PhD – Page 25 – ORGANIZING CREATIVITY

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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Updates on Reading and Writing Tips

2014-03-18

Looking back on my iPad hovering over my bed and a few tips on writing, including Hemingway App, Pomodoro, and the Goldberg Variations (image from Hemingway App).
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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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“… because woman.” Seriously?

2014-03-16

A rant about a common reaction -- esp. on Twitter -- when something bad happens to a woman, it is frequently attributed to the fact that she is a woman. And that's a pretty bad default strategy. Turned into an interesting -- I would not call is discussion, but reaction -- on Twitter, which strongly supported my view.
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Some Thoughts On The Long-Term Fallout Of Mobbing

2014-03-15

Looking back on an instance of mobbing that happened to me at work a couple of years ago. While it was fairly easy to convict that mobbing asshole, the really depressing part were people who knew what he was doing and still thought he was a good or okay guy. Pity, but some people ...
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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 an iPad as short-term backup

2014-03-07

A cool way to make quick backups if you use a Pomodoro app connected to your Mac, so what you have written survives a notebook crash.
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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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How to deal with keynote files that crash when you try to open them (movie conversion error)

2014-03-01

Apple has dumbed down Keynote, resulting in a possible error when you open a keynote file with a video. If this happens, there's a workaround. It's not pretty, but you get your slides back.
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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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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.