Work efficiency.

It has been quiet on here, so some random thoughts if you don’t mind.
Someone from this group asked me about work efficiency, citing that I publish
good papers, offered to help people freely, posted frequently on this page, and
yet still spend time with my children. He asked what’s my secret.
First, about posting on here, having a BlackBerry helps – a lot.
For most of my work, including writing and forming hypotheses, the limiting factor
and the most time consuming part is thinking. So, when I think about something, I
usually listen to music, drive around, work on my cars, or build something. When
I do these easy and enjoyable tasks, they relax my mind and help me think. So, I
would write, get stuck, and then work on something else while I think through the
blockades. I used to draw and paint when I think, but I don’t do that anymore.
Couple years ago my friends asked me the same question when I responded via
group-email to a question regarding personal relationships. I responded back and
forward as a series of fantastical short stories (someone compiled them into a
book). One of the group member asked how did I get the time to write all that (I
was actually rushing to finish a grant at that time). A close friend responded on
my behalf, “if you have it your mind, it doesn’t take long to write it out!” He was
right, and in fact that is my secret. That’s the answer to how I can write or do
many things in a short time. I think when I do something else and I have a picture
of things in my mind. Not a picture in the form of a story precompiled or a
research proposal planed out and temporarily held in my mind. It is more of a
framework or a picture of the things that I need to work on.
It’s probably hard to understand if you’re not used to thinking and remembering
things as pictures, so let’s get crazy a bit and try to see it for yourself.
A few posts ago, Son Nghiem posted a link to Tesla’s short biography, I loved it,
one thing that stood out for me was Tesla’s believe that there is a unifying law,
one law that describes everything that we see, do, feel, all physics, all sciences,
all natural phenomena. But he didn’t say what that law was. I bet that he knew
but was too difficult to explain or too revealing to explain his secret that gave rise
to his visions and inventions. That’s the kind of framework I am talking about, a
picture or concept of something that helps us understand or see problems clearly
(not necessarily correctly). I can’t work without such a picture in my mind. Even
when I work on easy things like taking an engine apart to replace the piston
rings. I would have a picture in my mind to anticipate what’s behind each part,
even when I had never seen that engine before. So, back to the universal law. I
have one of my own. The way I see it, my view of one law that governs the
universe, is nothing more than a boat in a pond. Yes, the one law that governs
everything in the universe is a boat in a pond, in my mind. Here’s the crazy part,
if you want to see it, close your eyes and clear your mind until it is completely
dark and empty. Imagine a pond in the middle of that emptiness. Nothing around
it, nothing below it, nothing above it, just a flat thin sheet of blue water. Now
place a small wooden boat in the middle of that pond, watch how the water
 ripples when you place the boat in the water, watch the waves move and
propagate to the edge of the pond, change direction and move back to the boat.
Watch how the boat oscillates up and down as the minima and maxima of the
waves pass under it. Now touch the edge of the pond with your figure, watch how
it produces a wave that interacts with the original one, how the boat moves
higher and lower than before sometimes, yet stationary some other times. Now
imagine all 10 fingers on various parts of the edge of the pond, then imagine an
infinite number of fingers on there. There you have it, that is my unifying law.
That is what helps me understand things and visualize abstract concepts. That’s
how I see the expansion of the universe, earth orbiting around the sun, sun
energy traveling to earth and captured into stored energy by plants, how
enzymes in our body catalyze the release of that energy, how chemical reactions
occur, how subatomic particles behave and interact, how a car moves when I
step on the gas pedal, how I hear when people speak, how I see your response
when you read these words. That’s what helps me do things quickly.
I have heard people said that geniuses think in pictures and have photographic
memory, but I believe that this is how everyone’s mind works. For example, if I
ask you to step away from your computer right now, and go to your favorite
grocery store. You would know quite precisely how long it would take you to get
there and you would likely get there within the timeframe you had expected.
That’s work efficiency. Efficiency that is a result of you having a map in your mind
that helped you see where to go and how long it would take. In effect, you had a
clear picture of your version of the ‘space and time continuum’ in your mind.
That’s photographic memory and picture-based thinking. Now imagine if you’re
asked to go to a newly opened grocery store that is half the distance of the one
that you just went to, you would likely take longer time despite a shorter distance,
because you do not have a map of that store in your mind.
Hope that it's at least entertaining, if not, I my apology for wasting your time.
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o
Quy Dong To This is an interesting post. I believe that doing many different
things can indeed improve the creativity. The simplest example is that you can
apply the idea of one field to another field (like Archimede found his law). A
non-trial example is when you do something completely different like listening
to music, watching films, go fishing or playing with your kids. In fact, you are
working efficiently. There is a theory that says that we have both conscious
and subconscious mind. Sometimes, your conscious is not efficient since it
 only focuses on one thing. When you give your conscious a break, your
subconscious start working on the subject. And your subconscious is even
more powerful, has access to a bigger picture, making connection and can do
creative thing.
Like · Reply · 11 September at 22:15 · Edited

o
Thanh N. Truong It is interesting to know there are others working with
similar modes of operation. When I really stuck on something, I tend to go
hiking alone. I use to visualize concepts, even layout of a paper, or a proposal
in my head before actually writing it. Sometime I feel guilty for doing
something else when I get stuck on something. I thought that if I just focus on
the problem I would be able to sove it quicker. Thanks for sharing your
thought Quyen Hoang!
Like · Reply · 11 September at 22:18

o
Hien Anh Nguyen What a coincidence! I mean the topic. My husband just
taught me a French proverb yesterday: "Ce que l'on conçoit bien s'énonce
clairement, et les mots pour le dire arrivent aisément", meaning: "What is well
conceived is clearly stated, and the words to say it come easily". Everything is
about conception. The more time you spend on it (thinking), the more
smoothly you present your idea.

However whether your thinking is efficient or not, whether you need 1 hour or
a year picturing the same problem, that is what distinguishes a leader and
followers. I once read an anecdote about Ngo Bao Chau (Chau Ngo) who
used to play chess only in his head. Obviously some can visualize/memorize
things and thus put things together into big picture more clearly/efficiently than
others.
Like · Reply · 12 September at 00:54

o
Van Ngo Another aspect besides what happens in minds, I think, is
discussion with your peers, your students and postdocs. I find ideas in the
mind usually incomplete, but discussion with some one else, even trying to
write them down to read them again in next few hours or few days (after doing
some things completely different) is useful for sharping ideas, strategies, and
proposals. Don't you think? Or does it [work efficiency and strategy] depend
on your professional experiences?
Like · Reply · 12 September at 02:07

o
 Quyen Hoang Absolutely, talking about ideas or problems is very helpful.
Like · Reply · 12 September at 04:07

o
Son Nghiem Thanks Quyen for the great post. Follow your advice I reply to
this post using my new BlackBerry Passport Silver Edition and plan to give my
iPhone 4S to my dad:). I like the hub and the ability to edit document, sign pdf.
Reading ebooks are also almost as good as on iPadh, which I also dont use
now. But it still can't replace a PC and the connection with PC is not good for
me. Android apps can run with limited functions.
Like · Reply · 12 September at 05:35

o
Quyen Hoang Have you gotten used to swiping words up from the key board
yet? I buy iPads and iPhones for my kids. My wife also has a red BlackBerry
Passport for her work.
Like · Reply · 1 · 12 September at 06:43

o
Son Nghiem Yes I like that ability to predict text but I disabled the autocorrect
with space bar as it's annoying