“I call architecture frozen music.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I spend the last week in Trondheim (Norway). Mostly project work, but also three days of vacation (sometimes it’s great to work in academia ). Among others, I visited the Nidarosdomen, “the biggest church of Northern Europe and the only major gothic cathedral in Norway” (according to WikiTravel).

I think that traveling can inspire you (some just bloody hate it), and personally, while visiting the church and looking at the magnificent windows, I found it very helpful to add music to the mix.

Many visitors of the church walked past the windows and did not use the time to — for example:

• find out what the artist did do,
• find out what the artist was aiming at,
• zoom into the details and zoom out,
• compare elements within a window,
• compare the elements between windows (I found that the two sides of the cathedral had very different but also very consistent color schemes), and
• take the time to really notice the details (you need minutes in front of a window before you notice the details like:
• the color gradients,
• the texture,
• the work with black as a contrast and the grey background of the walls, and
• the color schemes.

If you just walk through the church/cathedral you miss so much — not only regarding the windows. Masons drew the dirty end of the stick, their grey architecture pales in comparison to (and are reduced to the backdrop of) the windows that catch the light so beautifully and burn like emeralds. But their “grey” architecture is impressive on its own.

While photography can help you to learn how to see (you still have to do it yourself), music can really unlock the emotions you can feel in a place and help you to take the time to experience the building in another way. Let’s face it, most (Christian) churches are … oppressing. They are huge, awe-inspiring (of human architecture and design), but not exactly “happy” places. To quote Serendipity, a muse in “Dogma” (1999):

“I have issues with anyone who treats faith as a burden instead of a blessing. You people don’t celebrate your faith; you mourn it.”

But listening to Bach, Beethoven and Mozart (or any music that fits the time the church was build or the setting) — it suddenly fits. You can disconnect from the oppressing silence.

Standing in the middle the cathedral, looking at the windows and the pillars while listening to music, it becomes magical. With headphones you can put the music really loud (take care of your hearing) without disturbing anyone else who wants to “enjoy” the “the sacred silence of the ‘sacred’ place”. I mean, churches (and likewise museums) do not have to be these places of silence where everyone is afraid to make a sound or laugh. Some museums like one in Belém (Lisbon, Portugal) actually try to encourage visitors to enjoy the setting, encouraging them to …

Labels on a wall near the entrance of the "Berardo Collection Museum" in Belém, Lisbon, Portugal.

(“Talk”, “Flirt”, and “Ask questions” are relevant here). It’s unlikely that it ever happens in a Christian church (especially the “Ask questions” part), so music on headphones might be your only choice.

And it does not only work for churches or cathedrals — I found that Subway to Sally‘s “Grabrede” fits well to the crypt (of the cathedral), although you have to understand German to understand why, Queen‘s “We will rock you” did wonders when it came to the museum dealing with the bishop (who wanted power — the mint and the armory of the bishop were important parts of the museum), while Madonna‘s “Material Girl” worked well in the nearby Crown Jewel exhibition.

In short, I think that creating a playlist specific to the time period the place (museum, church, cathedral) or the intention of the people involved (power, freedom, etc.) can really help to experience it more intensively.

And if there are no audio guides doing it for you, use your own. Bring an music player and headphones.

Disclaimers/Notes

Where the idea (probably) did come from: I know about audio guides providing time specific music in museums, and I somehow thought about Norman “Stan” Stansfield in “Léon” (“who likens his killings to the works of Beethoven“) while standing in the cathedral, watched a Queen documentary the day before — hotels are the only places where I switch on the TV as I do not (want to) own one — and I didn’t have “Diamonds are a girls best friend” on my iPhone, so I settled for Madonna‘s “Material Girl”.

If visiting the church did get you down: If you have found the church to be too oppressing, then visit a shopping center/mall. They usually have places where you can look at the crowd (usually from above, as in the upper levels people are usually waiting their for friends or spouses to be done with their shopping). It’s a nice contrast to churches/cathedrals. I think with both you have pretty much covered what the human race is about.

There are two kinds of people – those who don’t do what they want to do so they write down in a diary about what they haven’t done and those who are too busy to write about it ‘cause they’re out doing it!
Benjamin Dingle, The More the Merrier

I’m currently in the still phase after a large project is finished. “Organizing Creativity” 2 is finished, the ePubs are available, so is a high-resolution PDF file (single pages instead of the spreads available here), and even the print versions are updated with the proof-read content (thank you, Damian ). So, I’ve finally the time to listen to my head and think about what I really want to do.

