class: center,middle, .toc[[✧](#toc)] .title[Mental Tools for Scientists] --- name: toc class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Table of Contents 1. [The Scientist and His/Her Emotions](#emotions) 1. [Six Qualities of Thought](#seventools) 1. [Five Classes of Energy](#energy) 1. [Quieting the Mind](#quiet) 1. [Three Motivations](#motivations) 1. [Two Inclinations](#inclinations) 1. [One Unifying Principle](#oneprinciple) --- name: emotions class: center,middle, .toc[[✧](#toc)] .title[The Scientist and Emotions] --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #The Scientist and Emotions Have you ever had the thought, this result is awesome! I'm so awesome! This data is the best! This the most amazing idea ever! -- Have you ever had the thought, this is a terrible dataset! It's of no use whatsoever! I have no good ideas at all! I'm completely worthless as a scientist! -- Everyone has both of these types of thoughts from time to time. They are natural. --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #The Scientist and Emotions Let's call these runaway thoughts. Such thoughts can often fuel or underlie strong emotions. They come in two classes, runaway positive, which we tend to welcome, and runaway negative, which we tend not to welcome. -- Let's scrutinize such thoughts with a few questions. -- 1. Are these thoughts objective or subjective? -- 1. Do they represent a complete view or a partial view? -- 1. Are they transient or permament? -- 1. Are they self-contained, or dependent upon other factors? -- 1. Are these thoughts accurate or inaccurate? -- 1. Do they lead to positive or to negative consequences? -- 1. Are they reliable? Are they to be trusted? -- 1. Are they devoid of value, or containing some value? --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #The Scientist and Emotions Question: How should a scientist relate to his or her emotions? -- Should a scientist blindly yield to emotions? -- Should a scientist completely ignore or disregard emotions? -- How can we articulate the intermediate state of neither disregarding nor yielding to emotions? --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #The Scientist and Emotions Proposition: The attitude of an observational scientist is the attitude of a detective. -- 1. A detective follows hunches, but requires evidence. -- 1. A detective does not get carried away by emotions. A detective remains detached. -- 1. A detective is dogged (extremely persistent), yet always open to new ideas. -- 1. A detective does not rely exclusively on rational thinking. A detective uses his or her own thoughts and feelings as sensitive instruments—like a metal detector. -- 1. A detective sifts his or her own reactions to extract useful information. -- 1. A detective strives to be aware of his or her own biases and limitations. -- 1. A detective is not personally attached to the outcome of the investigation. -- Please consider this proposition in the course of your own research and observe whether or not it brings benefit. --- name: seventools class: center,middle, .toc[[✧](#toc)] .title[Qualities of Scientific Thought] --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Thinking as a Tool As scientists, our most powerful tool is, naturally, our mind. -- The mind can be used more effectively for different purposes if we attend to *the manner in which* we are thinking. -- We tend to think of intelligence as an innate, unchangeable, one-dimensional quality. -- But we can use our minds in different ways just by being intentional about *how* we are thinking. -- Astonishingly (to me), there is almost zero discussion of this possibility within the scientific community. -- Here we will explore a simple framework for bringing different *types of thinking* or *qualities of thought* to bear on a problem. --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] # Six Thought Lenses 1. **White**: Objective, neutral, facts and figures -- 1. **Yellow**: Optimistic, positive, beneficial -- 1. **Black**: Critical, skeptical, negative -- 1. **Green**: Creative, possibilities, alternatives -- 1. **Red**: Feelings, hunches, intuition -- 1. **Blue**: Wisdom, experience, perspective -- This is the “Six Thinking Hats” framework by Edward de Bono. [{Cheat sheet}](https://highlandliteracy.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/six_hats_summary_card01.jpg?w=625&h=1349) [{Read the book— highly recommended}](https://www.amazon.com/Six-Thinking-Hats-Edward-Bono/dp/0316178314) We will refer to these as “lenses” rather than “hats”, because when we choose to employ them, they color our perception. --- class: center,middle, .toc[[✧](#toc)] .title[White] Objective, neutral, facts and figures --- class: center,middle, .toc[[✧](#toc)] .title[Yellow] Optimistic, positive, beneficial --- class: center,middle, .toc[[✧](#toc)] .title[Black] Critical, skeptical, negative --- class: center,middle, .toc[[✧](#toc)] .title[Green] Creative, possibilities, alternatives --- class: center,middle, .toc[[✧](#toc)] .title[Red] Feelings, hunches, intuition --- class: center,middle, .toc[[✧](#toc)] .title[Blue] Wisdom, experience, perspective --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Exercise: Role Playing In this exercise we're going to see if we can train ourselves to put on each of these different colored lenses, and think along those lines. We work in pairs, Person A and Person B. Person A will pull up a figure of their data on the laptop. The job of Person B is to talk with Person A about Person A's data, while playing the role dictated by a particular color. We will work with one color at a time and stick with it for three minutes. Person A does not do role-playing. Their job is to experience what it is like to be on the receiving end of the different energies from Person B's different modes of thinking. --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Qualities of Mind We explored six categories or types of thinking, represented as six different colored lenses: White, Yellow, Black, Green, Red, Blue. This can be reframed somewhat. Instead of seeing these as *types* of thinking, we can think of them instead as *mental faculties* or *qualities of mind* that may or may not be present at any moment. --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Qualities of Mind **Dispassionateness.