Fornew readers and those who request to be “ 好友 good friends” please read my 公告 栏 first. Stretching Exercises for person who sits in front of a deskor computer all day long (i.e., most scholars and students) : Five very shortvideos demonstrating simple exercises that require no equipment and little timeto do. Download them from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/office-stretches/MY00921/?utm_source=FeaturedTopicutm_medium=emailutm_campaign=HouseCallpubDate=September%2023,%202011
Fornew readers and those who request to be “ 好友 good friends” please read my 公告 栏 first. Nix nuclear. Chuck coal. Rebuff biofuel. All we need is the wind, the water, and the sun to supply the energy requirements of the world By Mark Delucchi / September 2011 IEEE Spectrum Magazine For details see http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/renewables/wind-water-and-solar-power-for-the-world/?utm_source=techalertutm_medium=emailutm_campaign=092211
Fornew readers and those who request to be “ 好友 good friends” please read my 公告 栏 first. I have written previously about the Center forIntelligent and Networked System (CFINS) at Tsinghua University http://blog.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=spaceuid=1565do=blogid=8897 It has nowbeen ten years since its establishment in 2001 (also the 100 th birthday of Tsinghua University). In the spirit of 十年 树木百年树 人 , a review and a celebration party was held on September 7 th 2011. Leaders of Tsinghua, former president 王大中 , current president 顾秉林 , Tsinghua foundation chairperson 贺美英, many other Academicians, faculty member and students were present. A detailaccount as well as photos of the event can be found at http://news.tsinghua.edu.cn/publish/news/4204/2011/20110913102346278310305/20110913102346278310305_.html . For myself, my ten year experience can be summarized in my thank you speechreproduced below (both in English and Chinese translation ably provided byProfessor Chen Xi): First of all, on behalf of theoversea professional team, I wish to thank the leaders of Tsinghua Universityincluding former President 王大中 _, President 顾秉林 , foundation chair 贺美英 for their strong and financialsupport of the Center during the past decade. It was in 2000 when PresdientWang and Academician Li Yanda learned that I was about to retire from myHarvard post after 40+ years that they asked me if I am interested in taking upa chair professorship at Tsinghua after retirement in 2001. I grew up and livedmy formative years in the US and have continuously lived there for over 60years. I realized that temperament-wise, I may no longer fit to live in Chinaon a longer term basis. Instead I came back with an alternative proposal thatI’ll undertake to assemble a team of well accomplished Chinese-Americanprofessors from different universities to share the duties of theprofessorship, each devoting about one month/year in residence in Tsinghua butotherwise conduct our duties voluntarily via e-mail and other communicationmeans.. The idea of professorial team was thus born. Accompanying the team, wealso proposed the founding of the Center for Intelligent and Networked Systems(CFINS) as a focal point for the education of graduate students and cuttingedge research in the department of Automation. At the time of the founding of theCenter, Tsinghua undergraduate students already had a world wide reputation ofbeing well prepared for graduate study. The charge to the professorial team wasthat we should devote our effort to the education of Tsinghua graduate andparticularly Ph.D student so that they will be known as world class and firstrate . In the past decade, we can honestly say that the team has done that.Speaking for myself, I can testify that the three Ph.D students I produced fromCFINS are with exactly the same care, devotion, and standards as my 50 otherHarvard Ph.Ds. However, privately I have also twounspoken goals myself which I shall now reveal at the ten year anniversarycelebration. First, as a child born to parents, s/he requires the support ofthe parents in the early years. But every child must learn to supporthim/herself and payback to his/her parent. Similarly, no organization can longsurvive if it cannot financially be independent and self supporting. I am gladto say for the past five years CFINS is supporting herself and in additionsupports a number of master and ph.d students with funds competitvely won bothin China and from the US. In this sense, one can say Tsinghua has made a veryprofitable investment in CFINS. Second, CFINS is gaining in world widerecognition. This