ChaCha Story

[Impressive Sentences]

- I determined that I had two paths to choose from. The first was to treat my teams better, improve their output, and hope that over time others would follow my example. The second path was to find a way to influence how entire companies treat people. I chose the latter path because I believed it would give me the greatest chance of affecting the most people, and decided to find a job in human resources.

- Welch and Conaty had implemented a 20-70-10 performance ranking system, where GE employees were sorted into three groups: the top 20 percent, the middle 70 percent, and the bottom 10 percent. The top workers were lionized and rewarded with choice assignments, leadership training programs, and stock options. The bottom 10 percent were fired. Under Immelt, the forced distribution was softened and the crisp labels were replaced with euphemisms: "top talent," "highly valued," and "needs improvement."

- Google is the most sought-after place to work on the planet.

[Words & Phrases]

- amass:  to gather or collect (something, such as a large amount of money) especially for yourself

• I amassed a random walk resume that could best be described as a guidance counselor's nightmare.

- stumble into: to start doing something by chance, without having intended to do it

- muster = collect

• muster enough courage

• They pushed the car with all the strength they could muster.

- stagnant: not flowing, active, changing, progressive

- toil: to work very hard for a long time

- alongside: at the same time as, together with

- posh: very attractive, expensive, and popular

• poshest university

• They live in a posh neighborhood.

• I stayed at a posh hotel.

- intriguing = extremely interesting, fascinating

• found my background intriguing

- nuts = crazy

• I was nuts.

• She's going to drive me nuts [=make me crazy; make me go insane] with her jealousy.

- latitude: freedom to choose how to act or what to do

• He gave me tremendous latitude to explore the company.

• We weren't given much latitude in deciding how to do the job.

• The judge has wide/considerable latitude to reject evidence for the trial.

- acclaimed: strongly praised 

• Her performance was acclaimed by the critics.

• a highly/hugely/widely acclaimed play

• the city's most acclaimed restaurants

- stringently = very strictly or severely

- lionize = to treat (someone) as a very important and famous person

- euphemism:  an innocuous(=inoffensive, harmless) word or expression used in place of one that may be found offensive or suggest something unpleasant (완곡어법)

- vaunted = very good

• The team's vaunted defense faltered in the second half of the game.

• falter: to stop being strong or successful = to begin to fail or weaken

- permeate: to pass or spread through (something)

• The water permeated the sand.

• The smell of baking bread permeated the kitchen.

• A feeling of anxiety permeated the office as we rushed to meet the deadline.

- secrecy: the act of keeping information secret

- disseminate: to cause (something, such as information) to go to many people

• The Internet allows us to disseminate information/news/ideas faster.

• The findings were widely disseminated.

- unprecedented: not done or experienced before

• Fortune has named Google the "Best Company to Work For" an unprecedented five times in the United States.

[Engagement Points]

- dot-com boom: The dot-com bubble (also known as the dot-com boom,[1] the tech bubble,[2] and the Internet bubble) was a stock market bubble caused by excessive speculation of Internet-related companies in the late 1990s, a period of massive growth in the use and adoption of the Internet.

- arrows in a quiver

• "You guys are all like arrows in a quiver. Every one of you is the same."

- Six Sigma: a set of tools to improve quality and efficiency.

[Relevant Articles]

1. Walk Me Through Your Resume

www.monster.ca/career-advice/article/walk-me-through-your-resume

1. Read an Article

integriaims.com/en/peter-principle/

[Summary]

- The Peter Principle, also known as The Peter principle of Incompetence, claims that people who do their job well are promoted to positions of greater responsibility, and so on, until they reach a position in which they are incompetent, so they remain stuck in that position.

- For example, a devoted mechanic who is promoted to the position of manager. From his new position, he gets in the way of the work of his subordinates; he is also unable to remain still and he is continually doing things that he is not meant to do, this way, he is not making it easier for these employees to work. In the end, neither he nor his employees can carry out their jobs so they end up totally frustrated.

- In order to reduce the effects of the Peter Principle, some companies opt for solutions such as getting managers back to their previous positions or rewarding the most productive workers with a pay rise rather than a promotion. Another option is to train these people in order for them to stop being incompetent in that new position; In order to achieve this, it is very important to be aware of one’s own inability to do that job.

- The Dilbert Principle is just a variation of the Peter Principle; and it emphasises that incompetent employees are intentionally promoted to prevent them from causing harm.

[Words & Phrases]

- comic strip: a sequence of drawings in boxes that tell an amusing story, typically printed in a newspaper or comic book

- coin: invent or devise (a new word or phrase)

- variation: a change in amount or level

• Unemployment rates among white-collar workers show much less regional variation than corresponding rates among blue-collar workers.

blizzard.cs.uwaterloo.ca/keshav/home/Papers/data/07/paper-reading.pdf

[Summary]

The Three-pass Approach for reading research papers

The first pass gives you a general idea about the paper. The second pass lets you grasp the paper’s content, but not its details. The third pass helps you understand the paper in depth.

