vacation scheduled post update number 1

_posts/2017-06-03-brain-go.md

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ tags:
 - go the game
 - how to think
 - painfully extended metaphors
+date: 2017-06-03 17:00:00
 ---
 
 Years ago I attended a lecture from a famous master of the game of Go.
@@ -43,23 +44,23 @@ the move is too complex to read out, and you're not sure what will
 happen. A player of your strength does not play only on gut feeling, without thinking. It
 seems too dangerous. You should play somewhere else.
 
-And what the Go master said is: When a point on the board calls out like this,
+And what the Go master said is: When a point on the board calls to you like this,
 you must play there. Not because the move is correct --- it almost certainly is not ---
 but because your intuition is telling you that the move is correct,
-so the only way to improve your intuition is to play it, and discover why it is wrong.
-Go is too complex for humans to fully work out the consequences of any move,
-so at some point, no matter how far we look ahead, we have only our intuition to trust.
-This is why reviewing your own games afterwards, when the result is more clear,
-is so important.
+so the only way to improve your intuition is to play the move,
+in the hope that by so doing, you may discover why it is wrong.
+Go is too complex for people to understand all consequences in advance,
+so at some point, no matter how far you look ahead, you have only your own intuition to trust.
+This is why you also must review your own games afterwards, when the result is more clear.
 The only way to train your intuition is follow it, understand the consequences,
 and correct where you were wrong.
 
 Research is like this. There is a feeling that I have learned to recognize when an idea
 is waiting to form,  but I cannot yet  articulate it. Whenever I have this
-feeling, I shut up and wait, until the words come. Usually, once I manage to find
-the words and formulae to express what I'm thinking, it becomes clear that the idea is bad,  has
-already been published, or --- most commonly --- both. But you don't have to be right very
-often, because in research
+feeling, I shut up and wait, until the words come. Usually, after I do find
+the words and formulae to express my thought, it becomes clear that the idea is bad,  has
+been already published, or --- most commonly --- both. But it is not important that the
+idea be often good, because in research
 the overall success of your career depends not on the worth of your typical idea,
 but of your best idea.
 When your unconscious mind is repeatedly telling you to go somewhere,

_posts/2017-07-01-context-switching.md

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ tags:
 - advice
 - how to think
 - stupid brain tricks
+date: 2017-07-01 17:00:00
 ---
 
 Of the many quirks shared by computer scientists, one that has somewhat entered the popular culture is the use of computing metaphors to speak about how we think. For example, "multitasking" is actually a technical term invented by computer scientists [in the 1960s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_multitasking) to describe the way a computer pretends to execute many programs at once, even if in reality it can only do one thing at a time. You can see why the term would have been quickly co-opted to metaphorically describe humans who attempt the same trick.
@@ -18,7 +19,7 @@ A context switch is a necessary result of multitasking. If a computer is pretend
 
 So it is in your mind. When you switch between different tasks, it takes a while to remember the other context: what it was that you were supposed to be doing on the new task, why you thought it was a good idea, and so on. This is why you're not as efficient when you first start a new task as when you've been thinking about it for a while. This has led to the deluge of self-help articles, some of which I'm sure you've seen, about how mental multitasking is a bad idea. It takes time to switch contexts.
 
-But as a professor <small>([in the US sense](http://www.theexclusive.org/2013/08/academic-ranks-in-us-and-uk.html))</small>, especially leading a research group, context switching cannot be avoided. The nature of the job requires us to make progress on many different types of tasks each day,from answering a student question about a problem set, to planning for the curriculum next year, to reading a paper related to one research project, to an impromptu meeting with a colleague about faculty hiring for next stpring, to a scheduled meeting with a PhD student about a different research project. One of my mentors liked to joke, "Professors are stateless" (another computing metaphor). The reason that we seem stateless is that it takes some time for us to remember the previous state. Not only does it take time to context switch, but it is also a bit disorienting. A colleague once told me that the part of being a professor that they disliked the most was having to context switch all the time. 
+But as a professor <small>([in the US sense](http://www.theexclusive.org/2013/08/academic-ranks-in-us-and-uk.html))</small>, especially leading a research group, context switching cannot be avoided. The nature of the job requires us to make progress on many different types of tasks each day, from answering a student question about a problem set, to planning for the curriculum next year, to reading a paper related to one research project, to an impromptu meeting with a colleague about faculty hiring for next stpring, to a scheduled meeting with a PhD student about a different research project. One of my mentors liked to joke, "Professors are stateless" (another computing metaphor). The reason that we seem stateless is that it takes some time for us to remember the previous context. Not only does it take time to context switch, but it is also a bit disorienting. A colleague once told me that the part of being a professor that they disliked the most was having to context switch many times a day.
 
 People sometimes ask me how I handle context switching. I have a few strategies. One is a bit embarrasing, but I will tell you anyway. Perhaps I made this a long post to drive people away before I revealed the embarrassing one.
 

_posts/2017-08-05-special-email-folder.md

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ author: Charles Sutton
 tags:
 - advice
 - email
+date: 2017-08-05 17:00:00
 ---
 
 I've tried a lot of different methods to organize my email. None of them work. 

_posts/2017-09-02-pack-bags.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 layout: post
-title: Whether you should check your bags
+title: The not-so-great checked vs carry on debate
 author: Charles Sutton
 tags:
 - travel tips
@@ -17,15 +17,15 @@ I do usually travel with only a carry on. This has a lot of advantages:
 
 * You don't need to wait at baggage claim on arrival. This is an especially big win if you are arriving late at night.
 
-* It's easier to switch flights at the last minute. You might wonder why you'd want to do this if you've planned ahead. You'll stop wondering when your first flight arrives early and you wish you could jump on an earlier connecting flight. Or when your flight is delayed and you'd like to be placed on a flight from another airline.
+* It's easier to switch flights at the last minute. You might wonder why you'd want to do this if you've planned ahead. You'll stop wondering when your first flight arrives early and you wish you could jump on an earlier connecting flight. Or when your first flight is delayed but you still have a chance to catch a different connecting flight. I'm still annoyed at the time United Airlines prevented me from doing this by checking my bag at the gate unnecessarily.
 
 All that said, for some trips it can be more convenient to check your bags, even if you could squeeze into a smaller bag. Why?
 
 * You can bring a bigger bag that holds more. (duh)
 
 * You don't need to lug the bag around the airport. This removes stress during a long connection.
 
-* You can fill up your checked bag with liquids and gels. If you'd like to bring gifts of food and drink back to your friends, family, or perhaps to a select group of academic bloggers who you particularly admire.
+* You can fill up your checked bag with liquids and gels. This is especially useful if you'd like to bring gifts of food and drink back to your friends, family, or perhaps to a select group of academic bloggers who you particularly admire.
 
 * If you are running a few minutes late to the gate, the plane is more likely to wait for you, because if they don't, they need to find and remove your bag from the hold.