Fear is the Mind Killer

Fear is the Mind Killer, originally uploaded by Terra Kate.

"I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain."

Stanford Prison Experiment

They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.

{explored Front Page}, originally uploaded by Siréliss.

Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters

Listen

Am I smart enough?

Yet another phd advice :D, but I loved it. I try to remind myself of this from time to time, it's nice to hear the same thing from a professor.
Excerpt taken from here

Am I smart enough?

That's the wrong question. There is no such thing as ``smart enough''.

If you love playing the piano, play it. You don't expect to be Alfred Brendel or Vladimir Ashkenazy. But you are doing something productive for yourself and those around you. Research is the same. If you enjoy doing it, pursue it. You will usually find that you can contribute something. As you go on, you will discover your strengths and find you have something unique to offer. Maybe there are others who are smarter in some way; they can compute complex probabilities in their head faster than you can, or whatever. But your contributions may be valuable in other ways.

As discussed above, research has many components. Problem solving, identifying issues, presentation, modeling, and criticism are amongst them. See what aspects best suit your abilities and personality. There is probably a niche for you somewhere.

What is written above about kidding yourself does NOT refer to ability or perception of ability; it refers to motivation and honesty about motivation. I want to be sure you are pursuing research for the ``right'' reasons.

Toys for photographers

If you are thinking about buying new toys to try out photography, check out this awesome site of Ken Rockwell.
It contains almost every bit of details about camera models, glasses, flashes or anything related to photography. It also provides you comparison of popular models so that you can decide for yourself.

Normally I spend too much money on gazettes that I might never use in my life!
This site really helped me to concentrate more on "real photography" that consists of thinking about composition, looking for interesting ideas than buying new things which are not necessarily going to make me a good photographer overnight.
So, do all the research you need before buying new things and only buy new toys after you are an expert of the current ones.

P.S.: The last line is actually "a note to self". I seem to having hard time remembering this.