Interlude: Self-Investment, Novel, and Disruption
I recently finished an excellent book called The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwarz. I pulled a lot of great insight from the book, but one excerpt really stood out to me.
"...the biggest and most rewarding kind of investment is self-investment, purchasing things that build mental power and proficiency."
I agree with this sentiment. Investing in education and personal growth is something that can't be taken away from you, as a car or house might. And expanding your knowledge and thinking is an investment that will pay dividends for many years to come.
Don't worry. This message isn't my ploy to get you to sign up for my masterclass (although I'd love to have you!). But I want to encourage to you pursue self-investment, whether that be picking up a new book on writing, learning to meditate, or cooking a new recipe. We can all benefit from developing and cultivating our minds in new ways.
Now onto the good stuff...this week's round-up.
💌 Round-up
🎉 Featured
Re-elected Board Member for the AMWA Northern California Chapter
I am delighted to share that I was re-elected as a Board Member and the Communications Committee Chair for the AMWA Northern California Chapter. I am so excited to continue helping the organization enhance its communications this year.
💻 From My Desk
The Declining Power of the Word “Novel” in Science
Many authors use the word novel hoping to highlight the novelty and significance of their work. And some authors believe this word helps to persuade readers. But the word novel is losing its power and even fueling distrust in science.
👓 Reading
The Consolidation-Disruption Index Is Alarming
"Science may have a deficit of disruption precisely because the industry doesn’t know how to navigate its crisis of plenty—too much knowledge to synthesize, and too many papers bolstering their authors’ reputation without expanding the frontier of science."
Abstracts written by ChatGPT fool scientists
"An artificial-intelligence (AI) chatbot can write such convincing fake research-paper abstracts that scientists are often unable to spot them....Researchers are divided over the implications for science."
📝 Challenge
Use the Find feature to identify the word novel in your writing. Then delete the word and review the text to ensure the language meaningfully highlights the novelty of the work.
Thank you so much for reading.
Warmly,
Crystal
