The role of conferences

We are striving to better understand the world and ourselves and the interaction between the two. Academia provides one of the venues for constructing collective knowledge in a consistent and sustainable manner, with senior researchers orienting and helping the juniors and with exchanges among peers.

Academic conferences are instrumental in sharing and building knowledge, as well as nurturing the next generations of researchers.Researchers in a discipline are friends with shared interests, working towards their common goals. They “speak a language” that is unique to the discipline; they act on both stated and unstated rules and expect one another to abide by those rules; and eventually they form and develop their own subculture (discourse community) to pursue scholarship.

A Rejection Is a Doze of Immunization

Everyone needs emotional support or psychological help from friends,family, and colleagues. At times when that support is not available in a timely manner,I need to help myself.

As far as I am concerned, sometimes a new rejection can reduce the impacts of the previous one because I view a rejection as a doze of immunisation (maybe I am just weired :-)). Once I get used to rejections, I will be immune to them and be surprised to get acceptance.For instance, when I apply for a grant, my hope is 75%. After I get rejected,I adjust my hope to be 50% and apply for another grant. When that attempt fails, I adjust my hope to be 25% and apply for a third one. If that does not work,I will hold no hope with the subsequent attempts (actually that emotional state might work positively).When I think my chances are slim, it does not bother me any more when I keep trying.That way when acceptance occurs, it will be an unexpected bonus.

Now I am better at handling failures than before.It takes from a few minutes to a few days for me to dismiss the frustration resulted from a rejection. I knew that I will never be invincible because I lack that capability.Furthermore, if I were invincible, I would fear that I would be vulnerable to setbacks and failures due to insufficient immunization. This is my alternative view of rejections so that they don't work against me and keep me from trying.

It Takes More than Intelligence to Succeed

Computers have a label “ Intel inside” and human brains may have “Intelligence /Innocence /Ignorance inside” (just kidding, I have all three) :-)

Most people may think that intelligence accounts for the majority of one’s achievements. However, intelligence per se is an elusive construct in psychology that is difficult to define (e.g. “multiple intelligence” proposed by Howard Garner and “general intelligence” proposed by Spearman,) and difficult to measure (most of the IQ tests suffer from insufficient validity and reliability). In my opinion, there are something else that make a bigger difference than intelligence in terms of one’s academic and career success in the long run. They are motivation, self discipline, perseverance, strategies to handle frustration and self encouragement, which are all related to self-control.

Church

One thing I like about people in the church is that most of them are humble and approachable, including Ivy League lawyers and doctors in the church. They are humble because they are aware that there is someone out there who is much more powerful and respected. Another group of people who are equally humble and approachable are scientists and professors (though not all of them are like that), who are aware of the limitations of human knowledge and capability. The more we know, the more we are aware of the fact that there is yet a lot more to explore and learn.

Knowledge

Knowledge can make one proud, sometimes ignorance can make one even prouder. No wonder Socrates (470-399 B.C.) asserted that “knowledge is only perception”.

It feels good to be accepted and appreciated by smart people. In contrast, you can imagine how it feels to be despised by dumb guys who think you are dumber. No offense, just a thought.

Memory

Life is fleeting, but there are moments registered in our mind that will not fade away.For some reason, my memory is selective,keeping the good ones and eliminating unpleasant ones. I failed a thousand times but I only remembered the 100 times that I made it.

Injustice and Prejudice

I just came to understand that injustice and prejudice are omnipresent in our life, at school, at work, and in the society. Even in our family, parents do not treat all their kids equally or give equal attention to each one of them. Complaint or self-deprecation will not help. It takes time and efforts for outsiders to be accepted into a circle of people, be it a profession, a culture, a field of study, or a community.

On Theories

A good theory, in my view, should have a set of simple guiding principles (or succinct formula) that are accessible to most people in the field. On the other hand, it should also encompass the complexities of the operations (e.g. interactions of the components and elements) of most (if not all) of the phenomena within its boundary, so that it can be used to explain patterns of the phenomena and predict their development.

If a failure does not kill you (or permanently fail you), it will only make you stronger.

Setbacks and failures are indispensable from accomplishments. The journey to our goals can be painful and frustrating. However, one final accomplishment may offset the frustration brought by ten unsuccessful attempts. For instance, when it comes to applying for admission to colleges and grad schools, one offer is enough for all the application efforts to be considered successful, even if the offer comes after dozens of rejections. Therefore, as long as the final result turns out to be good, the process of trial and error is well worthy and successful. If the final result is not what you want, well, your efforts will pay off eventually someday in some ways. You will never know.The beauty of life is its unpredictability and diversity. Just keep an open mind and get ready before opportunities knock at your door.