> How can a person become so good at researching ?
My time in my Ph.D. program and some of the work in my career (getting paid) suggest that I was "good at researching". But I left such research due to wanting to get paid more, and settled on starting a business, owning it, and making it valuable. If some research can help the business, fine, but the real goal is just the money from a successful business.
On (academic) research, one lesson no one ever mentioned to me but eventually I formulated: Pick a field of research. Then in that field a lot about what is expected, respected, intended, valued or not, ..., is not much spoken about and not made clear -- clear that have fertile ground for politics. Then, for such questions, the answers you guess or get in some one field will likely be quite different in another. In some fields can get reminded of the old quip: "Haydn wrote 101 symphonies or one symphony 101 times?" Or at times can believe that with high probability, a paper gets read by just two people, the peer reviewer and the author; as a result of that case, the only accomplishment of papers, good or bad, are that they get counted as in someone with 50 papers is regarded as better than someone with only 4. Ah, tough to prove that the paper will never get 1000 readers!
For research, one approach is to study a (assume an academic) field, crawl down some narrow alley or rabbit whole, see a question with no answer, consider the broad status of the field, then if making progress on the question seems not obviously impossible, give it a try. By a few days or weeks should have an answer, a partial answer, or hints that by continuing you might get something.
Another approach is to pick a problem mostly on your own and not from, trying to extend, published research. You might follow some instance of personal curiosity or something from some other field, e.g., do some math, optimization, statistics, ... research from problems in the environment (why the ups and downs of lobsters in east Canada?), medical testing, the supply chain, some engineering problem, some business problem, etc.
Do note that in the US, after radar, the proximity fuze, submarine acoustics, code breaking, jet engines, the "bomb", the US military had plenty of both money and problems, and that funded a lot of US research. Now there seems to be a general view: We don't know what research directions will yield powerful results, but since we can't afford to miss out on some big results or fall behind, we will continue to fund research. Non-military research seems less eager for results and to have less money.
Ah, be good at the politics, e.g., even follow "Always look for the hidden agenda." If working in an organization, beware of "goal subordination", i.e., others working to have you fail.
I derived some math, new at least to me, based on my pure math background, e.g., Rudin in measure theory some functional analysis, probability based on measure theory from Neveu, tightness in probability once used in some statistics for computer science, presented at NASDAQ, some optimization via the Kuhn-Tucker conditions, some stochastic optimal control, etc.
(1) be naturally gifted, (2) avoid falling down wells of distraction, (3) be lucky. Don’t sleep on (3), it’s easy to call it capitalizing on opportunity in hindsight when it was honestly just luck.
I'd also add (4) be incredibly curious about lots of things; (5) surround yourself with other smart, curious, and committed people who have a culture of critiquing ideas; and (6) devote a lot of time to deep thinking.
(8) be good in counting things,
(h) be consistent in your thinking,
(10) have a good memory,
(11) be good in counting things,
(12) refrain from making silly comments
luck in terms of natural intelligence and focus. But generally people can approve their ability to avoid falling down the "wells of distraction". This year I set time filters for apps on my phone and its made a stark difference. Even though I can turn off "work mode" to get around it, that little reminder has saved me hundreds of hours as I usually just put down the phone when I see it.
I don't know how else to say it but you just have to do it. It's like asking how to get good at running. You run.
> How can a person become so good at researching ?
My time in my Ph.D. program and some of the work in my career (getting paid) suggest that I was "good at researching". But I left such research due to wanting to get paid more, and settled on starting a business, owning it, and making it valuable. If some research can help the business, fine, but the real goal is just the money from a successful business.
On (academic) research, one lesson no one ever mentioned to me but eventually I formulated: Pick a field of research. Then in that field a lot about what is expected, respected, intended, valued or not, ..., is not much spoken about and not made clear -- clear that have fertile ground for politics. Then, for such questions, the answers you guess or get in some one field will likely be quite different in another. In some fields can get reminded of the old quip: "Haydn wrote 101 symphonies or one symphony 101 times?" Or at times can believe that with high probability, a paper gets read by just two people, the peer reviewer and the author; as a result of that case, the only accomplishment of papers, good or bad, are that they get counted as in someone with 50 papers is regarded as better than someone with only 4. Ah, tough to prove that the paper will never get 1000 readers!
For research, one approach is to study a (assume an academic) field, crawl down some narrow alley or rabbit whole, see a question with no answer, consider the broad status of the field, then if making progress on the question seems not obviously impossible, give it a try. By a few days or weeks should have an answer, a partial answer, or hints that by continuing you might get something.
Another approach is to pick a problem mostly on your own and not from, trying to extend, published research. You might follow some instance of personal curiosity or something from some other field, e.g., do some math, optimization, statistics, ... research from problems in the environment (why the ups and downs of lobsters in east Canada?), medical testing, the supply chain, some engineering problem, some business problem, etc.
Do note that in the US, after radar, the proximity fuze, submarine acoustics, code breaking, jet engines, the "bomb", the US military had plenty of both money and problems, and that funded a lot of US research. Now there seems to be a general view: We don't know what research directions will yield powerful results, but since we can't afford to miss out on some big results or fall behind, we will continue to fund research. Non-military research seems less eager for results and to have less money.
Ah, be good at the politics, e.g., even follow "Always look for the hidden agenda." If working in an organization, beware of "goal subordination", i.e., others working to have you fail.
What, if any, did you port from the research career to the business?
I derived some math, new at least to me, based on my pure math background, e.g., Rudin in measure theory some functional analysis, probability based on measure theory from Neveu, tightness in probability once used in some statistics for computer science, presented at NASDAQ, some optimization via the Kuhn-Tucker conditions, some stochastic optimal control, etc.
just get nerd-sniped.
(1) be naturally gifted, (2) avoid falling down wells of distraction, (3) be lucky. Don’t sleep on (3), it’s easy to call it capitalizing on opportunity in hindsight when it was honestly just luck.
I'd also add (4) be incredibly curious about lots of things; (5) surround yourself with other smart, curious, and committed people who have a culture of critiquing ideas; and (6) devote a lot of time to deep thinking.
(8) be good in counting things, (h) be consistent in your thinking, (10) have a good memory, (11) be good in counting things, (12) refrain from making silly comments
luck in terms of natural intelligence and focus. But generally people can approve their ability to avoid falling down the "wells of distraction". This year I set time filters for apps on my phone and its made a stark difference. Even though I can turn off "work mode" to get around it, that little reminder has saved me hundreds of hours as I usually just put down the phone when I see it.