#126 - Notes on DeepSeek, Curry and Swift

Education Coffee is a 2xWeekly Newsletter on People, Ideas and Culture.

In each edition of this newsletter, I share five inspiring web resources that I have curated after hours of research to ensure that you have the best education coffee in your inbox. In upcoming editions, I will focus on sharing insights, notes and realizations that I gather from people, ideas, books, films and podcasts.

1. Learning from People

Wardell Stephen Curry II is an American professional basketball player and point guard for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. He is considered the greatest 3 point shooter of the game. This video explain what makes him so good as an athlete and why he excels at this crucial shot in the game of basketball.

Stephen Curry has buried 3,939 three-pointers in his career as per this website. This video breaks down the variety and technique he displays with this shot.

2. Learning from Ideas and Questions

I asked #DeepSeek how #ArtificialIntelligence will impact #Education? Here is the answer. Had lots of follow up questions but will share what I can for now. I am curious about how teachers and school leaders will adapt to these developments in the near future. I am more hopeful about its impact after using these tools myself as an educator. ArtificialIntelligence (AI) is poised to significantly transform Education and Learning by #personalizingexperiences, #enhancingaccessibility, and #improvingefficiency. Here are some key ways AI will impact education:

#PersonalizedLearning - AI can analyze students' strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles to provide customized content and pacing, ensuring each student learns at their optimal level.

#EnhancedAccessibility - AI can break down language barriers by providing real-time translation, making educational materials accessible to non-native speakers.

#EfficientAdministration - AI can automate the grading of assignments and exams, freeing up educators' time to focus on teaching and mentoring.

#IntelligentTutoringSystems - AI-powered tutors can provide round-the-clock assistance, offering help with homework, exam preparation, and concept clarification.

#DataDrivenInsights - AI can analyze vast amounts of data to identify trends and patterns, helping educators understand what teaching methods are most effective and where students may need additional support. By monitoring student performance, AI can flag potential issues early, allowing for timely intervention and support.

#VirtualandAugmentedReality - AI can enhance virtual and augmented reality experiences, providing immersive learning environments that make complex concepts easier to understand.

#LifelongLearningandUpskilling - AI can support lifelong learning by providing personalized recommendations for courses and resources based on individual career goals and interests.

#DataPrivacy: Protecting students' data and privacy is a significant concern that needs to be addressed as AI becomes more integrated into education.

In summary, AI has the potential to revolutionize education by making learning more personalized, accessible, and efficient. However, it is essential to address ethical considerations and ensure that AI is used to complement, rather than replace, the human elements of teaching and learning.

3. Learning from Books, Websites and Blog

Levels of the Game is a 1969 book by John McPhee, nominally about tennis and tennis players, but exploring deeper issues as well. You need to read this book because it is the profile of two great tennis players, historical account of grand slams and is a detailed break down of a professional tennis match. It helps you understand tennis but also teaches you about history, politics, economics, psychology, sociology and development.

I read this while watching the Australian Open in 2025. It was fun to watch five set games in the morning and then come and read this in the evenings. Mcphee does a great job explaining the background of the two players (Arthur Ashe and Clark Gaebner) and explaining the little details of the match they played at Forest Hills in 1968 (first US Open Championship).

By the end of the book you come to understand that so many different things affect the playing style of a player like:
1) Parenting Approach
2) Coaching Methods
3) Social Status of Family
4) Economic Status of Family
5) Access to Training Facilities
6) Sociology of the time
7) Politics of the time
8) Player's eating, sleeping and exercising habits
9) Player's mental approach and mental strength
10) Interaction with other player and their style

There is a small window of opportunity to become a world class tennis player. You have to start early, train extensively and play certain tournaments at the highest level possible. Ashe and Gaebner did that but they both went about it in very different ways depending on their background. Ashe was black and liberal and Graebner was white and conservative. Ashe's family was lower middle class and Graebner's family was upper class. Greabner believed in percentage play while Ashe believed in short moments of exuberance.

The outcome of the match was revealed by the end of the book. However you leave this book with a lot of empathy for the mind and journey of a professional tennis athlete. It is intense, disciplined and very demanding. Kudos to the players that have made it to the top and stayed there consistently for a long time. Kudos to Mcphee for documenting this story in such an engaging manner.

4. Learning from Films, Videos and Shows

I loved the 'The Mehta Boys' (2024). It was a stellar directorial debut by Boman Irani! It depicts an adult father - son relationship with such sensitivity and nuance.

Amay Mehta is a working architect living independently in a big city like Mumbai. His father, Mr. Mehta is a retired professional living in a small rural town. They are living independent lives and have grown distant over time. Life brings them together again when they Amay loses his mother and Mr. Mehta loses his wife. They both experience grief differently as they are at different stages in their life. But it is this common experience of grief that helps them see the other person more deeply and gives them the initiative to mend their struggling relationship.

This happens when they are forced to spend 2 days together in a Mumbai flat. In close proximity to each other they share meals and chores and slowly have difficult conversations about regrets and expectatIons they have of each other. At several points you feel like they will break into a fight. But the tension eventually bursts and they come out lighter by the end of it. They stop trying to change the other person and slowly come to accept them as different but beautiful in their own unique way. Grief does help you rethink and revaluate relationships in your life!

5. Learning from Podcasts and Music

In this episode the team from Acquired discuss Taylor Swift’s career as a song writer and musician. They throw light on her creative evolution and her battles with the music publishing business. I learned how music economics works in the world of streaming in this episode. Today we access music for free with ads. This has changed how musicians can make money in the long run. For instance singers make around $400 for a million streams of a song and a majority of the profits go to the record labels. This is very different from a world where musicians got a significant portion of the sales of a CD of their album. This was a problem for Swift and she fought many battles to represent musicians financial rights against labels and streaming platforms. This included re recording all her original albums and renaming them Taylor’s versions that she encouraged her fans to listen to worldwide.

Taylor Swift has released 11 original studio albums, 4 re-recorded albums, 5 extended plays (EPs), and 4 live albums in a 20 year career between 2006 to 2025. She has undertaken six concert tours, including the Eras Tour (2023–2024), the highest-grossing tour of all time. Her accolades include 14 Grammy Awards (including a record four Album of the Year wins) and a Primetime Emmy Award. This episode was a fascinating investigation of an artist and the music industry at the same time. Here is a brief synopsis of the episode.

Not only is Taylor Swift the biggest music artist of our generation by nearly every metric (it’s not even close!), with the re-recording of her original albums she’s in the process of reshaping the entire music industry in a way no band or artist ever has before. And oh yeah — she’s still *only thirty-two*. We dive into the incredible business story behind perhaps the new “last great American dynasty”… the TSwift empire.

Thank you for reading this edition of #EducationCoffee. I look forward to writing weekly editions of this newsletter this year. I hope to continue to share resources that will add value to your life. You can also review the archive of Education Coffee for free at this link (100+ newsletters here). You can email your thoughts, feedback or recommendations to abhishekashokshetty@gmail.com. I love connecting with other writers and learners on the Internet.

Abhishek