Mathematician Paul Halmos, from the Notices of the American Mathematical Society: I love to do research, I want to do research, I have to do research, and I
It seems we are programmed to alternate between mind-wandering and paying attention, and our minds are designed to wander whether we like it or not. In adapting to
Advice from Alain Connes (from the Princeton Companion to Mathematics) on being creative: Walks. One very sane exercise, when fighting with a very complicated problem (often involving computations),
From Ariana Huffington's Vassar commencement address: [In the past] Vassar students were given the emblem of an acorn to display on their doors when they did not wish
A good piece by sociologist of work Peter Fleming asking “ Why do people waste so much time at the office?" A few years ago a disturbing story appeared
From Giorgio Vasari, Lives of the Artists (1912 translation), pp. 96-97: [Leonardo da Vinci] also painted in Milan, for the Friars of S. Dominic, at S. Maria delle
Heidi Wachter sings the praises of doing nothing in Experience Life. In our always-busy culture, doing nothing carries a stigma — one that some people will do anything
Claire Cain Miller’s article about “The 24/7 Work Culture’s Toll on Families and Gender Equality” in The New York Times is fascinating, both for what it tells us about
I just ordered Michael Corballis’ new book, The Wandering Mind: What the Brain Does When You’re Not Looking, which obviously is very much in my wheelhouse these days. I
Santiago Ramón y Cajal's Advice for a Young Investigator (translated by Neely Swanson and Larry W. Swanson, and published by MIT Press) has some great stuff about research, rest, and