Inspiring email by Prof. Alexander Coward

One of my colleagues shared this link with me which has the full transcript of Prof. Alexander Coward's email. Personally, it really encouraged me to share this with others who want to personally get more motivated as I was after reading through this email.

Dear All,

As some of you may have heard, there is some strike activity taking place on campus tomorrow.

I want to let you know that I will not be striking, which means that I will be, so-to-speak, crossing a picket line. Moreover, I know that two of your GSIs have decided to strike, but because I happen to be free in the afternoon when they teach, and because I enjoy teaching smaller classes from time to time and I haven’t had a chance to in a while, I’ll be covering those sections. If you were planning to see me at office hours tomorrow afternoon, then feel free to come to one of the sections I’ll be covering. I will be in Stephens 230c from 2:10 to 4pm, Cory Hall 285 from 4:10pm to 5pm, and Evans Hall 6 from 5:10pm-6pm.
The reason for me taking this decision is extremely simple: We have 7 class days left until the end of the course. Despite the fact that we’ve made good time and are likely to finish the syllabus with a few lectures in hand for review, class hours are valuable and your education is too important to just cancel a class if we don’t have to. Whatever the alleged injustices are that are being protested about tomorrow, it is clear that you are not responsible for those things, whatever they are, and I do not think you should be denied an education because of someone else’s fight that you are not responsible for. I say this with no disrespect whatsoever to the two GSIs who have decided to strike. Societies where people stand up for what they believe in are generally better than societies where people do not, sometimes dramatically so. Further, I cannot discount the possibility that I may be in the wrong on this and they may be right. I have certainly been on the wrong side of political judgements before and I’m sure I will be again. However from a practical point of view I’ve made my decision and you should all turn up to class and discussion tomorrow as normal.
Beyond practical matters, I think it’s also worth reflecting a little on the broader relationship between politics and your education, and I think I have some important things to share on this topic that may be helpful to you.

I do this with some trepidation. Normally I try to avoid talking about politics with my students and also my professional colleagues because people have a wide variety of views, sometimes held with great conviction and feeling. If I was to get into a political disagreement with one of you or one of my colleagues, it might get in the way of or distract us from the central mission we have of working together to give you a great education.

However sometimes political events reach into our lives without our invitation or control, and we have no choice but to engage with each other about politics. Many times in history it has done so with far more violence and disruption than a strike, and it is wise to be psychologically prepared for this fact.
If I’ve learned one thing about politics since I was your age, it is this: Politics, like most things in life worth thinking about, including mathematics, is very big, very complicated, and very interconnected. I’ve lived and worked in four countries on four continents, all with societies set up differently both politically and socially. I’ve discovered that there is no unique or obviously best way of setting up society. For every decision and judgement you reach, there are people who benefit and people who lose out. It’s the same with the way I teach my classes. I know that for every decision I make about how to teach you there are some of you who benefit and there are others who would do better if I did things differently. There is no way of getting around that. Every judgement you make in life is a question of balancing different interests and ideals. Reasonable good people can disagree on political questions like whether to strike or not, and they can disagree about far more contentious topics also.

All this may sound like speaking in platitudes. However it is a point worth making to all of you because you are so young. One of the nice things about being young is that your thinking can be very clear and your mind not so cluttered up with memories and experiences. This clarity can give you a lot of conviction, but it can also lead you astray because you might not yet appreciate just how complicated the world is. As you get older you tend to accumulate life experiences to learn from, and this is the source of wisdom, but the trouble is that the lessons we glean from life do not all point in the same direction. Sometimes it is hard to tease the correct learning from the experiences life throws at us.

So what are we to do with the fact that when we are young we lack a lot of the perspective we need to make definitive judgements about what is right, but that as we get older our judgements tend to be informed by our experiences, and these experiences guide us in contradictory ways, both between different people and within the same person?

I don’t know.