** (White) It is important to set aside personal feelings with respect to the data. You are more likely to see features you are excited to find, and not see features you would be disappointed to find, regardless of whether or not they are actually there. -- **Brightness** (Yellow) This is about having a positive, optimistic attitude. Everything is easier if we have a mindset that sees opportunities instead of challenges, being grateful for opportunities to learn. -- **Skepticism.** (Black) Everyone wants to get results. But results are only results if they can withstand scrutiny. It is essential to have a healthy degree of skepticism in one's conclusions. This involves mentally playing the role of others and assessing their objections. --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Qualities of Mind **Imagination.** (Green) Looking at data is like putting together a puzzle in which you only have 5% of the pieces. Therefore, it is essential to exercise your imagination in order to fill in the blanks. -- **Intuition.** (Red) Trying to put together a story from data is like being a detective. A detective works to collect evidence, but the process of collecting evidence is based on hunches, suspicions, and gut feelings. It is not a wholly rational process. -- **Judiciousness.** (Blue) It can take a lot of time to analyze data. There are “red herrings” or false paths, and there is a limit to the information that can be extracted. It is important to use time wisely. --- name: energy class: center,middle, .toc[[✧](#toc)] .title[Classes of Scientific Energy] --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Classes of Scientific Energy To accomplish different goals, we need to organize ourselves in qualitatively different ways. -- For example, let's say a person is always in a rush. They work hard, almost frantically. Then they find that they have made a mistake. To solve it they work in even more of a rush. Does that make sense? -- In general, people often respond to challeges by doing more of whatever they were already doing, whether or not it is suitable. This discussion is intended to try to broaden our options. -- “Energy” is used in the sense that we would talk about “a person's energy” or “spirit” or “vibes”. It doesn't mean Joules. You might also use the word “activity” if you prefer something more concrete. -- We're going to look at an informal classification of scientific energy that I've found to be very useful. --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #The Five Energy Classes 1. **Earth**: Foundational, groundwork, organizing, patience, steadfastness -- 1. **Fire**: Force, willpower, haste, initiative, vigor -- 1. **Water**: Adaptive, flowing, mutable, calming, ease -- 1. **Air**: Expansive, overarching, perspective, dreaming, unifying -- 1. **Emptiness**: Non-thinking, non-doing, letting go, spontaneity, rest -- This is inspired by “The Book of Five Rings”, a book on the art of swordsmanship written by great samurai Miyamoto Musashi around the year 1645. --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #The Five Energy Classes Earth, Fire, Water, Air, or Emptiness? -- A paper gets rejected from a journal. You chain yourself to your desk for three days until the paper is ready for another journal. -- You've been stuck on a problem. You set it aside. The next morning you suddenly have a great idea—while in the shower. -- You realize you don't actually understand calculus very well, so instead of getting frustrated you dedicate a few days to brushing up. -- You realize that the problem you've been trying to solve is easier if you see it as a special case of a more general class of problems. -- A reviewer forcefully demands a set of unreasonable changes. You withdraw the paper and submit to another journal. -- ...or, you thank them and gently explain why you're not going to. -- Answers: Fire, Emptiness, Earth, Air, Water, also Water --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Exercise: Five Scenarios In this exercise you are going to be given a scenario. Your job is to determine what class(es) of energy are most suitable and why. Note, you're not asked to actually determine a particular course of action. You're only being asked to recommend a spirit or spirits with which the situation should be approached. Keep in mind that there may be more than one class of energy that is suitable for each situation. Furthermore, there might not be enough information given about the scenario to make a decision. In this case you are free to imagine other details and frame your answer depending on those details. Finally, this is a group exercise. We will do it in groups of four. See if you can come to a collective judgement so that all four people in the group are on the same page about the recommendation. Jot down your recommendations. We will go through all five, then discuss later. --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Scenario 1 At your thesis defense, a committee member demands changes you find profoundly unfair. You need their signature to graduate.