A while ago I thought that perhaps collecting some ideas/images/text snippets would be helpful, and given that I now own an iPad I was searching for a good Scrapbook App. Unfortunately, I found none. I tested:

• DukePen
• Bamboo Paper
• Noteshelf
• Penultimate
• TapnScrap HD
• Scrapbook

but they all were lacking something. I wanted something where I can easily import and format photos, add notes, rearrange stuff, even revisit pages and change the content, add handwriting, etc. pp. Most of the apps have some nice ideas, like a freely scalable area where input is not registered (for putting down your hand), nice pens, backgrounds, etc., but they were all lacking something essential.

Then it hit me, I already had the perfect Scrapbook App on my iPad — Keynote.

Think about it. Creating a Scrapbook page is very much like creating a slide for a presentation. You add text boxes, images, rearrange them, etc. pp. Even the default page format (landscape) is typically scrapbook. I used a template I use for all my (private) presentations, based on the Leather Book template (cover) but with “book pages” (essentially a gradient at the left side of the page which makes it look like a book page).

You can easily add images, give them frames (including some nice ones), add text boxes, rearrange stuff even after you have “finished” a slide, and much, much more. You can even export it and have it available on your Mac, where you can “print” it as PDF.

The only drawback is that Keynote wants you to activate location services when you want to import images (really, really stupid move, Apple), but you can bypass this by viewing the photo in Photos, press and hold, selecting “Copy”, and then simply pasting the photo in Keynote. For handwriting use an App like procreate, export the image to Photos, crop it, and copy & paste it in Keynote.

Works like a charm.

Anything free is worth what you pay for it.
Excerpt from the Notebooks of Lazarus Long in “Time Enough For Love” by Robert A. Heinlein

I have just finished creating the ePub version of “Organizing Creativity”. The quality is different to the PDF version available here, because with an eBook reader and its variable font and display sizes, it is impossible to format it like a normal book. Instead the text floats according to the available space. As tables do not work (well), I have replaced them with bullet point list. It is readable (I think), but not beautiful.

So, I have not only created ePub versions available on Lulu and CreateSpace/Amazon, but also created an eBook PDF. If you have anything close to an iPad, use the PDF.The quality is great and in contrast to the version available here for “free” (donation ware), it’s not exported as spreads but as one page version (meaning your can easily read it in full color on an iPad or similar device).

PDF Version

(formatted like a normal book, looks beautiful)

ePub Version

(only use this version if you have a small display, it was made for readability, but not for aesthetics)

Print Versions

(note that colors prints are really expensive, while black and white version just does not look … nice)

“It is only fitting then that I acknowledge the rich and sustaining network of friends and colleagues who have enhanced the writing of this book. Over the course of a year at the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin I spent many pleasurable hours discussing Lucretius with the late Bernard Williams, whose marvelous intelligence illuminated everything that it touched. And some years later at the same wonderful Berlin institution I participated in an extraordinary Lucretius reading group that gave me the critical impetus I needed. Generously guided by two philosophers, Christoph Horn and Christof Rapp, the group. which included Horst Bredekamp, Susan James, Reinhard Meyer-Kalkus, Quentin Skinner, and Ramie Targoff, along with more occasional visitors, worked its way with exemplary care and contentiousness through the poem.”
“The Swerve” by Stephen Greenblatt

I just finished reading “The Swerve” by Stephen Greenblatt and the text above in the Acknowledgements section struck me. It shows what a research community/work group should be like — it should help you create beautiful and great works.

But what if you do not have such support?

You can be angry of not having (had) the support and feel betrayed about your scientific qualification (to quote Dimitri “Jimmie” Viner, in discussions with his flight test engineers: “Son, where did you go to school? If I were you, I’d write them and get my fucking money back.”), or you can either search for or create this support.

As a character in a Sandman comic (“graphic novel”) by Neil Gaiman said: “I think maybe hell is a place. But you don’t have to stay anywhere forever.” or to put it in another way: The devil you know is still a devil, sapping your energy and sense of purpose.

Don’t waste your life in an environment that works against you, after all, this life is all you got. Find out what you want to achieve and actively search for the environment to achieve these goals.