However one thing I do know is that you are not going to be able to avoid making these kinds of judgements, just as I cannot avoid making a judgment about whether to strike or not. Like it or not, I have to make a political choice, and I have to talk to you about it. For me, the choice not to strike is quite easy, but for you the kinds of judgements and choices you are going to face in your lives are going to be far from easy; they are going to be of a complexity and importance that will rival that faced by any previous generation. To an extent that you may not yet appreciate, the world is changing incredibly quickly. In just a decade, since I was your age, the internet and telecommunications has truly transformed the way we live, not just in rich countries but around the world. When I was an undergraduate, if I wanted to check my email I went to a little room in the basement to use a computer, and if I wanted to learn something I went to a library. The kinds of breakthroughs we are seeing in biotechnology remind me of the way people were talking about electricity in 1900. Of course I don’t know - nobody knows - but my guess is that biotechnology in the 21st century could be similarly transformative to the way the full power of electricity only hit prime-time in the 20th century. The recent controversy about the NSA has shown that the role of information technology on society can be, or at least might become, double edged. There is climate change, another controversial and difficult topic, the exact impact of which we do not yet know. These are just a few of the challenges we can see, and we should remember that history has a habit of throwing curve balls at each generation that nobody saw coming. And among all this tumult, our search for common human peace and happiness on some level becomes more difficult, though no less important. A previous generation dodged the bullet of nuclear armageddon when things looked bleak, but for your generation the bullets are coming thicker and faster than ever before. The potential all of you in your generation are going to have for both good and harm is tremendous.

I suspect many of you have heard sentiments along these lines before. However I also suspect that many of you will think something in response along the lines of `I know all that, but these things are for someone else to figure out, not me.’
That is a mistake.

One of the things you can lose track of when you attend a top tier university like Berkeley is just how exceptional and amazing you really are. I’m blown away every time I talk to you. The way you ask penetrating questions, the way you improved so much between midterm 1 and 2, the way you challenge me to be a better teacher, it just knocks my socks off. You really are amazing. I’ve taught students all over the world, and I’ve never seen a group of students so talented. I’m not just talking about some of you. I’m talking about all of you. It’s a privilege to be your professor. Sadly, however, I know many of you don’t feel that way. The difficulty you all face is that as you look around at all your fellow students, it’s easy to have your eye drawn by people doing better than you. Or rather, I should say people who look like they’re doing better than you. In reality the true extent of how much people are learning can be difficult to measure. Sometimes failures and adversity are better preparations for long term success than effortless progress.

Why am I telling you all this?

I’m telling you this because you all need to know that there is not some great pool of amazing people in some other place who are going to shape the way our species navigates the coming decades. The simple fact is that, like it or not, technology is going to change the way we live in the future, and you’re going to have to solve some very hard problems, as well as figure out how best to use new technology for good, while at the same time facing human dangers that have haunted humanity throughout history.

Part of the work of your generation is going to be technological, using scientific ideas to serve the interests of society, and part of the work is going to be fundamentally human, tied inexorably with qualities of the human condition - human emotion - that dominate the whole of history. These things are not separate, but are inexorably linked, and you are in a better place to understand that connection than me.

I can’t tell you what your particular role should be in the new realities of the 21st century. It’s up to you to decide if you want to make the focus of your life technological, focused on new innovations to drive society forward, or essentially human, focused on the age-old struggles of trying to get along, work together, and find happiness, or some combination of the two.

However I can tell you this:

Whatever you decide to do with your life, it’s going to be really, really complicated.

Science and technology is complicated. History and politics is complicated. People are complicated. Figuring out how to be happy, and do simple things like take care of our kids and maintain friendships and relationships, is complicated.
In order for you to navigate the increasing complexity of the 21st century you need a world-class education, and thankfully you have an opportunity to get one. I don’t just mean the education you get in class, but I mean the education you get in everything you do, every book you read, every conversation you have, every thought you think.

You need to optimize your life for learning.

