The Networks scientist Albert-Laszlo Barabasi’s latest book The Formula: The Science Behind Why People Succeed or Fail is a cracker. His six laws of success summarise more than a decade of research into the science of success, in particular how the social network in which we live and operate, with its many kinds of relationships … More The Success Formula
I have always intuitively believe in the virtue of sleep. I have never pulled an all-nighter. I (over-)prepare for stressful events (e.g. exams, major presentations) way in advance and then ease into a more restful state as the date approaches, including doing very little and sleeping a lot the day before. I enjoy a good … More Why I am Big on Sleep
The Peter Principle states that in most hierarchical organisations, there is a natural tendency for employees to rise in the management hierarchy through promotion until they reach the levels of their respective incompetence. This is a statistical statement about people in an organisation, and there are cultural and management practices that can be put in place to … More An Email Test for the Peter Principle
Many beginning researchers find it hard to cope with the sheer amount of reading they have to do to come up to speed in a certain technical field, and the issue is often compounded by the “lacking the prerequisites to the read the prerequisites” problem due to inadequate mathematical training at the undergraduate level. Here’s … More A Note on Problem Solving for Young Researchers
I have just returned from my annual pilgrimage to Singapore and here are some interesting optics that caught my attention during this trip. I have seen this sign multiple times before at Pasir Ris Park from previous trips. But this trip is the first time I encountered a 3-D version when this lone ranger popped … More Interesting Singapore Optics
I am reading Robert Kuok’s autobiography and these two paragraphs from the chapter Vintage 1963 jumped out at me. “Success in futures depends on your feel for the market, your instincts and rhythm. I would talk to different brokers. Each company had bright, young English traders. One or two would be a little cunning, but, … More Robert Kuok’s Trading Algorithm from 1963
Blind carbon copy (bcc) in emails is one of those dangerous features that has significant potential to cause harm when used inappropriately, either by intention or by accident. There are actually not many good usage patterns for bcc, but one that is definitely good and quite under-utilised is its use in politely letting a person … More Email Etiquette: A Considerate Use of Bcc
Combating terrorist financing
My Irrational Life
Updates on my research and expository papers, discussion of open problems, and other maths-related topics. By Terence Tao
