R3ciprocity: Research Life, Innovation, Business Growth, & Strive Towards Being Happy
1,002 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 days ago - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingProfessor David Maslach talks about graduate school, research, science, Innovation, and entrepreneurship. The R3ciprocity project is my way to give back as much as I possibly can. I seek to provide insights and tools to change how we understand science, and make it more democratic.
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Episodes
As A Strategy Professor, I Don’t Like Strategy.
May 03, 2023 11:53 - 11 minutes - 5.23 MBI don’t like strategy, and the idea that we teach people to be transactional. None of my relationships that have been transactional and “strategic” have been a positive experience in my life. The relationships that are inherently nonrational and non-strategic are the ones that had the most value, and I would be most willing to offer opportunities in those relationships. Being transactional, or “business minded,” inevitably will lead you to poor relationships and bad outcomes. I view myself...
Everyone Wants To Collaborate Because No One Wants To Do The Work
May 03, 2023 10:37 - 10 minutes - 9.86 MBWhat you realize with collaboration is that people are not talking about real collaboration, but they’re talking about transactions. Collaboration will negatively lead to poor outcomes. You have to build a long run, trusting relationship first, and that it’s just difficult to do a priori. Just have a transaction instead.
Failure Is Overrated
May 02, 2023 18:57 - 7 minutes - 7.15 MBFailure is often glorified in the popular press, but I think that it is only glorified by those that have not experienced failure in their life. For those of us who experience significant failure, you never want to glorify it. It’s much more akin to grief, then glory.
PhD Life And Startup Life Are The Same Thing
May 02, 2023 11:30 - 7 minutes - 7.2 MBStartup life and PhD life are quite similar, as both involve pursuing uncertain activities with insatiable demands and requiring resources beyond your capacity. In order to manage this, it's essential to understand how much you can realistically achieve in a single day and accept that as your daily accomplishment. To cope with this challenging environment, you need to develop psychological mechanisms that allow you to be at peace with who you are, even if you haven't achieved everything you ...
ChatGPT Is Like A Research Assistant
May 01, 2023 21:58 - 8 minutes - 7.88 MBChatGPT is like a research assistant or intern that kind of understands what’s going on, but not really. It has a superficial understanding, and you have to constantly check to make sure that it is correct. My job has now become a manager of artificial intelligence robots.
The Power Of Hope
May 01, 2023 11:09 - 11 minutes - 10.4 MBThe most important thing that matters is the power of hope. Hope is the only reason many of us get up and get going. Hope is the only reason that many of us decide to survive. Nothing matters more to human endeavors than the squishy and nonrational thing called hope. I hope is the reason why people work towards difficult things, or try to fight against oppression. I hope never seems like it shouldn’t matter, and there’s no mathematical formula for it, but it does.
When You Are Feeling Behind
April 30, 2023 11:43 - 3 minutes - 3.57 MBWhen you feel like you're falling behind, remember that you're only at the beginning. Nothing truly great in this world happened in just a few weeks. Significant achievements often take decades to accomplish. Simply put on your blinders and continue moving forward.
Reflect on where you came from rather than always looking forward
April 29, 2023 22:30 - 7 minutes - 6.7 MBI explain that is important to reflect where you came from, to investigate the path that you’re going to take going forward.
Overcoming Feeling Stupid In Your PhD
April 29, 2023 19:49 - 2 minutes - 2.78 MBHow do you overcome feeling stupid in your PhD? What should you do?
It’s Not About The Technology (Enhanced)
April 29, 2023 19:37 - 6 minutes - 6.2 MBI discuss the importance of technology and community in creating a platform.
PhD life versus car sales: is there a difference?
April 28, 2023 17:05 - 6 minutes - 3.02 MBI make the comparison between car, sales and PhD life, and talk about how they’re similar. I make the comparison between thinking of long-term versus short-term growth, and what that actually might look like in both arenas.
What academia truly is
April 28, 2023 11:14 - 7 minutes - 3.31 MBAcademia involves continuous hard work. Think back to high school and recall the students who studied constantly. These students typically enter academia and continue their habits as they age. The key to progressing in academia is consistent effort. It's not uncommon to face moments where your work goes unnoticed, but success is often achieved through even more work. Although this may sound discouraging, it's simply a reflection of what's required in academia: dedication and effort. While s...
You need to hear this to grow
April 27, 2023 10:14 - 5 minutes - 2.56 MBI too, like many of us, have experienced getting picked last. I remember being picked last in sports as a kid — I am now 43 and I remember this clear as day from when I was 7. But if I had let that moment define me, I would have missed out on so much in life. Instead, I turned getting picked last into my strength. Doing some thing where I am last or the worst doesn’t scare me. The irony is that many of those people who once picked me last are now just spectators while my life is full of ...
What if you were just honest with your start up story?
