During my gap year between college and graduate school, I found myself working as a lab technician at New York University. On our floor, there was a small room that housed the glassware washers and autoclaves. It was here that I met a kind-hearted but timid man who operated the machines. Whenever I entered the... Continue Reading →
Organized leisure
“Leisure time is too precious to be totally leisurely about leisure.” - Laura Vanderkam in "Tranquility by Tuesday" The other day, my 7 year old daughter was talking to our babysitter about the books she is currently reading in school. I was deeply engrossed in my computer work on the couch nearby, when she suddenly... Continue Reading →
Getting out of our own way
Illusion of control Today I want to talk about control. You might find it laughable after the last 2+ years we have been through, but all of us seek it nevertheless. While I am not the most organized person, I have always been big on scheduling. When it comes to my own schedule, I plan... Continue Reading →
The little things that make us happy
In February, we went on a ski trip to Canada where we also celebrated our older daughter's 12th birthday. Her birthday always falls on the school winter break and virtually every year our family goes skiing during that time, which means that we tend to celebrate it for a whole week. This year, the kids... Continue Reading →
From Wilting Mind to Fragile Memory
In one of my recent posts, I wrote about how I felt at my previous job and why I created "Wilting Mind". Many people say that art often comes from pain. The greater the pain, the greater the art presumably. And that you should actually draw on that pain for inspiration. Over the past four... Continue Reading →
How do we choose what to remember?
Last week our kids had their winter school break and we went for a week-long ski trip in Mont Tremblant, Canada. Mont Tremblant has a great mountain and, perhaps more importantly, a really picturesque village at its base. My parents and I have come here several times when I was a teenager, but not in... Continue Reading →
“Muted Potential” – Part II
Juggling work, kids and NeuroBead, I often sit down to write a blog post in unusual places. This week for example, I am writing from my daughter’s gymnastics studio, where I get an hour of peace and quiet while she is in class. Just as I sat down and started looking through my notes about... Continue Reading →
SciArt – who is it for?
Several weeks ago, I was listening to the Art Juice podcast and they had a great guest - Seth Godin. He was talking about his new book "The Practice", which is a collection of small snippets about how creating art is all about the process. I can totally relate! It is such a soothing and meditative activity... Continue Reading →
Getting on the same page in science communication
I have been reading a lot of Russian kids literature to my daughters. I have read some of these stories so many times, that I remember them by heart (whether I want to or not). Sometimes they pop up in my brain out of nowhere. At other times a real life situation reminds me of... Continue Reading →
Pushing the envelope in science AND art
"Thinking outside the box" has become a bit of a cliché. But in science it is more important than ever. As the base of human knowledge propels ahead with lightning speed, it takes a special set of skills and knowledge to be on the cutting edge of innovation. When I was in graduate school, there... Continue Reading →