miniMathemagenic

Aug 28
“You’re almost talking, almost walking, almost in college. Almost. It goes way too fast.” Baby Gear, Toys, Strollers, Nursery Furniture | One. | Spilling the Beans

Aug 20
“Finally my PhD journey is over - I’m a Dr. now! Happy, relieved and wondering what my post-PhD life will be. Fortunately, summer holidays are almost here and I intend to make the most out of them.” Mathemagenic — Lilia Efimova on personal productivity in knowledge-intensive environments, weblog research, knowledge management, PhD, serendipity and lack of work-life balance…

Jul 4

When I look what makes a company or country, it is ultimately its people. It is not only the leaders who define strategy and prescribe execution – it is all of us who actually execute and work towards the strategic goals. When things don’t go as planned (i.e., wrong) it is an easy excuse to point to the leaders – but in reality it is each and everyone of us – we’re all responsible. If we follow bad orders, act against common sense and good morals, we’re just as guilty as the people who issued these orders.

It comes down to civil courage, taking personal responsibility and accepting the risk of doing so. If my employees live up to these ideals, I know my organization will work better and be more effective, than if they were just to follow orders without reflection.

Leadership and Followership « A day in the life as the director of IBM’s Zurich Research Lab

Jun 30
“My dissertation is online and in print and the clock is ticking towards my PhD defense on 22 June. Happy and relieved, I am dealing with bits of post dissertation stress disorder and trying to figure out what my post-PhD life will be. Fortunately, summer holidays are almost here and I intend to make the most out of them.” Mathemagenic — Lilia Efimova on personal productivity in knowledge-intensive environments, weblog research, knowledge management, PhD, serendipity and lack of work-life balance…

Apr 1
“I prefer examples to theories, case studies to experiments. Given a choice between a rich, particular example and an elegant, general theory, I will take the example every time. I prefer the concreteness, depth and the specificity of examples – especially the ways in which they are entwined with their time, place and history. I am not suggesting that examples are some sort of pure, unmediated form of experience – to be powerful, an example needs to be unpacked. A skillful analyst can lift the example up, drawing out its ties to its contexts, revealing the processes that have shaped it, and thus connecting it to larger issues in a way that is broadly meaningful.” Knowing the Particulars, by Thomas Erickson

Mar 26
“Peter Donker at 16:54 on 26 March
In my experience it is like being in a ritual you don’t understand. Like you’ve been zapped to another part of the planet. And you’re in the middle of some mystique ceremony and you don’t understand the language or symbolism. You’re confident you’re not going to get eaten, but you just don’t know what surprise is coming up next …”
Facebook | Lilia Efimova

Mar 11

Picture an average American who decides to stop working at the age of 65. Got it? Now guess how many years he’ll have to enjoy his post-retirement before he passes away.

I’ve asked this to a bunch of friends and coworkers over the last two weeks. I’ve heard answers like “15-20 years” or at the very least, 10 years. But none of those is even close.

The actual answer? 18 months. 18 months! A year and a half! In a 2002 study on Boeing retirees, researchers found that those who worked til the age of 65 faced significant health problems as a result of putting their bodies under work-related stress for that long (basically forcing them into retirement). Not surprisingly, these workers passed away shortly after due to their health complications. According to the numbers, for every year a person worked past the age of 55, he/she died two years earlier.

Working Life

Jan 28

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Spoonflower

Jan 22

Knowing that I would share my dissertation publicly, I desperately wanted to create a perfect dissertation. Anyone who has been through this process knows how impossible that is. Everyone kept trying to reassure me by promising that no one ever reads a dissertation. (Often this was followed with a snarky remark of “not even your committee.”) Unfortunately, those folks haven’t met the blogosphere. (Or my committee.)

There was a huge part of me that wanted to hole up and not share this document with you, for fear of your criticism. This is not a perfect document. Not even close. There are holes in my argument structure, problems with my description, and loads of places where I can’t help but smack my forehead at my simplicity and lack of depth. With all of its imperfections, there is one very important thing about this document: it is done. And by the end of the process, I accepted the age-old PhD mantra: the only good dissertation is a done dissertation.

apophenia: Taken Out of Context — my PhD dissertation

Jan 17
“If change is happening on the outside faster than on the inside the end is in sight. Jack Welch” The Obvious?: More and more true by the day

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