April 26, 2023 21:21 - 5 minutes - 2.3 MBWhat if, instead of trying to project legitimacy and status, you were completely honest about your #startup journey? Admit that you're making things up as you go and don't always have the right answers. Imagine simply saying, "I know there's a problem, but I can't pinpoint it. I may not have the solutions, but would you join me as I navigate through building something?" By working on the #R3ciprocity Project, I've learned to be more honest. I can openly say I don't know what I'm doing, bu...
The Principle of Cautious Growth and Trust
April 26, 2023 12:40 - 7 minutes - 3.56 MBOne essential life lesson I've acquired through years of experience is to prioritize gradual growth and be cautious about trusting others. Trusting people without truly knowing them can lead to complicated situations. Even long-term relationships can be unpredictable. It's crucial to understand human psychology: individuals tend to be impulsive and short-sighted, often acting in their immediate self-interest. By focusing on slow growth and exercising caution in trusting others, you minimize ...
Data is the most rewarding for discovery, but it has the least returns
April 25, 2023 21:13 - 8 minutes - 3.76 MBAnalyzing data is incredibly engaging, as it demonstrates how things truly operate in the real world. You'll discover that the actual world is far more complicated than what most theories suggest. It's less predictable and doesn't conform to theoretical expectations. Nonetheless, the challenges of collecting genuine data aren't widely recognized. Instead, theoretical contributions are valued more. It's crucial to consider the costs and efforts of obtaining this data compared to the impact it...
We Don’t Know
April 25, 2023 11:35 - 8 minutes - 3.82 MBBeing able to admit that we don’t know, is a sign of strength. It recognizes the world is a lot more complicated than what most people presume. It’s a recognition that there are no easy answers.
Have the courage to repeat at some thing
April 24, 2023 12:13 - 10 minutes - 9.92 MBHow do you actually get better? It’s just a repeat at some thing even though it feels awkward. Just keep trying every day until it actually gets a little better.
Does the thing you’re purchasing add significant value given it cost?
April 21, 2023 18:30 - 6 minutes - 3.2 MBThink about whether some thing in your life actually gives value to you before you make that purchase decision. If not, don’t pursue it. If it’s not going to be a significant addition to your life, it just adds clutter and complicates your life.
Life is about you taking charge of it
April 21, 2023 11:26 - 6 minutes - 5.96 MBOthers can't push you to make progress if you don't choose to move forward. You must be in charge of your own life and realize that you're responsible for many events that occur. Although some problems are beyond your control, you can either let them consume you or decide to make a positive change by taking action.
Money and Being Detached by From The Outside World
April 20, 2023 11:38 - 10 minutes - 4.66 MBAn important factor about whether you do well with #money is not necessarily whether you budget or anything else like that. An important component of doing well with money is to detach from the outside world, such that you do not worry about what other people think about your decisions. Moreover, you live a modest lifestyle that is incongruent to how most people actually live. It means living far below how people “expect” you to actually live. And doing this for a very long time. It takes...
The trade-off between short term hard work, and long-term perspective
April 19, 2023 11:33 - 9 minutes - 4.41 MBLife is full of trade-offs, and it's up to us to find the perfect balance. Today, let's chat about how we can effectively prioritize short-term hard work without sacrificing our long-term ability to survive and thrive. Finding the Balance: It's not necessarily about maximizing one particular goal, but rather discovering the best way to juggle short-term productivity gains while ensuring we can actually sustain ourselves in our chosen roles. Sounds challenging, doesn't it? The Real Struggle:...
Protect and put boundaries in place that make you who you are
April 18, 2023 15:46 - 8 minutes - 4.04 MBProtect all of the basic functions and activities that you need to allow you to do well in this world. Make sure that you have #boundaries in place to ensure that you can function and prosper.
The only person that can create change is yourself
April 17, 2023 21:01 - 9 minutes - 4.04 MBThe lesson that I repeatedly learned is that the only person that will lead to change in somebody is themselves. Another way to say this is that you cannot force somebody to change, it Hass to be a process that happens within somebody’s in mind.
Bad experiences, and it’s detrimental effects on business performance
April 16, 2023 18:59 - 6 minutes - 2.89 MBBusiness performance relies on good experiences for the consumer, even one Discover how prioritizing customer satisfaction can significantly impact your business's long-term success. In this easy-to-follow podcast, I'll reveal the importance of creating positive experiences for your consumers, and how even the smallest negative encounter can hurt your profits. Learn strategies to consistently deliver the best possible customer experience, regardless of any challenges you may face.
You Always Feel Like An Outsider As An Immigrant
April 15, 2023 00:20 - 5 minutes - 2.54 MByou always feel like an outsider as an immigrant in another country. How do you feel more at home? I don’t think you actually can, and you just simply have to learn to be disconnected from the cultural aspects where you live.
