Synonyms

A graph of "Enjoyable to read" versus "Synonym use". There are two curves. The increasing one is for literature, while the decreasing one is for technical mathematics.

“What do you mean, I can’t describe the same quantity in my equations using five different similar-but-subtly-different-terms!?”

21 Dec 2024

Profound

A single-axis labelled, "Time spent reflecting on X". For small times, the reaction is often, "X is so shallow!" But after you think about X a lot, the reaction becomes, "X is profound!"

Works for many values of X.

14 Dec 2024

Confused

Title: Research Group Status Updates. Five panels of scientists giving their status update during group meetings. First: "Confused." Second: "Really confused." Third: "I was hopeful, then confused." Fourth: I somehow got *more* confused." Fifth: "Well, *I* got less confused."

The common theme in my group meetings!

07 Dec 2024

Dense Matter

A lineup of dense materials, from least (left) to greatest (right). On the left is water, then it's neutron star matter, and finally it's a multi-column science paper.

I’ve grudgingly accepted the two-column format from APS, but three is just too far. Think of all that panning and zooming on screen!

30 Nov 2024

Adornment

A mathematical symbol that has a bunch of indices, a circumflex, a tilde, a slash, and dependency on some parameter. Two people outside of the frame are discussing the symbol. The first asks, "Do you think we can fit in a few more dependencies?" The other replies, "Oh yeah, the reader won't mind."

My Standard Model physics course really hammered home how cumbersome notation could get.

23 Nov 2024

Idea Diffusion

Diffusion of dots from left to right across a membrane. On the left, there is a bunch of dots representing "My beautiful ideas". On the right, there are only a few dots, representing "What ends up working". The membrane is the reality filter.

“Why does that pesky membrane have to be there at all?!”

“Maybe because it protects us from all your bad ideas as well?”

16 Nov 2024

Notation Conflicts

A pie chart of writing a paper. A small section involves writing the paper. The bulk is for fixing notation conflicts.

Why can’t everyone just read my mind and not worry about the bad notation?!

09 Nov 2024

Low-Hanging Fruit

A graph of "Low-hanging fruit" versus "Popularity of a field". When a field isn't popular, there's a ton of low-hanging fruit. As the field becomes more popular though, that kind of fruit diminishes.

“But how will I know if the unpopular field I choose will have good, important fruit?”

“And that’s why you’ve got to be in it for the fruit itself, not what anyone else says.”

27 Oct 2024

Slippery Slope

A graph of Mood versus Negativity. The graph depicts a plateau with a steep cliff. You're walking on the plateau towards the slope, and a good friend is there to point behind you and say, "Let's go *that* way."

And you can bring the same gift to your friends.

19 Oct 2024

Regression to the Mean

Left panel: A professor is writing on the board and a student asks, "Professor, can you write a bit bigger?" They say "Sure!" Right panel: The text on the board says "Let x be a random..." The writing gets smaller and smaller until its illegible gibberish.

The recurrences in writing size are a direct imprint of the persistence of students sitting beyond the front row.

12 Oct 2024

To the past To the present