Learning – Page 20 – ORGANIZING CREATIVITY

Hierarchy of Agreement

2014-04-07

I've adapted Graham's "Hierarchy of Disagreement" to evaluate different forms of agreement. After all, not all agreement is equal(ly good).
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Online Discussions

2014-04-06

There are some very good rules for online discussions -- esp. whether it really makes sense to discuss with this nut-job. Includes Rational Debating by JT (image to the left) and the Hierarchy of Disagreement by Paul Graham. Really good stuff to know.
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Why correcting student papers is a bad idea

2014-03-19

Yes, you should give feedback, but not how you usually correct a paper for publication. There are different -- better ways to give feedback.
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Both Purging and Keeping Your Study or Thesis Paper Notes

2014-03-17

An easy and lightweight way to deal with the amount of paper that accumulates during your studies. You can carry it in your pocket when you are finished. Seriously. Even handwritten notes.
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Discussing University Teaching With Colleagues: Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting or Quality Circle?

2014-03-14

Short comment whether courses for academics to improve teaching are AA meetings or quality circles.
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Using and abusing academic workshops

2014-03-03

Workshops and loyalty, esp. to supervisors if they are the problem you need help with. Also, sickness and ideology, but I repeat myself.
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“Teaching” at the university, or: I am neither a, nor your, private teacher

2014-02-28

Clearing up a misconception in university teaching. At least in Germany, the ones in front of the class are not teachers, nor are they rewarded for teaching. Making this and a few other issues clear is really helpful. I think it led to students still knowing they could ask me, but stop wasting time on irrelevancies.
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If you cut off the spine of a book to digitize it, keep your legs out of the way

2014-02-28

Mishaps are like knives, that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or the handle. James Russell Lowell Personally, […]

Being an Adult, or: Life is Not a Song

2014-02-17

Ah, princesses. Nice that Disney and other companies try to celebrate self-determined people, but shouldn't they be competent as well? Shouldn't they, I don't know, start learning or something after they have finished singing?
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Rooting for Google Glass DIYs

2014-02-05

Some comments on Google Glass, esp. the privacy and discretion issues around it. High potentials and high risks of false information go hand in hand.
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This is a private blog showing my opinions. If you have an issue with what I write here, either don’t read it or talk to me directly. Don’t waste your time — or mine — dragging my employer into matters where they hold no authority.

The institution I work for, or rather the people officially representing it, have already distanced themselves from this blog. I find this unnecessary, as I’ve clearly stated in the «About this Blog» section that this is a personal blog.

Frankly, I have nothing but contempt for those who lack the backbone to address their concerns directly and instead resort to passive-aggressive tattling to others. Such behavior strikes me as not only cowardly, but also spineless, gutless, and wholly unprincipled. Moreover, these efforts are as pathetic as they are futile.

That said, I might listen if you present compelling arguments and evidence, as constructive feedback is always welcome. Who knows? We might even both gain something valuable from the interaction.

A comment for those seeking to use this site for personal gain: Given the increase in requests, let me be clear. I write on this blog because I want to. It’s my hobby, my playground. Sometimes people point me to interesting products/services and I write about them. But any request regarding ads or sponsored placements ends up the trash without a reply. And if you think something would be of interest, differentiate yourself from the spammers by referring to a posting — in an intelligent way. (I get enough auto-generated mails to identify them immediately.)

BTW, posts can get updated after I published them if I spot spelling errors (not a native speaker) or think a different wording might improve precision and clarity.

This blog is not focused on a single topic, or method. As long as it is relevant to improving creativity (or allowing it in the first place), it's fair game.
Some postings on this blog deal with freedom, as I think that we need freedom of thought, of speech, of association, etc. pp. to solve mankind's problems. Thus, some postings may seem a bit remote when it comes to organizing creativity. Freedom is, however, the bedrock of creativity.
The heterogeneity of the postings can make reading this blog a bit cumbersome, at least if you are only interested in one topic. You can either use the search function (above), or use the categories or the tags to narrow down the postings you see.