Gilbert should be far better known that he is. Admittedly grounded in behaviorism (he studied under Skinner), he worked tirelessly to shift the initial focus from what you do to what you get done — and why you think that matters. (“Behavior you take with you; accomplishment you leave behind.”)

Sometimes when doing a training session on how to teach/present (e.g. to grad students), I’ll ask them to think up ways in which a teaching session could be made less good. We usually come remarkable close to describing the university’s default settings. It’s a good tool, this reversal.

Also: it was good to chat earlier! Now I really am going to dig in and do some work.

This is hilarious. Presenting the points from a negative perspective like this is really efffective. I’m going ot have to get me this book!

Ken Carroll