If you treat the entropy gradient as a substrate for abstraction, you could force the network to organize itself around loss-minimizing states that are actually symbolic. Like, emergent symbols, but with a physical logic to them."
Marchetti smiles, and for the first time he seems genuinely interested. "You are very young to think this way. Who is your advisor?"
I pause. "I don't really have one. I'm just… I just read a lot. Jian helps me with math, but it's not official."
He laughs. "Typical American. But this is good. Keep working. I have a friend at Berkeley-he owes me a favor. Maybe you can spend a summer here. I will send your name."
We talk for another hour. He tells me about his first failed marriage, about how he published his first paper under a fake name because he was worried about his father finding out. I tell him about my mom, about how she still calls me every Sunday even though we barely speak the same language anymore. At the end, he says, "Stay hungry. But don't let the machine eat you. You have a rare mind, Alex."
When the call ends, I stare at the blank Zoom window for a full minute. Then I open a new document and start writing again, faster than ever. I don't know if I'm going to win, but I know that I'm not alone.