…comes to speak in our department this week.
Luis characterizes his research interest as “encouraging people to do work for free.” How strong is this encouragement? Does he inspire? Do people get addicted? Do they feel guilty if work is not done? Are these incentives ethical?
Tom Mitchell (father of machine learning) was here last week. I can’t complain.
Let’s see who e-mailed me today…
I am so popular!
Ah, the thrill of engineering! The thrill of building something new. The thrill of blinking lights and spinning wheels and running gerbils. The thrill of something you can show to friends, “See, isn’t this neat? I built this. Would you like to play with it? It is fun!” Yes, engineering has its appeal that reaches down to our medieval roots of making arrows and bows and building catapults. It is something fun and productive at the same time. It is the embodiment of enjoying what you do.
10 p.m. Cello concert. I jinxed the pancakes. 11 p.m. Pirrrate parrrty. “White Russian.” 2 a.m. Asymptotic bounds.
6 p.m. Discussion on nuclear weapons and international politics. Free pizza. 7 p.m. Photos of Cuba. My signature in guest book. 8 p.m. “Armitage Gone! Dance.” Dance number one. I am in tears. Dance number two. Wait, wait, don’t be over, I did not get it. 9 p.m. Jog and lift in gym. 10 p.m. Cello concert. Free pancakes. 11 p.m. Asymptotical bounds.
My humble home page at Dartmouth College.
Today I read “On the Art of Writing” by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch. My eyes opened wide every time I recognized my own silly mistakes. I recommend everyone to read the whole book, and pay special attention to Chapter 5 “On Jargon” and Chapter 12 “On Style.”
Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, “On the Art of Writing: Lectures Delivered in the University of Cambridge, 1913–1914,” Cambridge: University Press, 1916, Bartleby.com, 2000. www.bartleby.com/190/. 24 August 2008
Read awesome paper on overcoming writer’s block. The two principles I learned and successfully applied at work are: (1) allocate a bit of time every day for writing, and (2) separate writing and editing. The separation trick feels awkward at first but has great results. I highly recommend reading this paper to anyone who struggles writing anything longer than a paragraph.
