tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8212356.post8650804959322645822..comments2023-11-19T00:42:48.156-08:00Comments on balancing life: Trivial or wrong?Sunilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07776658071546232685noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8212356.post-18664597076785929002007-03-05T16:22:00.000-08:002007-03-05T16:22:00.000-08:00thanks for the link Srikanth. I'd seen it before,...thanks for the link Srikanth. I'd seen it before, but it was nice to read it again.Sunilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07776658071546232685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8212356.post-2919087986796235212007-02-28T06:21:00.000-08:002007-02-28T06:21:00.000-08:00Sunil,Probably you have seen this already, but you...Sunil,<BR/><BR/>Probably you have seen this already, but you may enjoy this speech:<BR/>http://www.paulgraham.com/hamming.htmlSrikanthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12537754576532835576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8212356.post-58169200033469757302007-02-23T06:18:00.000-08:002007-02-23T06:18:00.000-08:00Arunn......i still haven't been able to get a hold...Arunn......i still haven't been able to get a hold of the Santiago book (partly because I haven't bought a book in the past few months.....), but it still remains on my reading list.<BR/><BR/>Ashutosh.....yes, sometimes working on trivial things leads to bigger findings. But somehow, I don't know how one remains motivated making just small increments (if any at all). Still....someone's got to do it, otherwise too many holes remain. It's an interesting dilemma.Sunilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07776658071546232685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8212356.post-21216689551594112712007-02-22T09:50:00.000-08:002007-02-22T09:50:00.000-08:00Daniel Koshland (of the induced fit hypothesis) on...Daniel Koshland (of the induced fit hypothesis) once said that it is about equally hard to work on both big as well as "small" problems, and one is likely to make equal numbers of mistakes and waste equal time in both ventures. So why work on "small" problems at all?<BR/>On the other hand, it is the incremental knowledge gained by working on small problems, what physicist Freeman Dyson calls the "craftsmanship of science" that pushes science to the frontiers. Dyson makes an interesting distinction between eagles- which have a soaring worldview of everything, and frogs-which love to play around in the mud. He says that it's as much fun being a frog (which he says he is) as an eagle.Wavefunctionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14993805391653267639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8212356.post-28145385071455226042007-02-21T08:01:00.000-08:002007-02-21T08:01:00.000-08:00Of what use am i to science, if i remain a good sc...Of what use am i to science, if i remain a good scientist and solve problems that yield incremental results, thus allowing me to rust, er, rest in my "secure success"?<BR/><BR/>Of what use am i to me and the society, if i aspire to be a great scientist and try solving the most challenging problems that exist on that day and end up solving at least one of them but die of stress related peptic ulcer or worse, end up as an unsuccessful crackpot?<BR/><BR/>Of course, these questions are also rhetorical... ;)<BR/><BR/>BTW, if you get your hands on that Santiago book that was discussed here sometime back, read first the chapter titled Diseases of the Will. It will answer these rhetorical questions in a way...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8212356.post-76187277313721633182007-02-17T08:19:00.000-08:002007-02-17T08:19:00.000-08:00When you're buying a motorcycle you need to know a...When you're buying a motorcycle you need to know about bikes, but you also need to know about how to buy a bike, and that has nothing to do with engines and manufacturing. One important detail where a lot of people that purchase motorcycles go wrong is getting the right loan.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8212356.post-49714934530359812322007-02-17T07:12:00.000-08:002007-02-17T07:12:00.000-08:00heh.....yeah it was probably rhetorical (though pe...heh.....yeah it was probably rhetorical (though perhaps not existential angst) :-)<BR/><BR/>But it is a choice you often have to make....Sunilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07776658071546232685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8212356.post-28157985674297697402007-02-16T14:41:00.000-08:002007-02-16T14:41:00.000-08:00I was going to answer your question when I realize...I was going to answer your question when I realized that it is probably rhetorical, existential angst type thing...BTW Congrats on the nomination! MAy you rule the world.CuriousCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05892148471413222906noreply@blogger.com