Be Humble


I read this editorial by David Brooks of the NYTimes this morning. (Click here) It resonates with what I believe is the mark of a good researcher: know yourself (and the cultural values/beliefs/behaviors which shape you) and then use that knowledge to inform and shape your research. Research and researchers who are "bold and brash" may make a big splash and gain a lot of attention, but will their work stand the test of time? Rather, as Brooks argues, the better way is to be self-reflexive throughout the process of research. Test your ideas and thoughts carefully and you are more likely to produce something of lasting value.

Comments

Post a Comment

Feel free to comment on my blog. Please keep comments civil and relevant.

Popular posts from this blog

Life inside the Bubble: If not now, when?

Chris Webber asks, "If not now, when?" I'm back in the "bubble" of quarantine. This is my personal story. But I've also been watching the NBA (through a subscription to NBA global that lets me watch all the games online), and have been following their "bubble." My personal story is important to me, but mundane. The NBA story, which has little impact on me personally, in light of the struggle for justice, is not mundane. My Personal Bubble Story  After having surgery in Hong Kong on my right hip, a procedure called "Birmingham hip resurfacing," I returned to Macau on August 24th, and was assigned a hotel room to observe a second period of 14 days of quarantine. While I would rather be at home, or not have to be in quarantine, it is not all that bad. The Macau government is paying for my hotel room - a one-bedroom suite - and providing three meals a day. I have great high speed internet in my room, two flat screen televisions that I can ho
Read more

Blog theme--seeking wisdom

Image
I've been talking with people about my newly created blog, and someone suggested to me that to write a good one, you need to have a theme. This is a great idea. One theme could be reflections on my work and experiences in Taiwan. But I'm currently not in Taiwan. So, at present I am more interested in the process of analyzing, writing, and reflecting. This is what I am doing in my "job" as teacher and adviser at the University of Oklahoma. And what comes from and through this process is the theme of "wisdom." How can wisdom be pursued, understood, and conceptualized? This is my theme. My first reflection comes from notes taken from a wonderful book, Senses of Place (1996). Edited by Steven Feld and Keith Basso. The second chapter in this book, by Basso, is titled "Wisdom sits in Places." In it Basso discusses the process of learning and understanding wisdom from the point of view of the Western Apache of the Cibecue reservation. Below I'm pasti
Read more

Decline of the US?

Image
On the day after S & P downgrades the US credit rating, in the week after the great "compromise" on US debt, it is hard to have much hope for the United States and its future. Sure, the US has gone through greater difficulties in its past, Civil War, the Great Depression, WWII, but it feels different this time around. The eight years of the Bush Jr. administration were ones of squandered opportunities. Instead of investing in infrastructure, paying down debts, and laying the foundation for the future, very little was done. The country lived off the prosperity and hard work of previous generations. Then everything blew up in 2007 and 2008, due to the greed of the overgrown Financial Industry. (I highly recommend reading The Big Short by Michael Lewis .) The corrections made by the Obama administration, while noble in intent, have not gone far enough. Then the election of 2010, in which a minority of Americans participated, when those opposed to Obama were motivated and his
Read more