Several days ago, during our discussion, my supervisor talked how to do research as a PhD student with me. He told me that I should try to create a new research topic instead of following the research of others’. Only in this way, can I make a great contribution during my research.
In addition, “creative thinking would play a vital role if I want to make a big contribution”, he said. To think creatively means that I should jump out of my normal thought patterns and try to activate the brain cells that are not used normally (Scientific experiments showed that only 3% of our brain cells are used frequently in our daily life). To make me more clearly, he gave a mathematical example:
The equation 25-1=31 seems incorrect on the surface. But it may be correct if you see it from another perspective, which is 2^5 -1=31.
From that talk, I learned that when we meet a problem, we should try to think it from multiple points of view and never fall in the normal thinking model. Besides, just put the unsolved problem in the mind and think it in your spare time, e.g., on the train, washing the dishes and before falling asleep, etc.
In addition, “creative thinking would play a vital role if I want to make a big contribution”, he said. To think creatively means that I should jump out of my normal thought patterns and try to activate the brain cells that are not used normally (Scientific experiments showed that only 3% of our brain cells are used frequently in our daily life). To make me more clearly, he gave a mathematical example:
The equation 25-1=31 seems incorrect on the surface. But it may be correct if you see it from another perspective, which is 2^5 -1=31.
From that talk, I learned that when we meet a problem, we should try to think it from multiple points of view and never fall in the normal thinking model. Besides, just put the unsolved problem in the mind and think it in your spare time, e.g., on the train, washing the dishes and before falling asleep, etc.