Reading Notes

autoauto- The Ph.D. Grind: A Ph.D. Student Memoirauto- The Willpower Instinctauto - ONE - I Will, I Won’t, I Want: What Willpower Is, and Why It Mattersauto - TWO - The Willpower Instinct: Your Body Was Born to Resist Cheesecakeauto - THREE - Too Tired to Resist: Why Self-Control Is Like a Muscleauto - FOUR - License to Sin: Why Being Good Gives Us Permission to Be Badauto - FIVE - The Brain’s Big Lie: Why We Mistake Wanting for Happinessauto - SIX - What the Hell: How Feeling Bad Leads to Giving Inauto - SEVEN - Putting the Future on Sale: The Economics of Instant Gratificationauto - EIGHT - Infected! Why Willpower Is Contagiousauto - NINE - Don’t Read This Chapter: The Limits of “I Won’t” Powerauto - TEN - Final Thoughtsauto- 乡土中国auto - 之(2)(3) 文字下乡auto - 之(4) 差序格局auto- The 4-Hour Workweekauto - Chapter 2autoauto

The Ph.D. Grind: A Ph.D. Student Memoir

This author of this book is Philip J. Guo. He talks about his six years as a computer science Ph.D. in Stanford. I have to admit that his life kind of scares me. The hopelessness of his first several years is highly possible to occur to me. In the meantime, his passion for improving the efficiency of research programming greatly inspires me. I do not have such enthusiasm or passion for a clear goal. What I know at the moment is that I will devote myself to machine learning. Any specific research interest? No. I have no answer. Maybe it takes some time to read articles and learn more about the field. In this aspect, I feel awkward to join the Ph.D. program but without any specific academic interest or direction.

There are several points that I need to learn from Philip.

• Communication. He reached out to professors in different universities. Some of the professors gave him unexpected help. He bravely sent cold-email to the professors and students who he was interested and discussed over projects.
• Give presentation, positively propagating his ideas and projects. This in some ways opens a gate for him to connect with others.
• Solid programming basis and hard-working.

Anyway, this book should be reread for a few times. Maybe several months later, reading it again would give me more inspiration and thoughts.

The Willpower Instinct

ONE - I Will, I Won’t, I Want: What Willpower Is, and Why It Matters

TWO - The Willpower Instinct: Your Body Was Born to Resist Cheesecake

THREE - Too Tired to Resist: Why Self-Control Is Like a Muscle

FOUR - License to Sin: Why Being Good Gives Us Permission to Be Bad

FIVE - The Brain’s Big Lie: Why We Mistake Wanting for Happiness

SIX - What the Hell: How Feeling Bad Leads to Giving In

SEVEN - Putting the Future on Sale: The Economics of Instant Gratification

EIGHT - Infected! Why Willpower Is Contagious

NINE - Don’t Read This Chapter: The Limits of “I Won’t” Power

TEN - Final Thoughts

乡土中国

之(2)(3) 文字下乡

乡村的识字率不高并非因为“愚”， 而是因为不必要。这“不必要”既包含了空间因素也包含了时间因素。文字是信息传递沟通的一种方式，有时还不如直接的语言沟通能传递更准确的信息。乡村中的人们聚居一处，世代以土地为中心，可以通过语言互相沟通，也就没了很大的文字的必要。而时间上的因素，文字也是提供记忆的一种方式，它是人们辅助回忆过去，形成概念，以备后用的一种方式。乡村的人们世代居住在一个地方，生活环境和方式变化不大，年轻一代遇到的问题基本都能在年长一辈的口口相传中得以解决，那么运用文字的形式来记录下生活经验便显得不是那么必要了。

之(4) 差序格局

The 4-Hour Workweek

Chapter 1

D is Deferrer, NR is New Rich.

D: To work for yourself NR: To have others work for you.

D: To buy all the things you want to have. NR: To do what you want to do and to be what you want to be. If you need tools or gadgets, then buy them. Remember they are either means to an end or bonuses, not the focus.

NR: Don’t work for work’s sake.

Chapter 2

1. Capacity, interest, and mental endurance all wax and wane. Plan accordingly. By working only when you are most effective, life is both more productive and more enjoyable.
2. Less is not laziness. Doing less meaningless work so that you could focus on things of greater importance, is not laziness. Focus on being productive instead of busy.
3. Emphasize strength. Don’t keep fixing weakness. Fixing weakness will at best become mediocre.
4. Questions:
   1. How has being “realistic” and “responsible” kept you from the life you want?
   2. How has doing what you “should” resulted in subpar experiences or regret for not having done something else?
   3. What would happen if I did the opposite for the people around? What will I sacrifice if I continue on this track for 5, 10, or 20 years?