Episode Details

What happens when the life that looks successful on paper no longer feels like the life you want to live?

In this episode of Thought Atlas, I sit down with Katharina “Katie” Huang, an indie author and former machine learning data scientist whose experiences across Germany, the United States, and Taiwan shaped her curiosity about cultures, people, and the different ways we experience the world.

Katie spent much of her career working quantitatively as a data scientist in the tech industry. She enjoyed the technical side of the work, including coding and designing platforms and apps, but during COVID she found herself burned out by a work environment filled with constant messages, meetings, projects, and competing demands on her attention.

Eventually, she decided she needed to change.

Rather than simply moving into another corporate role, Katie chose to build something of her own. Her current company, Veg Out Voyage, uses puzzle games as a format for introducing people to different countries.

We explore why she chose puzzles and storytelling as a way of experiencing travel. Katie explains that while traditional travel guides are valuable resources, she wanted her books to focus not only on famous attractions but also on the ordinary people and everyday experiences that make up life in a country.

That includes everything from how people spend their days to practical details like transportation, weather, and navigating unfamiliar places.

For Katie, these ordinary moments can reveal social norms and give us another way to understand how people live.

We also talk about what it means to belong when you’ve grown up between different cultures. Katie explains that her sense of belonging has changed over the years, but she increasingly sees it as something we intentionally create. Rather than focusing only on the things we dislike about a place, she believes we can choose what we want to embrace.

The conversation then turns toward joy.

Katie reflects on how her understanding of happiness has changed. When she was younger, achievement and academic success could bring her immense joy. Today, happiness can be something much quieter: sitting in the backyard with her cat, drinking coffee, or simply doing nothing.

We also explore technology and artificial intelligence. Despite having worked in machine learning, Katie says she has concerns about AI, particularly around regulation, the environment, and data privacy. At the same time, she believes people should expose themselves to these tools so they can better understand both their potential and their problems.

Katie argues that technology can synthesize existing information in powerful ways, but humans still have a responsibility to create new directions and ideas.

Finally, we discuss what it means to intentionally design a life that fits who you are.

Katie’s advice is practical: if you’re considering leaving a career or changing direction, make sure you have enough savings to give yourself time to figure things out. But she also emphasizes something less practical and more personal—self-acceptance.

Accepting not only what you’re good at, but also what you’re not good at, can help you build a life that actually suits you.

And her final food for thought is beautifully simple:

Being flexible makes you happier.

Sometimes letting go creates space for opportunities you couldn’t have planned for.

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