tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6017723809730412141.post1477958225176774839..comments2022-04-03T16:22:14.140-07:00Comments on Things people say: Should I be a fox or a hedgehog?Shravan Vasishthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13453158922142934436noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6017723809730412141.post-32086289856372804422013-03-12T14:53:51.535-07:002013-03-12T14:53:51.535-07:00Hey Ashleigh, good to hear from you. I am a great ...Hey Ashleigh, good to hear from you. I am a great fan of Feynman. I watch and re-watch his video interviews with the BBC and his lectures in Cornell for inspiration. When I saw Feynman teaching his gravitation lecture in Cornell, the thing that struck me was that he was producing beautifully structured sentences without an um or a uh, and just going through it like he had a teleprompter in front of him. I have seen a similar thing in Gilbert Strang's lectures on calculus and matrix algebra (MIT Open Courseware). These people are my heroes and I aspire to their level of greatness, if only in teaching.<br /><br />So, I wrote this blog entry in 2007. It is 2013 now. Five years have passed, and despite the berating of many people, I stayed on course. I kept doing different things; I was actually explicitly following Feynman's advice to hold 12 open problems in your head all the time. Every time you find a solution to one thing, try to apply it to the other 11. This method works as a random search for answers. This is probably not the only way to go, but it is one way, and it is effective.<br /><br />I think my strategy has paid off so far. At least, I have maximized the likelihood of serious fun so far. Although I must say, even if it hadn't paid off, I would still do the same thing because I'm not built for narrow focus. Shravan Vasishthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13453158922142934436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6017723809730412141.post-32935656767010775382012-12-31T23:11:27.827-08:002012-12-31T23:11:27.827-08:00You should go read about Richard Feynmann. He was ...You should go read about Richard Feynmann. He was a physicist, who did all sorts of other things. Because they were interesting.<br /><br />I spent a long time with bosses telling me that I could remain technical or go into management but not do both.<br /><br />I ended up being a co-manager of a group of 30 people (one of 3 joint managers of the group). I had about 17 people reporting to me with a very loose structure. I spent 50% of my time doing technical work. This all worked, we go a huge lot done. Very people resigned, it was interesting and challenging. We all had fun.<br /><br />There are many people out there who are convinced that what works for a majority must therefore work for all. Ignore them.Ashleighnoreply@blogger.com