Hi, I’m Shunyao.

An aspiring computer sorcerer.


I’m an undergraduate studying computer science and linguistics student at UNSW. Within computer science, my interest is in programming language research and any possible intersection it may have with natural languages.

I tried programming many times growing up, but had given up each time until, ironically, I became interested in hardware design from building redstone circuits in Minecraft. I think approaching digital computers from the most fundamental level is what hooked me, and I’ve wanted to study computer science ever since.

I became interested in programming language research after being exposed to the unique features of the Rust programming language, and Lisp dialects, namely ownership types and metaprogramming. To my mind, writing correct programs can become a painless experience with sufficient adoption of the products of programming language theory. I’m inspired by the following quote:

A computational process is indeed much like a sorcerer’s idea of a spirit. It cannot be seen or touched. It is not composed of matter at all. However, it is very real. It can perform intellectual work. It can answer questions. It can affect the world by disbursing money at a bank or by controlling a robot arm in a factory. The programs we use to conjure processes are like a sorcerer’s spells. They are carefully composed from symbolic expressions in arcane and esoteric programming languages that prescribe the tasks we want our processes to perform.
In effect, we conjure the spirits of the computer with our spells.
— Abelson and Sussman, Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (1996)

As for my interest in linguistics, I attribute it a few factors. I grew up in a Cantonese-speaking household, and was fortunate enough to study Japanese under excellent teachers in high school, so I have always held an appreciation for how languages differ. On top of that, I enjoy reading the legendarium of the J. R. R. Tolkien, who is well-known for having invented languages. One day, I should like to invent my own language.