Discovery Awaits the Mind That Pursues It
Have you ever wondered why some scientists seem to generate research-worthy ideas on cue while others struggle to come up with just one? It’s as if they both went to the same game arcade, but the creative scientist has unlimited funds and a Japanese gacha machine, while the struggling…
Our days can be a stream of never-ending emotional busywork and social obligations. Meetings, emails, and time-sensitive demands from others fill our digital inboxes. Requests for help, guidance, feedback, and involvement overflow our emotional inbox. On top of all that we’re supposed to be able to achieve “flow”: a timeless,…
Scientific discovery stalls when you stay in one lane. Instead, use scientific creativity to expand your intellectual movement so you can reach the off-ramps where breakthroughs actually live. Researchers love tidy labels. Experimentalist. Astrophysicist. Theorist. Biologist. These labels feel safe, like guardrails that keep us from embarrassment or overreach.…
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…
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…
Marshmallows are exquisite probes of the human psyche. So, here’s a question: what relationship do marshmallows, tape, string, scientific discovery, and uncooked spaghetti all have in common? (And in case you’re wondering, this week’s feature photo is a bundle of uncooked spaghetti photographed from above.) The answer to the question…