Fitting in . . .

Dennis M. Barden has a nice article (link) on the importance of ``fit'' in the hiring process in academia. Here is a sentence that I liked:

fit is the sine qua non, the factor that ultimately separates the well-suited candidate from the merely well prepared.

Replace Bar charts with Dot Plots

You rarely find bar charts in a science journal. This is mainly because it is not the best way for presenting most of the scientific data. Personally, I am not a big fan of bar charts. As Edward Tufte puts it

Bar charts have a very low data-ink ratio.

i.e., they waste a lot a ink without adding any information.

On rare occasions that I have been forced to use the bar chart, the result was disappointing. I found the dot plots to be much better in presenting the same data with less clutter. Dot plots also have high data-ink ratio, meaning every dot of ink adds value (information) to the plot. Take a look here.

Grant review

Ever wondered what goes on in a grant review meeting? See a NIH grant review meeting (video) that was filmed to help proposers write better proposals. There are many good pointers that you can pick up to write a good proposal.

"Jott" it down

Most part of the day I am in front of a computer and have enough paper with me but sans ideas to note down. On the rare occasion that an idea strikes me (that I would like to note down) I find myself with neither a computer nor paper. The days of forgotten ideas (and errands) are gone. Jott is a great website that provides a free transcription service. You can call a number and record your notes in jott. Jott will then transcribe your recorded message and send you an email. It recognized my south Indian accent perfectly well. To my surprise, it transcribed my Hindi message flawlessly! Here is the transcription of my Hindi message:

Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani.

Go ahead try it out (www.jott.com). It is a great and fun tool to use.

Scientific Images

Thanks to Abi for pointing me to this article.

Felice Frankel from MIT transforms the usually boring scientific images into breathtaking pictures. Take a look here and here.

Learn how to present your scientific data in a more captivating and engaging way in her book "Envisioning Science". A video of a lecture given by Felice Frankel can be viewed here.

Innovations in computing ...

Ted talks (link) has very nice videos about the innovations in computers which may soon be on our computers. Take a look at these videos.

Images, images and more images ...




Adding flare to desktops