is not on my say so but on objective evidences. For the pasttwo years, internationally well known persons at MIT, UC Berkeley, and a well establishedDutch University have independently approached CFINS for cooperative researcheffort with promised financial contribution. These overtures came directly toCFINS scientists without intervention and effort of the professorial team forintroduction and connections. Nothing speaks louder than such peer recognitionwhich can ONLY be accomplished with the effort of the resident Center staff.You can say now CFINS is ON THE MAP. Or in the words of Chairman Mao, “CFINShas stood up” In conclusion, let me say thanks tothe effort of the entire CFINS personnel for their devotion in the past decade.You are well on your way to be among the top rank in world widescience/technology research centers and help Chinese ST to claim herrightful place in the world. 在清华大学何毓琦讲席教授组及智能与网络化系统研究中心 成立十周年纪念会上的致辞 首先,我想代表讲席教授组感谢清华大学的各位领导:前校长王大中院士,校长顾秉林院士,基金会主席贺美英教授。感谢他们十年来对智能与网络化系统研究中心的强有力的帮助和财政上的支持。那是在 2000 年,当王校长和李衍达院士得知我将从我工作了 40 多年的哈佛大学的职位上退休后,他们问我在 2001 年退休后是否有兴趣到清华来担任讲席教授。我在美国长大成人,连续 60 年生活在那里。我意识到依我的情况可能不太适合长时间在中国生活。不过,我想到了另一种方案,就是由我着手组建一个讲席教授组,其中的成员来自不同的学校但学术造诣深厚,这个讲席教授组共同分担讲席教授的职责,每位教授每年在清华本地工作一个月,其余时间则通过 E-MAIL 和其他通讯方式自愿履行职责。讲席教授组的想法就这样产生了。我们还建议成立智能与网络化系统研究中心作为自动化系研究生培养和尖端研究的联络点来配合讲席教授组的工作。 在中心组建之时,清华的本科生已经在世界上享有盛誉,他们为研究生阶段的学习做好了准备。讲席教授组需要尽力培养研究生特别是博士生使他们能够达到世界一流水平。我们能问心无愧地说,在这十年里我们做到了这一点。就我而言,我在清华培养了三位博士生,我敢保证我对他们每一位的关心,付出和标准与在哈佛培养的 50 位博士生完全一样。 然而,私下里我还有两个不曾说出的目标,在今天十年庆典之际我想透露给各位。首先,正如孩子与父母的关系,孩子幼小的时候需要父母的支持。但每个孩子必须学会自立并回报父母。同样的,如果经济上不能独立和自立,没有哪个机构可以长久存在下去。我很高兴在过去 5 年中, CFINS 能够自立并利用从中国和美国获得的研究经费支持了一批硕士生和博士生。从这个角度看,可以说清华对 CFINS 的投资获利颇丰。再者, CFINS 赢得了国际上的承认。这不由我说,是有客观证据的。这两年来,分别来自 MIT , UC Berkeley 以及荷兰的一所著名大学的国际上著名的教授找到 CFINS 主动表示提供经费进行合作研究的意向。这一切讲席教授组并没有介入也没有利用讲席教授组的引荐。没有什么比得到同行的认可更能说明问题,而这些只能由中心本地的员工才能做到。可以说,现在 CFINS 已经成为地图上的一个点。或则可以借用毛主席的话“ CFINS 站起来了。” 总之,我要感谢 CFINS 的全体员工十年来的努力和付出。 CFINS 正朝着世界一流的科学技术研究中心迈进,同时也正在帮助中国的科学技术在世界上赢得应有的地位。
关于任务类型和研究方法问题,每届同学都会问到,因此将回答赵雅琴的聊天记录摘录下来,以供参考: 赵雅琴2011 10:12:16 陆老师您好,今天我和两位师兄聚了会儿并交流了一下,我觉得其实我对程序设计并不是很感兴趣,您能不能给我布置一些其他方面的任务啊? Spring 11:04:56 那要看你将来的发展思路是什么?我对学生的专业技能要求分两类,一类是与算法、软件有关的应用研究,一类是与调研、统计有关的规律研究,邓晶是做第二类,陈德照是做第一类。黄佳音我想让他做第一类。 Spring 11:08:25 如果不做算法、程序,就必须要掌握调研和统计分析方法,要深入学习 市场调研、实验设计、统计学、线代、概率、矩阵论 等方面的内容,不然掌握不了专业技能。 Spring 11:11:50 我刚批下来的学校自主科研项目是做调研分析的,我的思路是要通过问卷调查+统计分析方法研究,你可以找陈德照要申请书看看。再找国内外期刊论文看看调研型论文的一般过程结构。 Spring 11:12:53 邓晶的毕业论文统计分析做的较差,这方面你不用参考她了(其软件环境及实验部分由陈德照支撑完成) Spring 11:44:00 管工的学生,必须要有建模的科研训练,特别是数学建模,统计模型也可以,所以看论文资料时要多参考管理学和信息系统方面的,不要多看情报学方面论文 Spring 12:02:56 无论你选择做软件算法还是统计分析,都要先学相关课程、掌握思想,再熟悉软件和工具,学会运用 ;不能直接拿软件工具就用 。 我正在考虑改进邓晶做过的实验,数据集还没有到手,实验目标、环境和实验过程陈德照已基本了解,你可以先找他要资料看看。其中要使用到人脸表情识别软件和统计分析工具。你的学习重点在统计分析课程和用户行为、心理分析论文方面
Fornew readers and those who request to be “ 好友 good friends” please read my 公告 栏 first. This is a short article well worth reading. I don't think this article will be blocked in China since it only has complimentary and not offensive things to say about China. Nor was the content about China but about social conditions in the world at large http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/opinion/sunday/Friedman-a-theory-of-everyting-sort-of.html?_r=1ref=columnists
Fornew readers and those who request to be “ 好友 good friends” please read my 公告 栏 first. Thisis a famous saying in American politics. Historical incidents starting with the“Nixon Watergate” in 1973 to the mostrecent “Congressman Wiener” incident in 2011 amply illustrate the folly and heavypenalties of lying about and attempts to cover up indiscretions and misdeed inpolitics. Oneof the problems of current Chinese scholarly misconduct seems to be also ofChinese family culture origin. When a misdeed by a scholar is uncovered, thefirst reaction of the institution to which the accused scholar belongs is to considerthis as bringing shame to the organization. Thus, in China in the spirit of notwashing your family dirty laundry in public, the institution tends to protectthe individual by attempting to white wash or cover up the misconduct. Because ofthis relative lack of punishment for misconduct, further incentive, beyondfinancial ones, is provided to induce mis-behavior. In contrast, in the West,misconduct of a scholar is a personal affair. The duty of the organization isto investigate the event and if true dismiss or heavily punish the scholar.There is no stigma attached to the institution. Cover up is not in the academicculture. Thus,it is a welcomed sign to read the new blog http://blog.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=spaceuid=75099do=blogid=464927page=2 about “ 燕山大学解聘付炜教授职务”. It appears that lessons aregradually being learned.
