“We succeeded because of where the bathrooms are.” Morris Halle said this to me several years ago, as part of his story about how MIT became the epicenter of research in linguistics. Halle hired Noam Chomsky in 1955 and the world’s brightest young linguists started coming to Cambridge to study with them. Enjoy this article?… Read More…
Bring women to the party
May 25, 2011 By 1 Comment
Five of the seven parties in the Norwegian parliament today are led by women. Two of the three parties in the coalition government are led by women. Each party is an organization in itself, and research shows that organizations led by women perform better. All of this would seem promising for the state of politics… Read More…
A nudge to write
May 23, 2011 By 1 Comment
“I learned that you should feel when writing, not like Lord Byron on a mountain top, but like a child stringing beads in kindergarten — happy, absorbed and quietly putting one bead on after another.” (Brenda Ueland) Researchers have to write. And people in leadership positions where researchers work have to create the circumstances for… Read More…
A slow thaw for women
May 20, 2011 By 5 Comments
Admission to medical school in Norway is based on an elaborate point system. High school grades, work experience, even age can give applicants more points and thereby increase their chances. Lately I’ve heard informal discussions about adding a new criterion for points. Perhaps male applicants should get an extra point or two — just for… Read More…
A strategy for strategy: Sleep on it
May 17, 2011 By 2 Comments
The world’s northernmost botanical garden lies just outside my office door. I like to schedule walking meetings there, and when I visit the garden myself, I enjoy the metaphorical act of choosing which path to follow. I now know I should do that even more. Enjoy this article? Join our community for more like it:
0.01% inspiration: The failure of research
May 16, 2011 By 3 Comments
Research fails. Almost always. Sometimes I try to explain this with help from Thomas Edison. Edison’s associate, the story goes, was frustrated with nearly a thousand unsuccessful experiments to find the right approach for a project. He was ready to throw in the towel, but Edison talked him out of it. “I cheerily assured him… Read More…
Scientific publishing: Take a hike!
May 15, 2011 By 1 Comment
In Norway, we can freely and legally traverse uncultivated land, even it’s privately owned. Beaches, mountains, woods — all are open to anyone, anytime. Norwegians know about their Right of Access, and they know the responsibilities it implies. And, best of all, they use it!
We need a Scientific Right of Access.
Why hire (wo)men?
May 12, 2011 By 8 Comments
Universities want to push the limits of knowledge. We do that through creating the circumstances for the best possible research and the best possible teaching. And the most important resource we have is brainpower. Most research happens in teams, groups, labs or in some other social context. There are few examples of great breakthroughs made… Read More…
Leadership for change … at a university?!
May 11, 2011 By 2 Comments
There is a paradox in the politics of professors. Many are “liberal” in the sense that their political perspectives lean to the left. But just as many can be conservative when it comes to their workplace. Change — even a discussion of change — evokes engaged skepticism. This is a leadership challenge, but I think… Read More…
The virtue of weak leadership
May 10, 2011 By 9 Comments
As we try to change the culture of leadership at our university, we are fully engaged with leadership development. Simply articulating the vision is not enough; skills must be developed, too. Our goal is a culture of leadership where the focus is on facilitating — rather than distracting from — great teaching and great research. I think we can do it, and if we succeed, we’ll no longer pine for the good old days of weak leaders.
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