You need to live and breath your education.

You need to be *obsessed* with your education.

Do not fall into the trap of thinking that because you are surrounded by so many dazzlingly smart fellow students that means you’re no good. Nothing could be further from the truth.

And do not fall into the trap of thinking that you focusing on your education is a selfish thing. It’s not a selfish thing. It’s the most noble thing you could do.
Society is investing in you so that you can help solve the many challenges we are going to face in the coming decades, from profound technological challenges to helping people with the age old search for human happiness and meaning. 
That is why I am not canceling class tomorrow. Your education is really really important, not just to you, but in a far broader and wider reaching way than I think any of you have yet to fully appreciate. 

See you tomorrow,

 Alexander

Taken from: http://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/just-in/2013-11-21/cal-lecturers-email-students-goes-viral-why-i-am-not

Tips on Time Management and Writing E-mails

Found it interesting!

Tips on Time Management and Writing E-mails

IN GRADUATE STUDY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005),
Gregory Colon Semenza notes that “poor time management and inadequate organization skills” often create the major barrier to a successful graduate school experience. To help you manage your time and your work materials, we’ve summarized some of his suggestions.

DATE BOOKS may be out of date (or style) but...it’s important to have something that will help you keep track of your appointments and deadlines. Here’s a great tip: create a one- page weekly TO-DO listing of your deadlines, appointments and tasks, and post it somewhere that’s
easily accessible.

USE YOUR COMPUTER AS AN ORGANIZATIONAL TOOL. Create a folder for each area of your work: research, teaching, coursework and your academic portfolio. In your research folder, begin developing your list of references and keep copies of any papers you’ve written for any seminar you’ve taken. Bookmark important websites and electronic databases like Academic Search Premier available on the UNL Libraries resources page. In your teaching folder, keep copies of your syllabi and lesson plans for every course you teach. Begin developing your teaching statement and save each draft (you never know when you’ll want to return to an earlier
version). Save future job search materials like your CV and other documentation materials in your academic portfolio folder. The time you put into organizing these materials now will save you a great deal of time later.

ESTABLISH A ROUTINE. As much as possible try to follow a regular daily schedule so that by the time you are ready to write your dissertation your work habits will be well established. Doing so will allow you to coordinate your activities with those of your adviser, graduate
colleagues, and family and friends, and will alleviate the feeling that someone is always demanding your time.

PRIORITIZE. PRIORITIZE. PRIORITIZE. In graduate school, you need to be very protective of your research and writing time. It doesn’t matter when you set aside time to write or plan your next teaching lecture. It DOES matter that you recognize that these tasks are more important than some of your other tasks, like checking e-mail. Save the more mundane tasks for low energy times. If you’re a doctoral or master’s student who is expected to complete a thesis, spend the bulk of your day on research-related activities. And learn to say “no” — to friends, family, maybe even your graduate adviserJ. Managing your time in one area of your professional life will help you do it in other areas, too.

Having said that, BE REASONABLE ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN DO AND WHEN. If you have to work at night or on weekends, try to choose a time thatminimizes disruptions of your personal and family time.

USE HOLIDAY BREAKS TO FOCUS ON RESEARCH. Stay near the university during the summer. If you stay on campus and spend time on your research and writing, you’ll have a much better chance of finishing in a timely manner.

MAINTAIN SOME SORT OF DAILY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY during graduate school. Exercise can help you structure your day and release stress, contributes to greater confidence, keeps you healthy and clears a space in your mind for those “aha” moments that help you break through barriers in your thinking. Hobbies are good, too. Go to a UNL basketball game. Attend a
show at the Lied Center. Learn to knit (yes, there are health benefits to knitting). Like people who exercise regularly, people who take time to enjoy their favorite hobbies tend to experience less stress.

BEGIN WORKING ON YOUR CURRICULUM VITAE NOW. By building your vita early in your graduate career, you’ll be able to track your accomplishments while noting the gaps in your experience.

