INFORMS Open Forum

  • 1.  Fun Post - Best Advice?

    Posted 05-11-2023 08:10

    For today's fun post, please share the best advice you've ever received - from a parent, a mentor, a professor, anyone... My dad stressed the importance of always doing your best and as long as you did, be satisfied with the outcome. I look forward to hearing from everyone else!



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    Jill Capello
    Membership Associate
    INFORMS
    Catonsville MD
    jcapello@informs.org
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  • 2.  RE: Fun Post - Best Advice?

    Posted 05-11-2023 09:58

    You'll never know what you can get away with until you try.



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    Kathryn Walter
    Senior Operations Research Analyst
    Avista Corp
    Spokane WA
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  • 3.  RE: Fun Post - Best Advice?

    Posted 05-12-2023 23:33

    Hamming's You and Your Research is pretty good. I rewatch it occasionally. https://youtu.be/a1zDuOPkMSw



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    Harshvardhan .
    University of Tennessee
    Knoxville TN
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  • 4.  RE: Fun Post - Best Advice?

    Posted 05-13-2023 01:58

    The best advice I ever got was from a cattle rancher in southeast Arizona whose family had ranched over 500,000 acres of land since the 1880's.  He rented some of our land and a well we had on it for his cattle. He helped us out a lot in our cattle-raising youth.

    His advice was: "Yer labor ain't worth nothin' ". 

    I often think of it in my relationship to OR; your work doesn't matter: only the results do, and they are only worth something if they create real value for someone, other than yourself. In his case, it was beef to market; in mine, papers that get used.



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    Bruce Hartman
    Professor
    University of St. Francis
    Tucson, AZ United States
    bruce@ahartman.net
    website:http://drbrucehartman.net/brucewebsite/
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  • 5.  RE: Fun Post - Best Advice?

    Posted 05-15-2023 03:23
    Edited by Vincent Tsz Fai Chow 05-15-2023 03:26

    A few years ago, I visited my alma mater, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), by car. CUHK charges most visitors an hourly parking fee, but alumni receive free parking for a limited time if they tap their payment card at designated locations, such as libraries.

    I tapped my card and saw no error message, but the computer at the exit gate wanted to charge me for all the parking fees from the beginning. Fortunately, my card balance was low, and no deduction occurred. I was surprised because I had tapped my card before.

    I couldn't move forward because the gate wouldn't let me. There were cars behind me, and I was blocking the exit for others. The security officers were kind and professional and asked the drivers behind me to back up slightly so I could reverse my car off the main road.

    In a hurry and overwhelmed, I left my car on a side road in the car park without parking it in a designated lot. A security guard reminded me to park it properly as it was still obstructing traffic flow.

    At that time, I wasn't thinking clearly, but it only took 15 to 30 seconds to park correctly. If I hadn't done so, my walk to the library wouldn't have been hassle-free, because I would have had to worry about rushing back again to move my car for other blocked vehicles.

    Sometimes, we need to step back, relax, think calmly about our actions, and consider their impact on the future, whether it's ours or others.



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    Vincent Tsz Fai Chow
    Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies
    The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
    Email: tsz-fai.chow@polyu.edu.hk
    https://tfvchow.github.io
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