Self love is central to your ability to keep going
April 14, 2023 10:37 - 9 minutes - 4.27 MBThe most important trait that I think helps me go every day, despite all the adversities, that you experience, is self-love. It’s such a squishy term, and it’s often mistaken as a treat. The fact is, self-love requires training and development. It requires you to recognize that you’re good enough, that you do need to take time for yourself, and that all of the things that you feel guilty about like watching television, being on your phone, and all of the guilty pleasures are actually healthy...
How Different Are We?
April 13, 2023 12:41 - 8 minutes - 3.87 MBmany of us, believe that we are very distinct from the world around us, but if you start analyzing us in terms of basic principles, as if you were a physicist are in ecologist, you’ll start to see that there’s not a lot of difference between who we are in the rest of the world. Why then do we draw these differences within our own species, and why do we think that there are even really that relevant?
Do slow and tedious work every day
April 12, 2023 12:02 - 6 minutes - 2.72 MBI've come to understand that our expectations of progress and quality work often follow a linear path. However, the reality is that improvement is more like an #exponential curve. It becomes increasingly harder to reach higher levels and produce better work. For example, the difference in rigor between competing at a middle school level and a university level is vast. So, how do we cope with the exponential difficulty of #competing at higher levels? The solution I've found is to focus ...
On the nature of being human
April 11, 2023 21:10 - 29 minutes - 27.7 MBWe have to recognize that humans are not necessarily well-intentioned. When I was younger, I used to think most people are well-intentioned, and they have other people in their mind. However, as I’ve gotten older I realize that this is far from the truth. People can be mean just to be mean. This is real #humanity. If one thinks about the army of professions that help us deal with others, such as lawyers, psychologists, and teachers, we realize that all of us struggle to play well with...
Embracing technological change in digital social media
April 11, 2023 11:03 - 8 minutes - 7.69 MBMost of us are nervous, or find it difficult to embrace, technological change. I personally believe that much of this nervousness is because social norms are changing, and we don’t know how to deal with that technological change. The change in the social norms leads to anxiety as we are challenged in how we deal with uncertainty. We can either believe that technological change is not going to happen, or we can start to embrace it, and realize that it’s actually is happening. For example, bei...
The absurdity of being human in financial decisions
April 10, 2023 22:53 - 5 minutes - 2.68 MBHumans have a charming way of making seemingly peculiar choices, especially when it comes to finances. We might spend ages deciding on a pack of gum, yet barely think twice before making significant financial commitments. It's fascinating how we can approach monumental decisions like choosing a school or getting married with such nonchalance. Imagine if marriage proposals came with a request for due diligence beforehand! It's essential to acknowledge and embrace the delightful absurdity of h...
Thinking about the transition to a more efficient energy economy
April 10, 2023 15:56 - 8 minutes - 3.68 MBIn my latest podcast episode, I discuss the potential of transitioning to an efficient energy economy that aligns with our current infrastructure. 🏗️🌱 It's crucial to recognize that this change is not likely to stem from massive overhauls, but rather from small, incremental adjustments to our existing systems. 🔧 Some "energy-efficient" solutions might not be as effective as they seem. As I explore in the episode, gradual and subtle changes can actually lead to significant impacts today. For...
Walking in the rain as an analog for life
April 08, 2023 19:17 - 3 minutes - 1.7 MBWalking in the rain always seems scary, until you actually do it. And then is one of the best experiences that you’ll ever have.
Promise and perils of artificial intelligence
April 07, 2023 21:02 - 9 minutes - 4.3 MBArtificial intelligence does have some significant upsides and downsides, but much of what will happen in the future will be the result of unintended consequences. We will not be able to forecast what are the downsides and the benefits of artificial intelligence until it’s actually significantly part of our lives. I suspect that it will be considerably different than we forecast today, and our predictions will look rather silly.
Exercise is my medication, and not everybody will be happy with that
April 07, 2023 15:53 - 11 minutes - 11.1 MBExercise as my medication: a powerful tool that enables me to function effectively on a daily basis. Some individuals may perceive my commitment to exercise as unproductive, believing it detracts from other, more important tasks. However, they fail to grasp the true impact of physical activity on my life. What these individuals don't understand is that exercise doesn't detract from my productivity; instead, it enhances it. The reason I am able to withstand repeated setbacks in academia is du...
Being An Adult is Boring
April 06, 2023 11:31 - 12 minutes - 5.55 MBBeing an adult is boring. We should strive to be more kid like as we get older. much of what it means to be as an adult is to prioritize real work over play. However, most of us actually don’t do real work today. Much of our work is focused on play, and we would do better if we focused on how we could become more playful, and, ignore the rest of the world. Much is if you do when you were a child.