1. **Earth**: Foundational, groundwork, organizing, patience, steadfastness 1. **Fire**: Force, willpower, haste, initiative, vigor 1. **Water**: Adaptive, flowing, mutable, calming, ease 1. **Air**: Expansive, overarching, perspective, dreaming, unifying 1. **Emptiness**: Non-thinking, non-doing, letting go, spontaneity, rest --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Scenario 2 Your project statement hinges upon working with a model, but after much effort, you can't get the model to produce sensible results.
1. **Earth**: Foundational, groundwork, organizing, patience, steadfastness 1. **Fire**: Force, willpower, haste, initiative, vigor 1. **Water**: Adaptive, flowing, mutable, calming, ease 1. **Air**: Expansive, overarching, perspective, dreaming, unifying 1. **Emptiness**: Non-thinking, non-doing, letting go, spontaneity, rest --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Scenario 3 You stumble upon a hot new research idea that you're not funded to work on. The door is wide open—for now.
1. **Earth**: Foundational, groundwork, organizing, patience, steadfastness 1. **Fire**: Force, willpower, haste, initiative, vigor 1. **Water**: Adaptive, flowing, mutable, calming, ease 1. **Air**: Expansive, overarching, perspective, dreaming, unifying 1. **Emptiness**: Non-thinking, non-doing, letting go, spontaneity, rest --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Scenario 4 You finally finish a massive project spanning many years. You are looking for your next step.
1. **Earth**: Foundational, groundwork, organizing, patience, steadfastness 1. **Fire**: Force, willpower, haste, initiative, vigor 1. **Water**: Adaptive, flowing, mutable, calming, ease 1. **Air**: Expansive, overarching, perspective, dreaming, unifying 1. **Emptiness**: Non-thinking, non-doing, letting go, spontaneity, rest --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Scenario 5 You know exactly what you should be working on. You clearly articulate your vision in proposals, which are definitively rejected.
1. **Earth**: Foundational, groundwork, organizing, patience, steadfastness 1. **Fire**: Force, willpower, haste, initiative, vigor 1. **Water**: Adaptive, flowing, mutable, calming, ease 1. **Air**: Expansive, overarching, perspective, dreaming, unifying 1. **Emptiness**: Non-thinking, non-doing, letting go, spontaneity, rest --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Discussion What energy or energies are suitable in each case? Why? Does this depend upon unknown details? What course or courses of action are suggested? In my experience, it is often easier to take a clear course of action if one first reflects on the quality of energy that is appropriate for the situation. In addition, it makes it easier to see what courses of action are definitely not appropriate, as well as to stick with your decision if it leads down a challenging road. For your consideration. --- name: quiet class: center,middle, .toc[[✧](#toc)] .title[Quieting the Mind] --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Quieting the Mind Yesterday we discussed the proposition that the attitude of an observational scientist is the attitude of a detective. We discussed how to effectively employ the emotions without getting carried away by them. Another way to say all of this is: A scientist has space from his or her own thoughts and feelings. A scientist does not act according to compulsions. --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Quieting the Mind We've been discussing the importance of obtain some distance or perspective on one's own thoughts and feelings for a scientist, particulary an observational scientist. We've also discussed the benefits of being able to access emptiness as appropriate tactic in various situations. The question was also raised, in regards to the term “de-focusing the mind”, how exactly one is supposed to do that. These are all related in that they have to do with the quiet or receptive power of the mind. You might say that our normal conceptual learning is like training a hand to be strong, to grab things, to skillfully manipulate things. Where is the balancing training that teaches the mind to let go of things and become receptive? --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Quieting the Mind There in fact a simple mental practice for clearing the mind and obtaining space. This technique is today known as mindfulness of breathing or mindfulness meditation. It is an ancient practice, handed down through generations unchanged for two and a half thousand years. I practice this every day and now consider it to be an essential part of keeping a healthy and flexible mind—the mental equivalent of stretching, or of flossing your teeth. Today I would like to do a brief experiment where we give this a try, and observe the results. Sound good? --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Suggestions for Meditation While it is a simple practice, learning meditation requires a teacher. It is a practice that has been developed and refined over a time scale much longer than that of a human life. Therefore, it is really not possible to learn on one's own. While meditating without instruction is still a beneficial activity, the benefits are superfical and limited compared to doing the same practice with the guidance of a teacher. The practice of meditation has been most deeply developed in the Buddhist tradition. The best thing to do is to Google "Buddhist meditation" in your city and find a school that you are attracted to. Particular recommendations: 1. "Mindfulness of breathing" as taught by the Tibetan buddhist tradition. In Oslo, Nordisk Kadampa Meditasjonssenter. 