Hiya Jain
Hiya Jain

Hiya Jain

I grew up in Ahmedabad, India and now live in New York City where I am finishing up my undergrad at Barnard College, Columbia University. I study Neuroscience and History.

I mostly write about the history of science on my Substack: Mundane Beauty

Some of my more recent work includes:

Here are some things I want to write about (soon, preferably) — please reach out if you would like to collaborate with, or commission me on any of them!

I also write academically and much of my recent focus has been on the idea of Mathematical Aesthetics. Why do practitioners use beauty as a proxy for truth in mathematical proofs? Where did this tendency come from? And how does it impact our contemporary and general understanding of elegance?

Other stuff I have done in the last ~4 years:

For the past year, I have been working as a research assistant to Mark Mazower on his historical trade-book (Forthcoming; September 2025). Prior to that, I worked as a research assistant to Matthew Stanley on his long-form work in the history of science. The summer before that, I put-together an asynchronous, all-ages course on metacognition for Kubrio. And before all of it, I was fortunate enough to be able to stop-out (with support from Emergent Ventures) and take a gap semester in San Francisco.

I would love to chat (or grab coffee if you happen to be in New York) — please do reach out! I am very happy to get emails on hiya@mundane.beauty, or you can send me a DM on Twitter

What I am reading currently: Tuxedo Park : A Wall Street Tycoon and the Secret Palace of Science  by Jennet Conant

A writer’s open-notebook(an incomplete) Bookshelf