1. Passion & Curiosity:
Aesthetic sensibility in the cultivation of
science
Rajat Mani Thomas
Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience
Thursday, June 13, 2013
2. From Electronics to Neuroscience
via Cosmology
Jitter
Thursday, June 13, 2013
3. From Electronics to Neuroscience
via Cosmology
• My personal story :
Jitter
Thursday, June 13, 2013
4. From Electronics to Neuroscience
via Cosmology
• My personal story :
• Ingredients : Passion + Chance ( passion,
curiosity ) Jitter
Thursday, June 13, 2013
5. Our responsibility
We are at the very beginning of time for the
human race. It is not unreasonable that we
grapple with problems. But there are tens of
thousands of years in the future. Our responsibility
is to do what we can, learn what we can, improve
the solutions, and pass them on.
Richard P. Feynman
Thursday, June 13, 2013
6. Have fun
• A cafeteria plate that led to QED and
Nobel Prize
• Catching the wave becomes the soliton
Thursday, June 13, 2013
7. Have fun
• A cafeteria plate that led to QED and
Nobel Prize
• Catching the wave becomes the soliton
When can this
happen?
Thursday, June 13, 2013
8. ... Not when you over
optimize
Thursday, June 13, 2013
9. ... Not when you over
optimize
• Optimizing your code on first attempt - bad idea
Thursday, June 13, 2013
10. ... Not when you over
optimize
• Optimizing your code on first attempt - bad idea
• First great draft for your scientific paper - bad idea
Thursday, June 13, 2013
11. ... Not when you over
optimize
• Optimizing your code on first attempt - bad idea
• First great draft for your scientific paper - bad idea
• Achieve perfection Artificial Intelligence - bad idea
Thursday, June 13, 2013
12. ... Not when you over
optimize
• Optimizing your code on first attempt - bad idea
• First great draft for your scientific paper - bad idea
• Achieve perfection Artificial Intelligence - bad idea
Thursday, June 13, 2013
13. ... Not when you over
optimize
• Optimizing your code on first attempt - bad idea
• First great draft for your scientific paper - bad idea
• Achieve perfection Artificial Intelligence - bad idea
• Get a broad stroke out
Thursday, June 13, 2013
14. ... Not when you over
optimize
• Optimizing your code on first attempt - bad idea
• First great draft for your scientific paper - bad idea
• Achieve perfection Artificial Intelligence - bad idea
• Get a broad stroke out
Thursday, June 13, 2013
15. ... Not when you over
optimize
• Optimizing your code on first attempt - bad idea
• First great draft for your scientific paper - bad idea
• Achieve perfection Artificial Intelligence - bad idea
• Get a broad stroke out
Fodder for discussion
Thursday, June 13, 2013
16. Popular advice: Find your niche
• Do not ignore: Generation gap (tn)
time
Thursday, June 13, 2013
17. Popular advice: Find your niche
• Do not ignore: Generation gap (tn)
time
Thursday, June 13, 2013
18. Popular advice: Find your niche
• Do not ignore: Generation gap (tn)
time
Thursday, June 13, 2013
19. Popular advice: Find your niche
• Do not ignore: Generation gap (tn)
time
Thursday, June 13, 2013
20. Develop “translational”
skills along the way
• Pattern driven concurrent softwares
• Commoditization (Transferable but
competitive)
Nature uses only the longest threads to weave her patterns, so that each small piece of her fabric
reveals the organization of the entire tapestry.
Richard P. Feynman
Thursday, June 13, 2013
23. Connections: literally
• Decision theoryVs Galaxy formation ?
• What Neuroscientists could learn from
Astrophysicists?
Thursday, June 13, 2013
24. The joy of finding things out
Rutherford
A single observation revolutionizes Physics!
Thursday, June 13, 2013
25. The joy of finding things out
Rutherford
A single observation revolutionizes Physics!
Thursday, June 13, 2013
26. Science for a scientist
• Scientific values consist in the continual and
increasing recognition of the uniformity of
nature.
S. Chandreshekar (1946)
Thursday, June 13, 2013
27. Data driven methods
• Step 1 : Discover them patterns.
• Step II : Check for its robustness, i.e.,
statistics
Thursday, June 13, 2013
28. Data driven methods
• Step 1 : Discover them patterns.
• Step II : Check for its robustness, i.e.,
statistics
Why ?
Thursday, June 13, 2013
29. Data data data ...
• The hottest (demand-wise) job of the
future: data analyst (highly transferable)
Thursday, June 13, 2013
30. Data data data ...
• The hottest (demand-wise) job of the
future: data analyst (highly transferable)
Why ?
Thursday, June 13, 2013
