I love learning and teaching - it is truly my passion and what I view as the highest moral imperative. I have an honors B.S. in theoretical physics, theoretical mathematics, and astronomy and astrophysics; I also have a nontrivial amount of formal education in international affairs, political science, history, linguistics, computer programming, and several other topics. Totalled over various roles, I have been teaching and tutoring for a sum of five years (as of the end of 2016). My hobbies range over topics such as fun reading and being part of several fandoms (Harry Potter, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time, Kingkiller Chronicles, and several others), academic reading and history podcasting, conlanging (creating languages), camping/hiking, kayaking, Boy Scouts/Scouting, puzzle solving (blacksmith's puzzles, Rubik's solids, etc.), and playing with math. I got a message from a former client today in which she told me that I helped her son score within the top 99th percentile on SAT overall.