2. Zen. In Oslo, Rinzai Zen-Senter Oslo. In Kiel, Ostsee Zen or Zen 107. 3. Yogic meditation. 4. Mindfullness meditation. --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Suggestions for Meditation Other notes: The lineage founded by S. N. Goenka, [https://www.dhamma.org/](https://www.dhamma.org/), offers free 10-day retreats in Vipassana (one of two traditional Buddist styles) at many locations worldwide. It has done quite a lot to increase the awareness of meditation overall, and many people have benefitted from attending its retreats. However, I would personally not recommend it. The approach is extremely strict and inflexible, and does not tend to lead to people who are enthusiastic about meditating. Also, unlike all other meditation schools I know of, it actively prohibits people from studying in other traditions, which is a red flag. Transcendental Meditation is a cult with a great name. --- name: motivations class: center,middle, .toc[[✧](#toc)] .title[Three Motivations] --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #A Reflection Assignment Please take a few minutes to write to yourself the answers to these questions. If one doesn't resonante, just go on to the next one. 1. What is my day-to-day motivation as a scientist? In other words, what is the thing that gets me out of bed in the morning and propels me forward? 1. Is this motivation always the same, or does it fluctuate in quality or intensity? 1. Is it pure, existing by itself, or is it mixed together with other motivations? 1. Does this motivation take energy or care to maintain, or is it self-sustaining? 1. Is this motivation a good match for all activities I need to do as a scientist, or is it a good match for some and a less good match for others? 1. Is this motivation something that always supports me in my science, or does it sometimes act as a hindrance? --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Why Ask These Questions? Our motivation is like the engine of a car. It is the thing that propels us forward. Like the engine of a car, it is something that can be tinkered with, tuned up, and even replaced. It might not be obvious that the engine of a car can be modified or replaced. It is hidden from view and seems like the very heart of the car. But in fact it is a part like any other. The car's engine is an essential factor in determining how it performs its function. Therefore it's important to pay attention to it. The same holds for motivations. -- There are different possible motivations. To look in more detail at these, we will generalize them into three broad classes. --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Positive Class Motivations **Benevolence / Goodwill / Altruism.** It can be the case that our day-to-day motivation is wanting to make a difference in the world, wanting to help mankind or the environment, wanting to make other people's lives better, wanting to counteract some harm or injustice that has been done. --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Negative Class Motivations **Fear / Anger / Greed.** It can also be the case that actions in science are motivated by negative factors: fear of not getting a job, anger at something a reviewer said, just wanting to make money (well, not in this field!), wanting to acquire power over others, and so forth. --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Neutral Class Motivations **Curiosity / Tenaciousness / Resolve.** There are also motivations that are neither positive nor negative. These have in common an absence of emotional overtones. We will group these together into a neutral class. **Curiousity.** This involves being interested in seeing what is actually in the data. Getting to know data is like getting to know a person. You want to let that person speak for him- or herself. **Tenaciousness / Resolve.** This is the attitude of someone who is determined to climb a mountain, or of a detective pursuing a hunch. It is the spirit of just getting up again after a setback and continuing to try. As a mentor said with reference to getting a proposal declined, “Sometimes you have to just wear them down.” --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #A Quote from Einstein “My scientific work is motivated by an irresistible longing to understand the secrets of nature and by no other feelings. My love for justice and the striving to contribute toward the improvement of human conditions are quite independent from my scientific interests.” — A. Einstein (Letter to F. Lentz, August 20, 1949, in answer to a letter asking Einstein about his scientific motivation. Einstein Archives 58–418, From *The Ultimate Quoteable Einstein*, p. 