Discovery Awaits the Mind That Pursues It
Why are categories so useful? When we think about things, especially when we try to understand why things are the way they are, we often try to put things into categories. We like to decide that certain elements fit categories A and B; we match certain processes to categories H…
I love a good mash-up, so let me ask you this: What do you get when you mash-up the ideas of two prolific female academics, one in social work and the other in theoretical physics? The answer is: my musings for this week’s post, which boils down to the phrase…
It’s tempting when we talk to others about our ideas to only want to share the good stuff. To only share the things we think are logical, sound reasonable, maybe only the things we think (or hope) will make us seem smart and focused. But this tendency to re-frame our…
Have you ever watched a movie or TV show, or read a book, where at the end of the story the main character saves the day by doing something unbelievable? By unbelievable I mean that they do something completely out of character. This kind of ending can leave a bad…
When someone asks you what you do for a living, how do you answer? Do you give your job title? Do you say what kinds of project(s) you are working on? Do you give your company name or name of the topic you work on? From researchers of all stripes,…
How to use the trial and error method to make a scientific discovery. I like moving, exploring new places, and visiting friends and family (for short manageable doses). I can put up with traveling for work. But one thing never ceases to annoy me: Whenever I take a shower…
Tell me if this sounds familiar to you: You have a lightbulb moment. A great idea you’ve never seen or heard before. It seems like it could really move things in an amazing new direction. You’re excited. No, SUPER excited. You deluge your friends and family with all the amazing,…
It’s that time of year when you suddenly realize that any goals, plans, or New Year’s Resolutions you have for 2019 already seem like a bad idea. I certainly have. I’ve been sick, I’m in the midst of a significant professional transition, and I still can’t even find the notebook…
Putting things into categories is helpful. Sometimes it lets you recognize shared commonalities between things that you didn’t notice before. Other times it gives you a mental shortcut to know how to interact with something—once you know its category, you’re more likely to know what it’s for and what to…
In December I plan to post a series of log entries dedicated to the use of analogies. These posts will be true “log” items, in the sense that they will journal my progress as I try to create a “recipe” for applying analogical thinking in a research physics context, in…