To many, publication is about luck, trick-or-treat, and a self-dialogue. What better things are there in a researcher's life than to be prolific in writing weeks after weeks of working insanely hours? To me, it is none of these. It is not a numbers game, "the more, the merrier". It is not a researcher's cookie-cutting process, after acquiring the latest mold that no one else in the world has. It is also not a sacred ritual, where only the perfectly prepared mind should embark on. It should be the culmination of the joyous and inquisitive journey of the writer, whose purpose now is to articulate and solve problems that others are concerned about, unaware of, or confused about. Do not write just for the sake of disseminating your subject knowledge. No one may care about your own interests. Write only when it is relevant to a grand shared vision, when it is significant to someone other than you and your Mom, and when it stirs subsequent interests among similarly abled minds to carry on. -Jake Chen(2005)