Every good scientist is half B. F. Skinner and half P. T. Barnum.
Principal Skinner, on Bart’s project, “Duffless”

I recently got an eMail asking for remarks about conference posters (“I was wondering whether you had any thoughts collected (I couldn’t find this on your site) regarding some of the more generic parts of this – fonts, general color ideas, etc. If not, I think this might make for a really useful post, especially for people like me who are new to poster-making.”). So far I only did two, but both were very well received. Actually I cannot say much about colors schemes or fonts (the first poster was limited to the corporate design of the institute I work for, the second one just “felt right”), but looking back at the posters I have done or seen, I think the following issues are relevant:

• The goal of the poster is to assist you in shortly presenting your research topic
  Note that a poster is not an article and should not be “written” (or rather: designed) this way. I should make your topic alive. It can provide you with images, graphs, definitions, results, etc. when you explain the topic. It’s like an elevator pitch with help (meeting the CEO in the elevator, you have ten seconds to explain what you work on and why it is important).
• Focus on the central message
  As you do not have the space and time to describe your project fully, focus on the really new aspect, the central message you want to convey. If you are uncomfortable with simplifying the message too much, refer to an article available on request for more information. And never add too much text. Keep it short, otherwise people will walk by.
• Make it remarkable
  Your poster will likely be one of many posters, so think of something that makes your poster remarkable (to use Seth Godin’s words: “worth making a remark about”. Take care that it relates to the topic. As some musicians once said: “If it was attention I wanted, I’d run through the streets naked.” So think how you can make the topic easily accessible, interesting, and surprising for the visitors.
• Design matters
  While most journals foster austere design, a poster offers you more latitude to make your work appealing to the eye. Don’t use the graphics from the method section of your work, create new ones. Take care to avoid the confusing stuff (e.g., using 3D graphics for 2D-data) or boring images (e.g., any cliparts of software packages). Think how you can make the topic accessible. Be bold in design.
• Convey a professional image
  This said, take care that you come across as professional. Meeting you for the first time on a conference, a fellow scientist has little to evaluate whether your work is genuine or not. Be professional to help create that initial trust.
• Facilitate conversation: at the poster
  When standing before the poster a fellow scientist should easily get more information — from you. This means that you should be easily recognizable. For example, put photos of the authors on the poster (a current photo!) and highlight who will be at the conference in front of the poster. Smile when someone looks at your poster, let them read it and once they have finished, find out who they are and why they were interested in the topic. Ask whether they have further questions or comments. Posters are bad for in-depth information, but very good for making contact and networking.
• Facilitate conversation: during the conference
  If the posters are available for some time, make sure that there is not only a photo of you, but also some ways to contact you. For example, your Twitter name or your eMail address. Write that you would love to talk about the topic during the conference and use this opportunity if someone contacts you. Even if nobody does this, you signal that you are open for discussion.
• Facilitate conversation: after the conference
  Contact people who wanted more information after the conference and inquire about their lines of research. Even if they themselves might offer no contribution, if they know about your project they can mention it to their colleagues.

And of course, use the poster sessions at conferences yourself to talk to other researchers. Find out what they are working on and use the opportunity to network. It’s not everything, but it can be very useful.

BTW, if you look at the last poster I did “How to Organize Your Creativity?“, it is rather untypical. It contains a lot of text. On the other hand, the structure makes the core ideas easily understandable, each part is self-contained and can be read quickly, there are comments that add humor and clarification, and the format beautifully fit the audience and the setting. It was presented at a conference of a student organization related to Mensa, most of the members of that student organization love complex information, and it was displayed for multiple days (giving everyone opportunity to read it at their leisure). So be careful with general guidelines for posters and consider your audience. The audience determines what your poster should show — and how.

“Once I thought I was wrong, but I was mistaken.”
Unknown

A short while after I made the second version of “Organizing Creativity” available, Dylan Damian contacted me and offered to proof-read the book. It was a nice moment — people have called me strange (or stupid) for offering something  for free I worked on for months (years, actually), but I believe that when something is useful and you burn for it, you should make it available. And given that I never intended to earn money with it, why not offer it in a donationware format. If you like it, you pay what you like, if you do not like it, you should not pay for it.

But frankly, I would have never thought that someone would offer to proofread what I have written and send me the corrections. I did this for 22 essays two weeks ago, I know how much work it is. So I would like to say:

Thank you very much Dylan for your proof-reading.

BTW, the paperback-color print version of the uncorrected book arrived today. I will set up a new version (proof-read, version 2-2) and make it available in a few days. Still, it will take awhile until it is available. And I am still working on the ePub book (I have formatted it anew by changing the tables to bullet points, but the within book links will take a while).

Until this is done, have fun with the corrected PDF version.

