Why American women are too smart to become robotics engineers « robocosmist
The key point is that work/life balance should never be only a woman's problem, yet too frequently it is. Everyone deserves a better work/life balance.
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I like this excerpt from the article:
We now realize that training medical residents more than 80 hours a week is not productive—engineering isn’t different. Silicon Valley is starting to see sunlight, humane schedules, leadership opportunities, and pleasant workplaces that promote social interaction as the minimum conditions for engineering productivity.
As an engineer working in Silicon Valley, I totally agree. Maximizing worker productivity over a long period of time is more complex than just pressuring people to consistently work 80 hour weeks. For many software engineers, I believe that sustaining high levels of productivity is more about encouraging strong work hours (say, 50 hours on average) but also being flexible on hours and providing various other perks.
Even the great mathematician G.H. Hardy believed in work-life balance. Unlike Erdős, Hardy wasn't willing to take amphetamines to maintain inhuman levels of productivity, and insisted on doing math research for no more than 4 hours per day so that he had time and energy to pursue his interest in cricket.
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Sounds like Erdos was medicating ADHD. mmm causation or correlation?
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I can't speak to causation but there's certainly correlation.
And as Lucas pointed out, it's better to work smart than work hard.
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Any tips for better work/life balance?
Ask people who have it? (ironically most people who talk/write about it don't have it.)
I wish I knew someone like that.
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Top 10 people with work/life balance:
1. Anne-Marie Slaughter
(and all the other superwomen who sucked on the kryptonite flavored koolaid)
hmm... Life/humor balance needs work too.
Heh. Who's Anne-Marie Slaughter?
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