Being a football player is not the diametrical opposite of being a football coach. Likewise, being a researcher doesn’t exclude the teaching role; more often, it entails a teaching role.
But it’s interesting to recognize also that being a player is quite different from being a coach. And what makes a good researcher is not necessarily what makes a good teacher.
Continue reading Players vs Coaches. Researchers vs Teachers
The life story of Perelman:
has left me with some realizations that I think you may find useful or otherwise thought-provoking.
If you don’t know about him, you can read my summary about Perelman story here.
Below are the main lessons I’ve learned:
Muhammad Ali is one of the greatest heavy boxers in the sport’s history.
It was told that in a conversation, the interviewer asked him: “How many sit-ups do you do?”
He answered “I don’t count my sit-ups”.
But he then elaborated:
“I only start counting when it starts hurting. When I feel pain, that’s when I start counting, because that’s when it really counts.”
That’s when it really counts: not the miles you’ve run or the work you’ve accomplished, but the extra miles, the extra hours, the extra work, the extra responsibility that you take, while others refuse or not motivated enough to do or take.
That’s what really matters. The extra miles, not the miles.
I’ve been hearing a lot about him through the news.
Now I know why he’s among the greatest athletes.
Grigory Perelman is:
Continue reading Perelman – The Math Genius Who rejected the Fields Prize
When we were a child, we grew up unconsciously – we neither resisted nor purposely accelerated the process (of course, our parents probably did the latter)
When we get older, growth now requires conscious efforts.
And this is probably the reason behind the widespread phenomenon: the older one gets, the more one resists change. Because as we get older, our ability to adapt naturally declines.
Change is a fundamental ingredient of growth. To fear change means to stop growing, to close our mind to a finer reality and to stop getting closer to truth.
Young people, by definition of the word ‘young’, are well equipped for growth.
But why so many of them decide not to grow, by not leaving any room for change?
In general, we seem to give a lot of credit to “free” stuffs.
This is obviously a mistake in our mind’s processing. Upon a closer examination, what’s important is the difference between the benefit and the price, not just the price:
Value (x) = Benefit (x) – Price (x).
Getting a free rotten tomato is not going to be valuable.
Paying 25$ to buy a book that boosts our morale or inspires us to think is indeed valuable.
No, it’s invaluable.
Free things usually cost us more in the end. Mostly because their benefits are negative. And sometimes because their actual price is > 0, which means it’s practically a loan, not a purchase.
Similarly, being cheap in terms of price is not what really matters, logically speaking. Value is.