20) --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #A Quote from a Movie From the movie “Lawrence of Arabia”, set during a time of guerrila warfare in the Middle East during WW I. “With Major Lawrence, mercy is a passion. With me, it is merely good manners. You may judge which motive is the more reliable.” — Prince Feisal -- In the context of the movie, this comment pertains to appropriate behavior during wartime. -- The relevant point for our purposes is a clear articulation of the idea that motivations based on strong emotions may be *less reliable* than more neutral ones. --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #A Personal Observation It has been my personal observation that neutral motivations are more stable, beneficial, easier to maintain, and more conducive to the objectivity required for scientific research. -- Of course, there is still an overarching motivation to do good. But day-to-day I have found benefit from simple curiosity together with resolve. -- Submitted for your consideration in the laboratory of your own life experience. --- name: inclinations class: center,middle, .toc[[✧](#toc)] .title[The Two Inclinations ] --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #The Two Inclinations In this quote, we we will replace “mathematics” with “science”. “Some mathematicians are birds, others are frogs. Birds fly high in the air and survey broad vistas of mathematics out to the far horizon. They delight in concepts that unify our thinking and bring together diverse problems from different parts of the landscape. Frogs live in the mud below and see only the flowers that grow nearby. They delight in the details of particular objects, and they solve problems one at a time... Mathematics needs both birds and frogs. Mathematics is rich and beautiful because birds give it broad visions and frogs give it intricate details... It is stupid [ed: ‘unwise’] to claim that birds are better than frogs because they see farther, or that frogs are better than birds because they see deeper. The world of mathematics is both broad and deep, and we need birds and frogs working together to explore it.” — from [Birds and Frogs](https://www.ams.org/notices/200902/rtx090200212p.pdf) by Freeman Dyson --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #The Two Inclinations **Birds** feel at home when they are able to survey the landscape. **Frogs** feel at home when they are immersed in what they are doing. -- **Birds** tend to understand things quickly, and get bored quickly. **Frogs** tend to understand things slowly, and persist stubbornly. -- **Birds** like the feeling of flying in flocks. **Frogs** like the feeling of swimming alone. -- **A Bird** might work on ten projects in one year. **A Frog** might work on one project for ten years. -- **Birds** organize temporally, according to deadlines. **Frogs** organize atemporally, according to goals. -- **Birds** choose a destination, and like to be oriented. **Frogs** choose a direction, and like to be surprised. -- **Birds**, seeing the whole, tend to value diversification. **Frogs**, seeing the parts, tend to value unification. --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Discussion Questions **Birds** incline to the big picture. **Frogs** incline to the details. Birds: survey, quick, together, multi-tasking, temporal, destination Frogs: immerse, slow, alone, mono-tasking, atemporal, direction We'll have discussions in groups of three. -- 1. What does a bird need to perform at its best? What does a frog need? -- 1. What would really stress out a bird? What would really stress out a frog? -- 1. What are the benefits of birds and frogs collaborating? What are the challenges? -- 1. What would our field be like if we had only birds? Only frogs? -- 1. Do you feel one of these inclinations describes you? Or some of both? Does one describe your advisor? --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Motivation If you have a plant that you want to grow, it's essential to know how much water that kind of plant needs, and how much sun. -- You don't water a plant according to when and how much you feel like it. You water a plant according to the needs of the plant. A scientist is a self-watering plant. There is no one else who is going to make sure you are getting enough water and enough sun. -- For this reason, it is important to know one's own character. --- name: oneprinciple class: center,middle, .toc[[✧](#toc)] .title[One Unifying Principle] --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #A True Story A junior scientist realized that she needed help and went to see her mentor, a very senior and successful scientist. When she arrived at her mentor's office, the young scientist found the older scientist in a distraught and agitated state. “Is everything okay?” asked the young scientist. “No, it's not!!” answered the older scientist. He was so upset, his hands were shaking. “I'm working on a proof, but I can't figure it out. I've tried everything! I don't know what to do. I should be able to do this. It's so frustrating!” The junior scientist didn't know what to do, either. She did her best to console her mentor with encouraging