The First Pass

1. Carefully read the title, abstract, and introduction

2. Read the section and sub-section headings, but ignore everything else

3. Glance at the mathematical content (if any) to determine the underlying theoretical foundations

4. Read the conclusions

5. Glance over the references, mentally ticking off the ones you’ve already read

Result: At the end of the first pass, you should be able to answer the five Cs: category, context, correctness, contributions, clarity

The second Pass (1 hour)

1. Look carefully at the figures, diagrams and other illustrations in the paper. Pay special attention to graphs. Are the axes properly labeled? Are results shown with error bars, so that conclusions are statistically significant? Common mistakes like these will separate rushed, shoddy work from the truly excellent.

2. Remember to mark relevant unread references for further reading (this is a good way to learn more about the background of the paper)

Result: After this pass, you should be able to grasp the content of the paper. You should be able to summarize the main thrust of the paper, with supporting evidence, to someone else.

The Third Pass (2+ hours)

1. The key to the third pass is to attempt to virtually re-implement the paper: that is, making the same assumptions as the authors, re-create the work.

Result: At the end of this pass, you should be able to reconstruct the entire structure of the paper from memory, as well as be able to identify its strong and weak points. In particular, you should be able to pinpoint implicit assumptions, missing citations to relevant work, and potential issues with experimental or analytical techniques.

Related Work

1. If you are reading a paper to do a review, you should also read Timothy Roscoe’s paper on “Writing reviews for systems conferences”.

2. If you’re planning to write a technical paper, you should refer both to Henning Schulzrinne’s comprehensive web site and George Whitesides’s excellent overview of the process.

3. Simon Peyton Jones has a website that covers the entire spectrum of research skills. Iain H. McLean of Psychology, Inc. has put together a downloadable ‘review matrix’ that simplifies paper reviewing using the three-pass approach for papers in experimental psychology, which can probably be used, with minor modifications, for papers in other areas.

[Words & Phrases]

- tick off: to mark something with a written tick = check (✓)

• Tick the box next to your choice.

• Tick off your choice below.

• Glance over the references, mentally ticking off the ones you've already read.

- adequate: enough for some need or requirement (충분한)

- gist: the general or basic meaning of something said or written (요점)

- shoddy: poorly done or made

• shoddy work/workmanship/furniture/goods

• They gave a shoddy performance

- acronym: a word formed from the first letters of each one of the words in a phrase

- unsubstantiated: unproven = unsupported, unconfirmed, unverified 

• substantiate: to prove the truth of something

- persevere: to continue doing something or trying to do something even though it is difficult (인내하다)

- iterate: to repeat a process, especially as part of a computer program

- perceptive: having or showing an ability to understand or notice something easily or quickly (통찰력있는)

• a perceptive comment/analysis/observation

• He is a very perceptive young man.

• He is socially perceptive. (눈치 빠른)

- correspondent: someone who writes letters or e-mails to another person (보낸 사람)

• recipient (받는 사람)

[Engagement Point]

- a bird's-eye-view (조감도)

- read the paper in

• read in vs. read

- Paper reading skills are put to the test in doing a literature survey.

- Please take a moment to email me any comments or suggestions for improvement. Thanks to encouraging feedback from many correspondents over the years.

1. Read an Article

Book Summary: Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari

jamesclear.com/book-summaries/sapiens

[Words & Phrases]

- On the verge of: very close to experiencing something

• The company was on the verge of going bankrupt.

• The child was on the verge of tears.

• We were on the verge of divorce.

- hunch over: round one's back by bending forward and drawing the shoulders forward = hunch forward, hump

- trajectory: the curved path along which something (such as a rocket) moves through the air or through space

- gorge on: to eat something eagerly and usually to excess

• gorge on high calories

- forager: a person or animal that goes from place to place searching for things that they can eat or use

• She is a very accomplished hunter and forager.

• Animals are very selective foragers.

- expedition: an organized journey for a particular purpose

- spawn: to cause (something) to develop or begin = to produce or create (something)

[Engagement Points]

- the Cognitive Revolution: Homo sapiens conquered the world because of its unique language. The Cognitive Revolution occurred between 70,000 to 30,000 years ago. It allowed Homo sapiens to communicate at a level never seen before in language. As far as we know, only Homo sapiens can talk about things we have never seen, touched, or smelled. Think religions, myths, legends, and fantasies.

- Human cultures began to take shape about 70,000 years ago.

• take shape: to start to develop a more clear or certain form

- Evolutionary psychology claims that most of our psychology was developed during the period before the Agricultural Revolution about 10,000 years ago.

