Ben Birnbaum

Hi, I'm Ben.

I'm a software engineer and data scientist. I lead the Machine Learning Team at Flatiron Health. This website is for side projects (like Cortado) and random thoughts.

Latest Posts

When you might die

When you might die

As a side project, I built whenyoumightdie.com, a website that helps you visualize the uncertainty around when you might die. I built this not as a gratuitous exercise in morbidity, but rather as a way to remember that there's…

My favorite books of 2020

My favorite books of 2020

It was hard to find the time and headspace to do a lot of reading this year (for obvious reasons), but I did manage to read a few good books. Here are some of my favorites.

When you find out you’re the copycat

When you find out you’re the copycat

It was a rollercoaster of a week. It began when my side project, which I’d been quietly building for seven months, unexpectedly made it to the number two spot on Hacker News. It ended with me considering whether I should give up on the project completely.