Constraints by xkcd (Randall Munroe)

It’s a strange feeling when you enter the office of a colleague and you see pages of your own book printed out on the desk. Now, at least two co-workers have printed out (parts of) the book.

And exactly three weeks after making it available at least 120 people have downloaded the book, I’ve gotten some very nice and positive feedback, and — and this still blows my mind — one reader (Dylan) has offered to proof-read the book.

And while the print versions are available at amazon.com, I’m waiting until I have corrected the print versions before I link them here. The (way to expensive) full-color hard-cover version from Lulu did also arrive and it looks … stunning, but for the moment, the book as PDF version is freely available (donationware) is enough.

Yuppa — and thank you all very much for the positive feedback.

“Let’s put it on the Internet!”
“No, we have to reach people whose opinions actually matter.”
Unknown

I should probably write this in my Ark of Ideas Blog (the last posting was ages ago), but it is closely related to this blog.

I’m currently thinking about programming a task management app. On the one hand, I think this is a very bad idea, not only because this Dilbert comic and this one both have a point, but also because my programming skills are mediocre (I’m a psychologist, not a programmer).

On the other hand, I think that most task management programs are lacking in one respect: The show what you have to do, but not what you have ToDo Today.

Personally, I love OmniFocus, but the (probably) best app for me would look slightly different. The main screen would be a “ToDo Today” screen, tightly integrated with the calendar:

Features

The App would have the following features:

• A very good sync feature with an easily available sync button.
• You have the usual tables with projects and deadlines, etc.
• A Gantt Chart like view (timeline view) of all the projects themselves (high level goals, not really the tasks itself). Also has alarms and shows where progress is lacking.
• Each task is assigned to one project.
• A daily ritual view (idea from idea from asianefficiency.com) which shows you your goals for the month and the year, the appointments today (calendar), the things you wait for, the inbox, and asks you to select the most important tasks that you can do today. This is shown once each day — not as a recurring task.

ToDo Today View

What makes the App different is a ToDo Today view.

• Each task on the ToDo Today screen has two buttons not normally found in a task management App:
• move to tomorrow (idea from the “Do it tomorrow” app) or move to next work day (depending on whether this is a private or work task, manual override possible)
• return task to project (if you realize cannot do it today, you can put it back where it belongs)
• Tasks that are done are removed/crossed out in the project and ToDo Today view, but they stay there until you hit clear (moved to the end of the list). Reason being that I find it demotivating never to see the tasks I did do and only see the remaining tasks of a given day.
• Easy resorting of tasks.
• Tasks not done after the end of the day (trigger starts at midnight or time manually set, if no input is done for two hours it counts as end of the day, calendar appointments override this setting) are automatically put back into the projects.
• Switch selecting between private and work tasks (projects are tagged either as private or work, all tasks inherit this tag).

Additional Features

There should also be additional features in the App:

• Reminders, e.g., to do the worst tasks first, only use tasks that can be done within a day, only use specific tasks, etc.
• Pseudo-intelligence that recognizes when tasks were not done repeatedly and asks whether they should be removed from ToDo Today or whether they should be deleted.
• Pseudo-intelligence warns when you have not completed all tasks for the day repeatedly and asks you to select fewer tasks.
• Tasks can become active at a given time and be moved to the ToDo Today view. Quick selection of the day via a calendar view and time via a slider (the selector normally used is way to tedious).
• Someday/maybe list with requesting review after x days/months/years.
• What did I do? Overview — shows either chronologically or on project basis what was done when.

Game on!

Regarding the style, there is this nice idea of the “EpicWin” todo app — why shouldn’t there be some game characteristics involved in a task management App? I wouldn’t make a role-playing game out of it, but nice sounds (think Star Trek), Avatars (think the characters of “Ghost in the Shell”) — could be nice. Some default texts and modules you can add to. Your virtual secretary reacting on how well you do your tasks (getting angry if you do not do most tasks, becoming more professional if you do more work tasks than private tasks, becoming more relaxed if you do more private tasks than work tasks — or vice versa; btw, Apple, I’m still waiting on my Knowledge Navigator), etc. pp. There are many ways to make the app more … pleasurable and less like a bad conscience (most of all to actually do the tasks and enjoy being effective, after all, it does not matter that much how you organize your task, just that you do it and the tasks continuously).

So, what now?

I am not sure what to do next — either find out whether I can maintain this workflow with OmniFocus, or program my own task management App … hmm, or find someone who wants to program it …