Great post. This is something close to my heart. I have never been able to focus too long on a single task. I used to “pretend” to multi task. I realized that I was fooling myself. New plan: I started to focus my attention on small tasks, which allowed me to change from one task to another. It takes away the monotony of being stuck with a single activity and helps me to be a “little” productive (relatively speaking of course).

I always enjoy reading your posts,( and your other work!) on the digital world. Your insights are eye-opening for me. I do believe that use of electronics is an addictive behavior. It is for me. My world would change drastically if it all stopped tomorrow. I think this is where so many students are as well. Not only that, I believe some students have trouble writing, I mean writing with pen and paper. I wrote my name down for something and a young person could not read my name because they could not read cursive. Writing in print takes so much longer. I believe some students are not equipped to write notes with pen and paper. My strategy so far has been to give students the research – pen and paper notes works better for you and then let them decide. The spatial organization of the room I have now makes it hard for students to “shop” without me seeing them, so this has helped – along with a break in the middle of class to check devices, to give into their addiction. I’m not at all sure this is the best method and posts like yours challenge me to think about it.

Great post Syeed. We must indeed create a place for intellectual diversity in our classrooms. In research labs, this is a little more tricky. Would this not give rise to concerns about unfairness and unequal treatment among grad students?

Hi Bethany! I really enjoyed your analogy on agriculture, monoculture, and specifically, corn. I immediately thought of this NPR bit from 2012 about this photographer who was doing a project on biodiversity. Here is the link–
https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2012/11/29/166156242/cornstalks-everywhere-but-nothing-else-not-even-a-bee
Let me know what you think (and if that link doesn’t work). I found this project to be extremely fascinating! David Liittschwager, the photographer behind this project, has a book called: A World in One Cubic Foot.

I agree with you on the notion that you have to go all-in when you decide you will incorporate a practice of diversity and inclusion. Writing a statement like this has been extremely difficult for me to articulate well (which is why I wrote about multitasking–my statement just isn’t there yet!) ….but despite this, I’m going to keep working on it. I appreciate that you are addressing this mentality of “just stick to the science.” I believe that when we willingly put on blinders to the world around us that we are actually contributing to the problem. You’re right, we don’t have to champion EVERY issue, but even scientists should care about social problems….we’re all human beings, right? Anyway, I say all that to say that you will get your diversity statement. It may take some time, but your heart is in the right place and I know it won’t be too tough for you to pen one once you have your ideas lined up.

I like your diversity statement rooted in your personal experience. Having a diversified classroom or lab setting is always a challenging task, but if you manage it well, it can become a very exciting and rewarding experience since all classmates or labmates and even the instructor/supervisor can actively learn from each other. Achieving this balance takes some special techniques, and some examples listed in your post are quite refreshing. It’s really good to see you already have some thoughts and even practice some techniques on diversity during your graduate study!

Ooohhhh…. yeah. And don’t forget the ever-demanding email acct.(s). I feel like I need to put a footer on my emails that says “I only check emails once a day, if I actually have time, while eating dinner (if eating alone).” Such a conundrum this connectivity that enhances our ability to communicate and learn, but hampers our ability to communicate and learn.

If you figure out anything about studying for prelims., let me know. allright? I’m gonna’ be right behind you it looks like.
Thanks for posting, Jason. Always a delight to read.

I would like that Busting a Book guide also!
Thanks, Dr. N.

Genius! I think my kids use that app. also. Thanks for the reminder.

Thanks for addressing the issue of present attitude/thinking when it comes to presenting one’s views/actions on diversity, Zach. I have a hard time following rules, generally, so trying to write a statement that started with the past and ended with the future was frustrating and flat for me. When I thought about the objective and then wrote from my heart I did much better at capturing the values and thinking that motivate me to attend/address/look for diversity. I think I can go back now and craft a ‘statement’ around past actions and future plans.

So, the other part of your post that mesmerizes me is your research focused on learning through Yoga Nidra and with Transp0.se. I’m fascinated and want to know more! (I will try to get back to your link this evening after class …)

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Usually, for the students in the digital designer, the computer is part of our life. However, in the primary step to record, the creative ideas and concepts, I prefer (most of our art and design students) to use the traditional ways sketching the process. For example, to do an animation both in 3D or 2D, I will draw the keyframes in my sketching book. It is more efficient and comfortable personally to highlight the essential part when I transfer to the digital language.