( For new reader and those who request 好友请求 , please read my 公告栏 first) At my age, the most frequent social events for me are attendances at retirement parties and memorial/funeral services. For the past ten days I was at two coasts of the US (San Francisco and New York) for both type of events. But here I want to talk about the retirement parties of two old friends from the above named institute. We are all familiar with high tech start up in the Silicon Valley. But I doubt too many people have heard of nonprofit start up there. In 1990, the US-China relation was at it's low point. Two far sighted and well known Chinese Americans, C.B. Sung ( http://www.cctv.com/program/upclose/20070108/104379_1.shtml see CCTV interview about the man who has a sixth sense about China) and Hang Sheng Cheng (VP of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco) founded the 1990 Institute with the idea of positive engagement and help to improve US-China relationships. The Institute played key roles in the macro economic modernization of China (see explanation below) during the 1990 decade. As Chinese economy blossomed and matured, the Institute gradually morphed her role into more microeconomic and humanistic tasks for the 21st century. Another co-founder and director and my old friend, William (Billy) M.S. Lee, together with his wife, Lucille initiated projects such as Children's art, student exchanges, and micro finance loans ( http://1990institute.org/microfinance/intro ) which now occupy significant portion of the activities of the Institute. Both Sung and Lee are my oldest friends in the US. I first met them in 1950. Sung is like a big brother who guided and advised me during the crucial formative years of my youth. Lee is the first Chinese friend I made in the US and our friendship stretches over more than half a century ( http://blog.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=spaceuid=1565do=blogid=263414 ) . Both of them are retiring from their duties at the 1990 Institute after almost a generation of volunteer service. The 21st Annual Institute Dinner on May 25 th honors both C.B. Sung and Billy Lee as they retire from Chairman of the board and co-founder and director of the Institute respectively. The acceptance speech by Billy Lee on behalf of the honorees says and explains more and far better about what the Institute did and does than I can. This is reproduces with permission from Billy below: BILLY’S TALK AT THE 1990 INSTITUTE’S ANNUAL DINNER May 25, 2011 Hang Sheng and C.B. asked me to express their deep appreciation and gratitude for honoring them this evening. I too thank you from the bottom of my heart. We want to extend our best wishes to those who will continue the Mission and Spirit of The 1990 Institute, and we wish to thank all the Past and Present 1990 Board Members, the Institute’s Honorable Co-Chairs, Volunteers, Friends, and Supporters who have helped us directly and indirectly to do what we loved to do the past 20 years. I personally have learned so much from everyone but particularly from CB, Hang Sheng, and Roz Koo. Tonight, however, I especially wish to thank CB and Hang Sheng - my 2 Big Brothers and Mentors at The 1990 Institute. Almost 65 years ago, when I was leaving China for schooling in the United States, my father gave me his parting advice: DiDi, now you will be on your own. Behave well and stay close to people who are Good and people who want to do Good. Also, follow those who are bright and preferably who are much smarter than you. Yes, I have followed my Dad’s advice. You see, I married Lucille who is a good person, and who is - as many of you know - much much smarter than I. Yes, I also joined The 1990 Institute, because I trusted CB and I was impressed by HangSheng’s warmth and sincerity. I regarded them as Good people who clearly wanted to do Good, and they were unquestionably many times more capable and accomplished than I. Tonight, I like to take this opportunity to thank them personally. Hang Sheng ! I like to share with you what I heard at Stanford University’s Lecture Series last year – titled “ SIX DECADES OF THE PRC from 1950 to 2010 “.Prof. Barry Naughton, a renowned scholar on Chinese Economy and Chair of International Affairs at UCSD covered the Decade 1990 to 2000. He emphatically pointed out that the 1990 Decade was indeed the TURNING POINT in China’s Fiscal Reform which brought about the country’s impressive development of