Work
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Sleeping early without being judged
It is strange what we are willing to sacrifice to prove our worth as working people. In the metropolis, the ability to stay awake and keep going on empty, running on too many to count cups of coffee, to grind despite of extreme exhaustion, has become a marker of productivity. But in smaller cities, sleeping Read more
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Diving deeper
I had a dream I had a dream, and in it, my husband said we should find a pearl. But then, after some contemplation, he said, “Why not let’s look for an oyster, and perhaps we’d find more pearls than we could ever have than just by looking for THAT ONE PEARL.” We thought about Read more
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Finding the bridges
For two days, I’ve sat in conference halls listening to academics share their research findings—one presentation of data and models after another—and I can’t help but wonder how we can make our work pique others’ interest without losing them in all the jargon. Are academic conferences supposed to be technical all the time? Or can Read more
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Writing slower than AI
I might not be as fast as an AI would, but writing about something I care about feels rewarding. It reminds me of my humanity, of how, as a people, we thrive on stories. Some stories just take too long to write, like the ones that are piling up in my draft. But I would Read more
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The Creative Curve: How to Develop the Right Idea at the Right Time (by Allen Gannett)
For so long, I believed that creativity was this magical thing—like finding your muse, or something that flows through your bloodline. I recall moments when, as a kid, I sat and thought deeply, waiting for the ideas to come to me and help me write. Then I read The Creative Curve by Allen Gannett. He Read more