Claude Shannon was good. He was the Einstein of pc science… solely he cherished “fritterin’ away” his time constructing machines to play chess, clear up Rubik’s cubes and beat the home at roulette.
If Shannon had labored extra diligently – as an alternative of juggling, driving a unicycle and abandoning challenge after challenge – would he have made a good better contribution to human information? Possibly… and perhaps not. Are restlessness and “fritterin’” essential elements of a wealthy and artistic life?
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Additional studying and listening
Soni and Goodman’s biography of Claude Shannon, A Thoughts At Play, was an important supply, as was Ed Thorp’s autobiography A Man For All Markets. Different wonderful books that contact on the subjects and occasions mentioned are Jon Gertner’s The Thought Manufacturing facility, James Gleick’s The Info, James Owen Weatherall’s The Physics of Wall Road, and Brian Christian’s The Most Human Human.
Bernice Eiduson’s analysis challenge is written up as Robert S. Root‐Bernstein, Maurine Bernstein and Helen Gamier. “Identification of Scientists Making Lengthy‐Time period, Excessive‐Influence Contributions, with Notes on their Strategies of Working”. Creativity Analysis Journal, 1993.
Nobel prize winners with critical hobbies: Root-Bernstein, R., Allen, L., et al. “Arts foster scientific success: Avocations of Nobel, Nationwide Academy, Royal Society, and Sigma Xi members”. Journal of Psychology of Science and Expertise, 2008
Docs with completion bias: KC, Diwas S., Bradley R. Staats, Maryam Kouchaki, and Francesca Gino. “Job Choice and Workload: A Concentrate on Finishing Straightforward Duties Hurts Lengthy-Time period Efficiency.” Harvard Enterprise College Working Paper, No. 17-112, June 2017. https://sprint.harvard.edu/bitstream/deal with/1/33110105/17-112.pdf?sequence=1