today. He particularly pointed out that Premier Zhu Rongji China’s Economic Tsar based much of his economic policies on the new knowledge brought back to China by a group of young Chinese scholars who had spent time and did in-depth research in the United States. Hang Sheng, I think Prof. Naughton was indeed referring to the impact and contribution made by you and The 1990 Institute at that critical period. As V.P. of the Federal Reserve Bank, you were instrumental in placing the very first group of bright Chinese Research Scholars who came to the U.S. to learn the Market–Oriented Economic System at various key institutions, and you came up with this visionary concept to pair up the brightest of the bright young PRC Economists with selected U.S. Experts to do Joint Research on China’s Economic Reform. That in fact gave birth to our 1990 Institute . You, My Good Friend, truly deserve tremendous accolade ! CB ! You have been my Big Brother since my college days. You have always given me encouragement, fresh ideas, critical comments, and often very inspirational words. I still remember vividly one lunch gathering we had, and I was babbling about The 1990 Institute’s Children, Art, and Environment Projects and about Xin Xin Jiao the Heart to Heart Bridging of Children from different cultures. You quietly wrote 8 Chinese characters on a slip of paper and showed them to me. Xin Xin Tse Whor, Ker Yee Liao Yuan . It was a metaphor saying: Little Sparks of Fire Can Inflame a Vast Terrain . I think, CB, you have been someone who can spot potential Sparks while others may not. You can visualize the Vast Terrain not imaginable to most other people. You can analyze what fuels are necessary to induce, maintain and expand the flame. You would most surely check the weather and the wind, and make sure that the blaze is carefully managed and directed. Most importantly, however, you would first start by asking Why ! Why this action, effort, time, and involvement ? What is the Good in Purpose ? Then you would want to know the potential impact and result. You always aim for maximum value and benefit. I have carefully observed and analyzed how you led The 1990 Institute. To me, you were an admirable Orchestrator and a really smart Optimizer! I learned a lot from you, Dear Bro. I thank you and love you ! Again, Good Friends and Supporters of The 1990 Institute, on behalf on C.B., Hang Sheng and myself, thank You All for coming this evening ! (I note here that Billy is far too modest about his own role in the speech here. But reader should go to the 1990 website to see the details of the micro-economic and humanistic work he did during the past ten years.) Note added 8/13/2012. The 1990 Insitute website today featured several articles about US-China relations well worth reading. http://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-1565-449810.html , http://www.1990institute.org/
( For new reader and those who request 好友请求 , please read my 公告栏 first) From the Wall Street Journal http://www.fins.com/Finance/Articles/SB130313870461006621/What-Not-to-Say-in-a-Job-Interview?Type=4reflink=djm_emailfinshouse_may1911_wsjfr What Not to Say in a Job Interview By Kelly Eggers It's not all that difficult to completely blow a job interview . Showing up late, wearing inappropriate clothing and answering your cell phone are a few good ways to kill your chances. But sticking your foot in your mouth will do the job as well. Many hiring managers say that on occasion, candidates that seem perfect at first get crossed off the list by saying something senseless when asked a routine interview question. Here are a few responses to some of those frequently asked questions that will be sure to kill the conversation and send you straight out the door. 1: So, tell me a little about yourself. If your answer begins with anything remotely related to your place of birth, experiences in grade school, or your bad relationship with your parents, you can pretty much consider the interview over. And remember, this is often the first question you'll face. It's hard to know what exactly an interviewer is looking for you to say to this question, but it's safe to assume they want you to give a bit of background on your professional history. "Ask them where they'd like you to begin," says Carolyn Thompson, an executive recruiter and author of 10 Steps to Finding the Perfect Job . Are they looking for your entire professional background, or just your most recent work experience? "It gives you a point to work forward or backward from," Thompson explains. 