slides are available online!

about myself

why this talk?

main ideas

  1. Communicate your idea as simply as possible, but no simpler than necessary.
  2. Find a safe space and time to develop your thoughts.
  3. Strategically select colleagues to help give you feedback.
  4. Multiple rounds of rewriting is inevitable.

simplicity

temptation

reality

the artful principle

How do I structure the communication of my idea, such that:

Who is my audience, and how do I know what they know?

my story

before

All four figures from my first set of submissions to Nature, Science and eLife.

All four figures from my first set of submissions to Nature, Science and eLife.

after

The final figure that told the main point of the scientific story, in the submission to PNAS

The final figure that told the main point of the scientific story, in the submission to PNAS

word diet

what happened?

space & time

spaces

I found spaces where I could write and think in isolation.

Yet, there were other people doing work in those same spaces.

time

My advisor let me set the tempo, and I repaid the trust with regular updates.

details matter

Take charge, experiment, and design your environment to fit your needs.

core idea

feedback

advisor

"Does it make sense to my advisor?"

colleagues & collaborators

"Does it make sense to my colleagues & collaborators?"

specialist outsiders

"Does it make sense to a specialist outsider?"

your mom

Don't bother.

rounds and rounds of editing

fundamentals matter

let it go

each round gets better

"Show me your first draft and I'll show you where you're wrong."

summary

go simple

What makes it into the main paper figures is only a fraction of what you've done. A lot of life is like that too.

What makes it into the main paper figures is only a fraction of what you've done. A lot of life is like that too.

the pareto principle

80% of my results will come from 20% of my effort. Perfection is not required at the beginning.

80% of my results will come from 20% of my effort. Perfection is not required at the beginning.

build your community

Find a community of trusted allies to help you along.

Find a community of trusted allies to help you along.

keep iterating

Progress comes from iteration, execution, and feedback. "Failure" (also known as "negative feedback") should be expected.

Progress comes from iteration, execution, and feedback. "Failure" (also known as "negative feedback") should be expected.

contact

thank you!

let's chat!

可以换语言了,但如果交叉"chinglish"的话,请多多包涵!

resources

  1. Some modest advice for graduate students
  2. Elements of Style
  3. How to write a scientific paper