it's an odd lineup, but there really are gems in there for those with the ears to hear them. By favorite band is Nothing but Thieves and my favorite songs, tied for first place, are Tomorrow is Closed (Nothing but Thieves) and Necessary Discrepancy (Daisuke Ishiwatari).
I play videogames, not so much anymore these days due to time constraints, but when I do, it's usually something mechanically challenging or strategic, and with lots of lore, exploration or a really memorable story. Bonus points if they're moody. I also like to keep an eye out for smaller indie titles; there's some incredible hidden gems out there. My favorite games are Dark Souls III, Breath of the Wild, Outer Wilds and Fire Emblem: Three Houses. I'd love to open up an indie videogame studio some day.

It is with these ideas in mind that it becomes easier to understand why I changed course for my master's degree no less than four times, starting from astrophysics, to its twin cosmology, further into complex systems physics and finally in the current domain of scientific computing. The last migration might appear odd: why move away from complex systems physics? It is really due to the universality I mentioned above. I wanted something that would allow me to have a broader picture of complexity and chaos across as many domains as possible, and computation and modeling seemed the right way to go. As long as it can be modeled on a computer, I can handle it. This versatility is more important to me than any particular specialization; I have come to accept that I can be almost as unpredictable as the phenomena I study, so I've learned to focus on what can be applied to the greatest breadth of applications as possible.

Besides videogames, tabletop RPGs have been a constant in my life for many years and I could not be happier. I am a GM for Pathfinder 2e and Fabula Ultima, though I've played other systems too (PF1e, D&D 5e, Daggerheart, Call of Cthulhu). They are such a wonderful way to express stories and they're where I put all of my writing time into nowadays. I even have my own setting called Antediluvia!

I also like to meet new people and help others do the same. I struggled a lot with loneliness and social anxiety throughout high school and early university and I don't think there's any reason why that should happen to anyone. Nowadays I run a student community specifically designed to help people meet new friends through frequent events and a laid-back environment.

I've also been doing creative writing since I was 15 and, while I don't sit down to write much anymore besides for my Pathfinder campaign and setting, it's still something I love doing.

I could go on, I suppose, but I have to end this somehow. Be nice, be yourself, pick up a random hobby and put down the phone more often. Have a good day (or whatever time of day you're reading this at)!