2: Why do you want to leave your current job? First and foremost, you should actually want to leave your job if you're going on interviews. If you meet that qualification, you shouldn't say you are just looking for a change and you definitely shouldn't badmouth your employer. "It's ok to bring up a problem with your current employer," says J. Patrick Gorman, co-founder of the iFind group, an executive recruiter based in New York, "but you have to show how you attempted to solve it so you don't sound like a whiner." Rita Boyle, a senior executive search consultant with New Jersey-based Cornerstone Search Group, suggests explaining how the change is the next logical step for your career path. "Explain why you're running to their company instead of why you're running away from your current one," Boyle says Other no-nos? Noting that you want to leave your company (or join a new one) because of anything relating to location, pay, or benefits. 3. What are your biggest strengths and weaknesses? The worst way to answer this question is without the slightest pinch of modesty. "'Weaknesses? I don't have any weaknesses,' is the worst thing possible to say," says Gorman. A less-obvious-but-still-awful answer? Identifying a weakness, but not explaining how you got through it, he says. It's important to acknowledge your downfalls, but explain how you've been able to work around them as well. When it comes to discussing strengths, don't give yourself an endlessly glowing review -- but don't go with a one-size-fits-all answer, either. Mark Herschberg, a career skills professor at the Levin Institute in New York City, says almost every candidate trots out a platitude about being smart or hard-working. "In those cases, I respond, '95% of the candidates gave me that same answer, can you tell me anything that distinguishes you from them?'" he says. 4. How would your current or former colleagues describe you? This is not an opportunity to simply re-frame your strengths. "There's a difference between how you and everyone you work with would describe you," says Thompson. You should also steer clear of responses like "the only employee who did things right," or "a great guy to hang out with after work," says Lynne Sarikas, director of the MBA career center at Northeastern University's College of Business Administration. Think about what people at each level of the workforce look to you for, says Thompson. Your subordinates, for example, might say you're fair, and are always looking to pass along useful knowledge and opportunities to gain experience. 5. What is your goal for the short term? Never imply that you'll be leaving in short order to start your own business, go back to school, or that you see yourself in the interviewer's job. Another gaffe? Not knowing what your interviewer means by "short term." You might define short-term as the next six months, and your interviewer might be thinking in terms of the next 18 to 24 months, so it's important to clarify the timeframe upfront. "A lot of people think 'I know what my short-term goal is,' but if you don't know their definition of 'short term,' your answer may or may not be appropriate," says Thompson. 6. Are there certain tasks or types of people you don't like? This is a particularly loaded question, according to Steven Raz, co-founder of Cornerstone Search Group, so make sure to tread carefully. Steer clear of any answer that is abrasive to authority figures, he counsels. At the same time, Bruce Hurwitz of Hurwitz Strategic Staffing, a New York City executive recruiting firm, advises not to feign a universally agreeable demeanor. Be honest here, and note the things you tend to avoid -- whether it's people who are overly chatty, or jobs that require endless data input -- as long as the tasks or personalities aren't going to be an inherent part of the role. 7. Do you have any questions? If there's a question that's a guaranteed game-changer, it's this one. Coming up blank is a good way to show that you aren't thoughtful or interested in the job, says Raz. And not just any questions in return are appropriate. No-nos include asking about compensation for the job, what the company does, if you can work from home, how much vacation time you'll get, or if the drug and background testing are really mandatory. Ask queries that will help "match up your skills, experiences and accomplishments with what they're looking for," says Raz. Instead of fumbling in the final minutes of the interview, be prepared with a few great questions that show you're interested in both the company and the job.
