Behnaz Arzani

Thoughts and "advice"

I hope the content in this section can help others as much as they have helped me over the years. This is not meant as advice, these are nuggets that I have collected over the years from observing others that I looked up to and from experiences in my own life. In doing this I am copying Srinivasan Keshav — (opens in new tab)I found his advice blog insightful and helpful in helping me grow as a researcher and collaborator. This will not be a structured column for now, but I hope to improve it over time.

1- My experience has been that it is helpful to look for people that can give you feedback on your work. I have always found that good feedback has made me think more deeply about the work that I do and has helped me massively improve it. I have many people to thank over the years who have given me valuable feedback. In the same spirit, value the feedback you get from anonymous reviewers from conferences and think about them deeply — it is often hard to leave emotions aside when one reads these, especially if the reviewer didn’t fully understand the paper (but even that is feedback that you didn’t write clearly enough for someone with less expertise, less time, or less willingness to dig deep to understand your work) but look at it as an opportunity to improve your work. There is a really good book I read once, thanks for the feedback, I recommend reading it.

2- When I learned how to write well (and it took a while, and I don’t know if I am good at it even now) it opened so many more doors for me. Learning how to write well will serve you throughout your career in so many different ways. There is a really good Coursera course on this that I now recommend to all of my interns: writing in the sciences (opens in new tab).

3- I have always had people that I aspired to be and that has helped me learn new skills and embody new behaviors that enabled me to advance in my career. Find people that you can look up to and want to be like. Both in research and in life. It will help you grow.

4- It is a hard blow when someone that you idolize (and I guarantee you it will happen) does not live up to that expectation.  I have learned not idolize anyone. Everyone is human and it is not fair to expect anyone to be perfect.

5- Pick problems wisely. Vyas Sekar has a good talk (opens in new tab) that describes what questions you may want to ask yourself when picking research problems.

6- This has been something of a revelation for me: If you believe in it, or are curious about it, do it anyway. Yes, it may not be the best research idea, and yes, others may not think it useful, but if you still do, that is enough. Often, such problems haunt us until we go after trying to answer them (sometimes you will find someone else is as curious about it as you are and they go after it — it is then that you may wish that you had done so too). Even if you don’t succeed you will learn a lot along the way.

7- Again a hard lesson that I have learned: do 6 at the right time. The year you are graduating or finishing a post-doc may not be the year to go after problems that are “flights of fancy” — you will be stressed and you may take short-cuts just to get it done. Plus, its more fun when you have the time and patience to give these problems the time they deserve.

8- These days what brings joy to me is: always do work that you enjoy. It keeps you going when things get hard. I now think its a great way of doing my job.

9- This has been a constant in my career: Collaborate often and with many. Don’t worry about credit — it doesn’t matter. In the end, if you do good work, there is enough credit to go around. Its one of the best ways to learn how to be a good researcher– working with other good researchers.

10- When you collaborate with others, remember the following: When you collaborate with others you trust them to be vulnerable and show up and expose all of your strength (the fact that you are where you are means you are a good researcher) and weakness (and we are all human) as a researcher so that together you achieve more together. The important thing always is to pick people who understand how sacred that trust is and protect it as much as you do. So choose your tribe and make sure that when you do so, through your actions and words you too show that you understand how sacred that trust is that they placed in you.

11- Read the book: Made to Stick. It will help you pitch ideas better.

12- People are surprised now-adays when I say: “I am an introvert”. But really, I find it hard to talk to people, especially if I don’t know them well. But what I found is that I should push myself at conferences not to be an introvert. Talking to people is hard but worth it.

13- Everyone has a story. Remember that. Be kind to others.

14- Know what your values are as a person, as a researcher, as a collaborator and always try to operate within them.

15- When you offer feedback, offer it in a way that is kind and thoughtful.

16- Research is not a zero-sum game. We build on each-others work, and we can use each-other’s work to make significant advances to science and engineering.

17- I have learned to be kinder to myself. Other people will criticize you, while you should always reflect and improve, always talk to yourself as you would with your best friend.

18- Don’t ever trust someone that will not say to your face what they say behind your back. They probably do not share the same values as you do.

Advice and quotes from others:

1- Arrogance is the beginning of failure. Mom.

2- If you don’t ask the answer is always no. Boon Thau Loo.

3- If it won’t bother you in two weeks stop worrying about it now. Ricardo Bianchini.

4- Fear is the original sin, every problem in this world comes from the fact that someone is afraid of something. It is a cold slimy serpent coiling about you. It is horrible to live with fear; and it is of all things degrading. L.M. Montgomery in the book The Blue Castle.

5- Ordinary things done consistently produce extra-ordinary results. I do not remember where I read this.

6- It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face ismarred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. Theodore Roosevelt.

7- If you want to go fast go alone but if you want to go far go together. Celine Dion