I was hugely impressed... was the ultimate example of a man who knew what he didn't know, was perfectly willing to admit it, and didn't want to leave until he understood. That's heroic to me. I wish every grad student had that attitude.

Are you a Tigger or an Eeyore?

I also think my dad would be reminding me that kids — more than anything else — need to know their parents love them. Their parents don't have to be alive for that to happen.

until you got ice cream spilled on you, you’re not doing field work

Don't bail; the best pieces of gold are at the bottom of the barrel of crap.

Be willing to apologize. Proper apologies have three parts: 1) What I did was wrong. 2) I'm sorry that I hurt you. 3) How do I make it better? It's the third part that people tend to forget. Apologize when you screw up and focus on other people, not on yourself.

It's very important to know when you're in a pissing match. And it's very important to get out of it as quickly as possible.