words, telling him she was sure he would be able to figure out the proof soon, and suggesting he put it down and come back to it later. After a little while, the older scientist calmed down and went back to his work. The younger scientist left without getting the help she had been seeking. --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Reflections on this Story Of course, we don't know the life story of the senior scientist. We can't appreciate what challenges he may have had to overcome in his life, and what his road was to becoming successful. -- We do know that this person made significant and lasting contributions to his field. -- Yet, it is clear that, in some larger sense, even if one does make significant contributions to one's field, doing so in such a manner also has negative impacts on oneself as well as on those around you. -- It would be better, for ourselves and for others, to arrange ourselves in such a way that we do not one day become the senior scientist. -- We may take this person's positive example of making meaningful contributions. At the same time, as far as the manner in which we do things, we should aspire to evolve in the opposite direction. -- Hearing stories like this can make one resolve to try to counterbalance such tendencies. --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #A Paradox There is a paradox at the heart of scientific research. Scientists want to know the truth ... -- ... yet like to be right and don't like to be wrong. -- Scientists strive to be objective ... -- ... yet think in terms of **“my”** idea and **“your”** idea. -- Doesn't that seem a bit odd? -- Does the practice of science necessarily lead to greater objectivity? -- Are there ways in which science works at cross-purposes to itself? -- “The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which he [or she] has attained liberation from the self.” —Einstein, in *The World as I see It* --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Summary of these Notes The unifying principle behind these notes and exercises is that of obtaining space from one's own thoughts and feelings. It is proposed that having such space helps us to be better scientsts. This proposition is not of the type that amends itself to quantitative and objective testing. Therefore, it is presented to individuals, so that those who might be inclined to do so may evaluate this proposition through observation of their own life experience. In our lives as scientists, it seems to me, we may either proceed in such a way that we become more open in heart and mind, or in such a way that we become more closed. Whether it goes on way or another depends upon the manner one's internal orientation, and that, in turn, depends to a degree upon the ideas to which one has been exposed. --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #An Abstract Painting Years ago I saw a painting in a museum. It did not appear to represent anything particular. Instead it was composed of simple abstract shapes, lines, and planes of light and color. I did not know what to make of it. Fascinated, I stared at it for a while. After some time I began to notice how it felt to be looking at the painting. In the upper portion of the painting I felt a sense of rushing, energy, and motion. Then in the lower portion, I felt a sense stillness, calm, and quiet. Suddenly, something clicked. “It feels like a waterfall!” I thought. I looked at the title: *Waterfall*, 1928, by Arthur Dove. --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #A Change in Perspective Arthur Dove, a contemporary of Stieglitz and Georgia O'Keefe, is not very well known today. However, he is recognized as the first American abstract expressionist, a forerunner of artists like Rothko and Pollock. In his writing, the artist described a transition point in his life. He gave up painting the way things *look* and started painting the way things *feel*. After a while of painting in this way, he no longer saw things in terms of recognizable forms and individual objects. Instead he saw, and remembered, things in terms of simple abstract shapes, lines, and planes of light and color. His practice as a painter altered his perception of reality. I found this to be very profroud. --- class: left, .toc[[✧](#toc)] #Perpective Training The ideas that inhabit our mind influence our perception, whether we are aware of it or not. If we have an idea of “mine” versus “yours”, we will tend to see things in this way, and our experiences will then reinforce that view. Over time it becomes more difficult to change. If, on the other hand, we have a set of abstract, impersonal factors with which to analyze our experiences, then over time we gain more space from our personal habits, reactions, and preferences. The ideas presented here have two purposes. On one level, they can perhaps aid us in everyday life as scientists by bringing attention to non-obvious distinctions, or by enumerating options we didn't know we had. On another level, it is hoped that they can contribute to gaining space from ourselves through the use of an impersonal scaffolding, a perspective training for a different way of looking at things.