- iron law: a law or controlling principle that is incontrovertible and inexorable (철칙)

• iron laws of historical necessity

• incontrovertible: not able to be doubted or questioned

• controvert: to say or prove that (something) is untrue

• inexorable: not able to be stopped or changed

2. Watch a Video

Learn English Through Movies, Inception

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nqeh5SRH4Q8

[Words & Phrases]

- inception = origin, starting point

- auxiliary: available to provide extra help, power, etc., when it is needed (보조의, 보조자)

- wind up = end up

- break in: to illegally enter a place or building, especially in order to steal something

- turn on

1) turn on (something) or turn (something) on : to cause (something) to work or flow by pressing a button, moving a switch, etc.

• She turned on the lights/computer/radio/water.

• We turned on the heat in the house.

2) turn (someone) on or turn on (someone) informal : to cause (someone) to feel excitement or enjoyment : to be appealing to (someone)

• What kind of music turns you on? 

3) turn (someone) on to (something) : to cause (someone) to use or become interested in (something) for the first time

• She turned him on to water-skiing.

• He was turned on to cocaine by an acquaintance.

4) turn on (someone or something) : to attack or criticize (someone or something) in a sudden or unexpected way

• The dog suddenly turned on its owner.

• The rock star's fans began to turn on him.

5) turn on/upon (something)

a : to be determined or decided by (something)

• The outcome of the election turns on [=depends on] how well the candidates perform in the next debate.

b : to have (something) as a main subject or interest

• The discussion turned on the question of how the money should be spent.

6) turn (something) on (someone or something) : to use (something, such as a weapon) to harm, stop, or kill (someone or something)

• Fire hoses were turned on the protesters.

• He killed three people before turning the gun on himself. [=before shooting himself]

- projection: something that is imagined or created from your ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc.

• projections of my subconscious

- converge on: to meet or come together to form a crowd or group

• Six police cars converged on the accident scene.

• Reporters from five different news sources converged on her after the game.

- infiltrate: to secretly enter or join (something, such as a group or an organization) in order to get information or do harm

[Engagement Points]

- The more you change things, the quicker the projections start to converge on you.

1. Read an Article

The Red Queen Effect: Avoid Running Faster and Faster Only to Stay in the Same Place

fs.blog/2012/10/the-red-queen-effect/

[Words & Phrases]

- sequel:  a book, movie, etc., that continues a story begun in another book, movie, etc.

- heed: to pay attention to (advice, a warning, etc.)

- prop: to support (something) by placing it against something else or by placing something under it (받침대로 떠받치다, 받침대); an object that is used by a performer or actor or that is used to create a desired effect in a scene on a stage, in a movie, etc. (소품)

- complacent: satisfied with how things are and not wanting to change them (자기 만족적인)

• The strong economy has made people complacent.

• We have grown too complacent over the years.

• a complacent smirk (만족스러운 웃음)

• We can't afford to be complacent about illiteracy.

- anemia: a condition in which a person has fewer red blood cells than normal and feels very weak and tired (빈혈증)

- ripple effect: a situation in which one event causes a series of other events to happen (파급효과)

• These kinds of crimes create a ripple effect throughout the city. [=they cause more crimes, problems, etc.]

- cornerstone: something of basic importance

• Trust is the cornerstone of their relationship.

- mutation: a change in the genes of a plant or animal that causes physical characteristics that are different from what is normal (생물학: 돌연변이)

- malady: a disease or illness

• The patient was suffering from a mysterious malady [=ailment] that the doctors were unable to identify.

• unemployment and other social maladies

• disease = disorder: catchable or infectious - e.g. cancel, diabetes

• sickness = illness = malady:  the condition/perception of the disease (how you feel/look like, or how someone else looks like)

[Engagement Points]

- The Red Queen Effect (붉은 여왕 가설): 스탠퍼드 경영대학원의 윌리엄 바넷 교수가 처음 제시한 것으로, 경쟁 환경에서 뒤처지지 않기 위해서는 끊임없이 진화해야 한다는 의미를 담음.

- “Bees have to move very fast to stay still.” (by. David Foster Wallace)

- However fast they went, they never seemed to pass anything.

• however = no matter how 

• however/no matter how + 형/부 + 주 + 동: 아무리 ~하더라도

2. Watch a Video

What Makes "Generation Z" So Different? | Harry Beard | TEDxAstonUniversity

youtu.be/qyCn3APagyU

[Words & Phrases]

- staggering: very large, shocking, or surprising 

- cog: someone or something that is thought of as being like a part of a machine, often used to describe someone who is regarded as an unimportant part of a large business or organization

• He was an important cog on that championship team.

• He's just a cog in the machine.

- reiterate: to repeat something you have already said in order to emphasize it

• reiterate a claim/view/point

[Engagement Points]

- genuine passion

- beyond the box

- Rosa Parks (1913-2005): Called "the mother of the civil rights movement," Rosa Parks invigorated the struggle for racial equality when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama.

- Greta Thunberg: the Swedish teenager who skipped school and inspired an international movement to fight climate change. She has become a leading voice, inspiring millions to join protests around the world.