(For new reader and those who request 好友请求 , please read my 公告栏 first) From a reader’s comment and my response : “One of your students mentioned "making decisions in the midst of incomplete information" as one of the most important lessons learned from you. May I ask you to write an article on this topic? It is one of the constant challenges faced by every scientist trying to push the boundary of human knowledge. I'd love to hear your thoughts/experiences in this regard. Thx ”. 博主回复 (2011-5-7 21:30) : Thank you. Let me think about this This is a very good question and a vexing problem faced by all of us. Let me first give some background. 1. Students of Operations Research (OR) all know the existence of a topic within OR called “Decision Analysis (DA) ”. I have also touched on the subject in one of my blog articles http://blog.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=spaceuid=1565do=blogid=16273 which incidentally is well worth re-reading (re-reading it myself three years later, I’d not change a word nor think I can do better). 2. “Decision Analysis (DA)”, however, suffers several drawbacks when applying to real world problems. a. Most real problems are so computationally intensive that render the methodology of DA impractical or infeasible. b. DA only deals with “one shot” decision making, i.e., you decide once and there are no recourse or second chances c. DA requires the decision maker to amalgamate all consequences of the decision into one measurement in the units of “utility” (e.g., money). Utility Theory can be questioned theoretically regarding its assumption (see next point), and practically in terms our ability to assess utility. d. If one believes in Utility theory, then, it requires the decision maker to choose the decision that maximize the expected utility. But we know human beings do not always derive comfort from expected (or average) basis. Recall my frequent analogy of immersing one foot in boiling water and the other in ice in previous blog articles. 3. Regarding criticism point 2b above, there is actually a sub-branch of DA called “Sequential Decision Analysis”. This endeavor expands the decision possibilities from “yes”, “no” to include “wait and see or no decision”. The point here is that by waiting for more information, it may make the correct decision easier to ascertain. The “Sequential Probability Ratio Test (SPRT)” in statistics is one specific example. However, this extension only takes care of acquiring possible new information. Other issues such as feedback, second chance, and changing environment are not addressed. 4. Consequently, when it comes to making decisions in complex real world problems, decision theory at best is only of qualitative use in help us avoiding emotion or rash actions. Under this background, what did I tell my student and myself about practical decision making under incomplete or uncertain information? Here knowledge of control theory comes in. In my article on optimal control http://bbs.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=spaceuid=1565do=blogid=209522 Four prominent features of control theory were pointed out, namely, FEEDBACK, DYNAMICS, UNCERTAINTY, and EXTENSION to LEARNING and ADAPTATION. For practical decision making, each of these comes into play. By “feedback” we learn from mistakes. In life, second chances are plentiful and there are always a series of related decisions in which midcourse corrections are possible. By “dynamics” we mean things and environment including goals do change. These will induce changes in decisions that we subsequently make. Very seldom it is a “one shot” affair Finally “uncertainty, learning and adaptation” are generalizations of the sequential decision analysis approach mentioned in point 3 above. My other articles about "recipe for life" http://blog.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=spaceuid=1565do=blogid=8186 in general terms, and http://blog.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=spaceuid=1565do=blogid=276944 in a specific but important situation illustrated how they are relevant in my own decision making in life. Of course, a precise formula for practical decision making under uncertainty for real world problems does not exist. The above are still guidelines and are what makes life interesting and let me earn a living among other things. Lastly, consulting my series of articles on "How to do Research" and "On Research and Education" will also be helpful.