think_differently – Page 108 – ORGANIZING CREATIVITY

Delphi Pirates

2013-02-15

I'm not a fan of brainstorming (because it's stupid), but that's nothing compared to grassroots democracy (it's crippling). Perhaps for complex solutions, the Delphi method would be better. Also: Pirates.
[show the article]

Apple’s Unsolicited Idea Submission Policy

2013-02-13

If you submit an idea to Apple, you can kiss it good-bye. Really. That's how Apple treats your ideas ...
[show the article]

Writing a Book

2013-02-11

Four misconceptions about writing -- and things to do and use instead. Highly, highly recommended.
[show the article]

Keeping Up with Scientific Literature

2013-02-07

You don't have to go looking for journal articles -- just let them come to you. Automatically. Great way to keep an overview of what happens in your field.
[show the article]

Scientific / Academic Paper Writing Template

2013-02-05

Using a break book by Thomson & Kamler as basis, I created a nice template for planning scientific papers. Three pages of condensed information.
[show the article]

Improving University Teaching

2013-02-04

Thoughts on good teaching, how to support it, and why it matters.
[show the article]

Feedback Filter

2013-02-01

Given the vitriol you get when you work creatively, perhaps we need human filters for criticism. Keep the information but remove the acid.
[show the article]

Using TextWrangler’s Grep Function to tidy up GoodReader Notes

2013-01-17

If you export notes/highlighted text with GoodReader, it adds unnecessary information. You can remove this information easily with TextWrangler. Also works for other kinds of slightly variable information that you want to deal with.
[show the article]

Literature Recommendations for Scientific Writing

2013-01-17

Three very good books that cover different areas of scientific writing. I would strongly suggest reading all three before working in science.
[show the article]

Authorship of Scientific Articles

2013-01-17

A frequent source of anger: Who gets to be an author and in which order do they appear. Some answers.
[show the article]

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.