FIVE QUICK TIPS FOR WRITING EFFECTIVE E-MAILS

E-MAIL IS AN INCREASINGLY PREFERRED TOOL FOR COMMUNICATION between students and faculty. When communicating with your professors via e-mail, it’s important to remember that many faculty view an e-mail message as a letter that was delivered quickly rather than a quick conversation. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when writing e-mail
messages to your professors.

USE APPROPRIATE SALUTATIONS AND TITLES.
Like letters, e-mails should begin with a proper salutation. If “Dear Dr. Smith” seems too formal, begin your message with “Hello Dr. Smith,” but avoid the kinds of casual greetings you would use with friends (e.g., “Hey”) or no greeting at all. When in doubt about using Dr. or the professor’s first name, use Dr.; the faculty member will let you know when it’s okay to use his or her first name.

IDENTIFY YOURSELF.
Faculty interact with a large number of students every semester. At the beginning of your message, refer to the class you’re taking with the faculty member or how the faculty member knows you, especially when you’re contacting someone who doesn’t know you very well. Conclude your message with more than just your first name. Provide your full name and NUID number.

AVOID TEXT ACRONYMS.
If you’re responding to e-mails on a Blackberry or smart phone, it’s tempting to abbreviate or shorten words and phrases (e.g., u instead of you). However, abbreviations are easy to misinterpret or may be completely misunderstood.

BEWARE OF YOUR TONE.
Perhaps the most difficult part of writing an e-mail is achieving the right tone. If you’re writing an especially sensitive e-mail, let your final draft sit overnight and reread it before sending to make sure the message is appropriate. You also can ask a colleague or friend to read your message and offer feedback about how the message might be perceived. Remember, e-mail creates a permanent record of your communication that you have no control over after you click the send button. So if you’re worried about the tone of your e-mail, you might want to skip the message altogether and ask for a meeting with the faculty member.

KEEP IT SIMPLE.
Long e-mails with too many questions can get confusing. If your message is more than one or two paragraphs, rethink the purpose of the message. You may want to start with the most important question or topic. A lengthy e-mail may be a signal that the subject warrants a meeting rather than a written communication. E-mail communication is an important part of building positive relationships with your professors. It’s always worthwhile to take the time to make sure your messages are clear and appropriate.

RESOURCES
Jerz, D. & Bauer, J. (2000, December 12). Writing effective e- mail: Top
10 tips. Retrieved October 7, 2010 from
http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/etext/e-mail.htm#message. Toth, E.
(2009, April 28). Don’t e-mail me this way. The Chronicle of Higher
Education. Retrieved October 8, 2010, from
http://chronicle.com/article/Dont-E-Mail-Me-This- Way/44818/.

Dedicated to all my friends in research :D :D :D

One politician, One thief & One Scientist died and went straight to hell.

Politician said "I miss my country. I want to call my country and see how everybody is doing there." She called and talked for about 5 minutes, then she asked "Well, devil how much do I need to pay for the call????

The devil says "Five million dollars". The Politician wrote him a cheque and went to sit back on her chair.

Thief was so jealous, he starts screaming, "My turn! I wanna call the my group members, I want to see how everybody is doing there too". He called and talked for about 2 minutes, then he asked "Well, devil, how much do I need to pay for the call????

The devil says "Ten million dollars". With a smug look on his face, he made a cheque and went to sit back on his chair.

The scientist was even more jealous & starts screaming, "I want to call my institute and talk to my fellow Scientists, Project Leaders, Research fellows, Project fellows/assistants. He called all those people and talked for twenty hours about promotions, publications, impact factor, CRs, inter-departmental and intra-departmental politics. He talked & talked & talked,
then he asked "Well, devil how much do I need to pay for the call????

The devil says "Ten dollars". The Scientist is stunned & says "Ten dollars??? Only ??"

Devil says "Hell to Hell is a Local Call " :D :D :D