Siddhant Thapaliya
Project manager and civil engineer
Writing
Notes and essays on engineering, economics, books, society, and the things worth thinking about after work.
The global energy transition is no longer only about renewables; it is about resilience, infrastructure, finance, and whether Nepal can turn hydropower potential into a reliable power export economy.
A personal exploration of cosmic insignificance, nihilism, and existentialism that argues meaning can be created through responsibility, relationships, and work directed toward something valuable.
Written before Kathmandu's 2022 local election, this essay examines independent candidacy, generational frustration with Nepal's political establishment, and the democratic energy that gathered around Balen Shah.
Practical advice from remote construction-site life on maintaining physical health, protecting mental wellbeing, avoiding burnout, staying creative, sustaining relationships, and breaking a monotonous routine.
A first-hand critique of engineering education in Nepal, exploring how an exam-centred system can suppress curiosity, practical problem-solving, creativity, teamwork, and the desire to become an engineer.
A personal reflection on a passage attributed to Marcus Aurelius, mortality, and the idea that a continuing love of knowledge can guide a meaningful life amid uncertainty and change.
Beginning with a mountain experience in Pokhara, this essay uses Jonathan Haidt's hive-switch idea to explore why awe in nature can quiet self-interest and make people feel part of something larger.
A reading of Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt's How Democracies Die, focused on the warning signs citizens can use to recognize elected leaders who may undermine democratic institutions.
Using a simple bread-and-flour analogy, this essay argues that bankruptcy is a necessary market mechanism for moving scarce resources away from inefficient companies and toward better uses.
Written during the April 2020 market shock, this explainer uses supply, demand, futures contracts, storage constraints, and pandemic disruption to show how a U.S. crude-oil benchmark briefly fell below zero.