Just outlast everybody else
April 05, 2023 12:04 - 6 minutes - 3.16 MBgiven that we all have different starting points, you can’t use the use others as a good reference point. It makes no sense to compare yourself against others that have different resources are, and are in different domains than you. Then given this problem, what do you do? The only answer that I know that works is to work repeatedly within a single domain. Put an unbelievable amount of effort in outlast everybody else.
Think about where you can go rather than what you did wrong
April 04, 2023 17:21 - 4 minutes - 1.93 MBFocus on encouragement I’m thinking about ways that you could take steps forward, rather than focusing on the corrective actions of the behaviors that you did in the past. I often think that there’s very little to be learned from past actions, and there’s more to begin by focusing on future opportunities.
We should be teaching about gumption, not with the right answers
April 04, 2023 11:10 - 12 minutes - 5.45 MBAlmost all fields in #education, presume that there is a right answer. As a consequence, we often teach (and research) that there is a single answer, or at least a better answer. Regression — the workhorse of science — presumes that there is a single best answer. You also here “if you simply just follow these six easy steps..., it will be amazing.” In my life experience, which doesn’t mean much, there’s never really a right answer. It’s just a big mess. It’s one big episode of “Nailed ...
Do we ever reach equilibrium?
April 03, 2023 16:06 - 3 minutes - 1.57 MBI talk about the idea of equilibrium in a complex system.
Humans are remarkably snobbish when it comes to new technology
April 03, 2023 11:02 - 10 minutes - 4.6 MBI find it puzzling that people are hesitant to try new and remarkable technologies, even though they could save a lot of energy and time. It's amazing how much new technology can improve our abilities and generate opportunities for us over the years. However, most people are reluctant to give it a try. They may not be afraid, but they simply don't think it's worth their time. It's surprising to me how little social influence can motivate people to try new things. The most common response I h...
I have nothing else to say other than I appreciate you
April 02, 2023 21:09 - 4 minutes - 4.42 MBI wanted to simply say how much I appreciate you, and that having this ability to reach out to other people that I don’t know is a gift. What an opportunity that we have. Social media, despite what everybody thinks, it’s an amazing opportunity to spread some good in this world. Why not change? Why not start encouraging others to do well. Life is too short to pay attention to the negativity. Create your own bubble.
How To Deal With Becoming An Associate Professor
April 01, 2023 10:57 - 10 minutes - 4.89 MBWhen you become an associate #professor, many things change in your life that you didn’t think would change. The biggest thing that changed for me was my perspective about the world. When I realized was “nobody cared.”And why should they? It only matters to you. What I realized was that I can’t convince other people to care. I became #bitter with the rest of the world. But, I think this bitterness is a very positive thing. What I realized was that the only person that mattered about wh...
A message to all of you who are afraid of starting
March 31, 2023 12:09 - 5 minutes - 2.29 MBI encourage you to pursue your dreams. Nobody is going to make those dreams happen except for yourself. The only way that you make them happen if you start. I realize that many of you don’t come for much, and it’s going to take a long journey to get to where you want to be. But, the only way that I know how to get there as you start and you repeat every day. You make it happen through grinding work. It never feels fine, and people will make fun of you. You will feel bad about yourself. ...
We Need To Embrace AI & GPT
March 30, 2023 17:00 - 7 minutes - 3.2 MBWe need to vastly embrace artificial intelligence. The interesting part of artificial intelligence is it ability to replace things that nobody really likes to do at this moment. It’s very much an extension of who we are as individuals by it accelerates our capabilities by magnitudes.
Focus on the small steps, not the big reward
March 29, 2023 21:26 - 3 minutes - 1.41 MBYou don’t get to someplace by focusing on the BIG reward that you’re going to get. You focus on the little tiny steps that it takes to get there. It seems silly to focus on the big reward. I often ask question “how do you build #Walmart?” We all likely want to be the Waltons, but how did that happen? Nobody knows how to actually connect between where you are right now and that BIG reward in the future. But, we can certainly understand what we should do today. I encourage you to keep...
Towards empathetic scientific careers
March 29, 2023 13:32 - 9 minutes - 8.42 MBI can’t change the scientific profession. However, I can speak to the one person that was like me and struggling to get a job. The scientific endeavor is never easy and it’s not gonna come easy. For those that are fortunate now, maybe things will work out for you, but for the rest of us, we realize that it’s a struggle. It’s one day at a time.
You never have enough resources, I still get comfortable with making do
March 28, 2023 11:13 - 8 minutes - 8.01 MBAll of us believe that we need resources to do some thing. We need more #resources to be more efficient at work, we need more resources to be better parents, and we need more resources to have more fun. if only I had more money, my life would be better off. To heck with having more resources. Just make do with what you have. If it looks shoddy, just make a fun of the fact that it’s actually shoddy. You might even create a new genre based on the fact of the limitations you have. Name a mu...