TITLE: Seek Out Idea Amplifiers, Not Sound Absorbers
AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford
DATE: November 25, 2018 10:50 AM
DESC: 
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BODY:
<A HREF="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Hamming">
   Richard Hamming</A>
 -- he of Hamming codes, Hamming numbers, and Hamming distance
 -- wasn't a big fan of brainstorming.  He preferred to talk
 about his ideas with another capable person, because the
 back-and-forth was more likely to help the idea reach "critical
 mass".  But not every capable person is a good partner for such
 conversations:

<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
 There is also the idea I used to call 'sound absorbers'.  When
 you get too many sound absorbers, you give out an idea and they
 merely say, "Yes, yes, yes."  What you want to do is get that
 critical mass in action; "Yes, that reminds me of so and so,"
 or, "Have you thought about that or this?"  When you talk to
 other people, you want to get rid of those sound absorbers who
 are nice people but merely say, "Oh yes," and to find those who
 will stimulate you right back.
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>

 What a simple bit of advice: seek out idea amplifiers, not sound
 absorbers.  Talk with people who help you expand and refine your
 ideas, by making connections to other work or by pushing you to
 consider implications or new angles.  I think that talking to
 the right people can boost your work in another important way,
 too: they will feed your motivation, helping you to maintain the
 energy you need to stay excited and active.

 This is one of the great benefits of blogs and Twitter, used
 well.  We have so many more opportunities than ever before to
 converse with the right people.  Unlike Hamming, I can't walk
 the halls of Bell Labs, or on any regular basis walk the halls
 of a big research university or one of the great computing
 companies.  But I can read the blogs written by the researchers
 who work there, follow them on Twitter, and participate in
 amplifying conversations.  Blogs and Twitter are great sources
 of both ideas and encouragement.

 (The passage quoted above comes from the question-and-answer
 portion of Hamming's classic 1986 talk,
<A HREF="http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/YouAndYourResearch.html">
   You and Your Research</A>.
 I re-read it this morning, as I occasionally do, because it's
 one of those papers that causes me to be more intentional in
 how I approach my work.  Like Hamming, "I have a lot of faults",
 which means that there is considerable value to be found in
 judicious self-management.  I need periodic booster shots.)