1. It is all about mentality Li-Yi Wei

2. Course prerequisite No explicit background is needed. Though, our guess is that only these who have experienced a "reject" of a submitted paper have the potential to fully enjoy the course. I got plenty prerequisites (rumored) MSR record holder for rejections in 1 year 1 st (reject), 2 nd (reject), 3 rd (score 2.7 & got in)

3. Talent vs. Mentality You dont need to be very talented for research I dont think I am (so you will be fine) Too late anyway Mentality is more important Trainable

4. BASICS

5. Do what you love All other factors are ephemeral Trend, popularity, hotness, … More likely to be productive and successful You will spend a lot of time on your stuff Less likely regret in the worst case (e.g. reject) At least you have fun Start your own stuff It is like investing; followers are already late Life is too short

6. Do the best Graphics SIGGRAPH Vision CVPR, ICCV … Hard work anyway; so go for the jugular Happier if succeed, less sad if fail Life is too short

7. ALGORITHMS

8. Randomness Humans prefer certainty Life is random start end start end fictionreality

9. Randomness in accept/reject deterministic quality bar accept reject stochastic quality zone clear reject clear accept borderline fictionreality

10. Monte Carlo Sampling Life long intrinsic acceptance rate r = x% r seems 0 if the first paper got rejected r seems 1 if the first paper got accepted Need more samples! (be patient, and try more.)

11. Objectivity Humans are biased Optimistic self Pessimistic others Get feedbacks Early & frequent Self criticism Paper by you Paper by others Score by you Score by others

12. Dont get mad (a few) nasty reviewers might exist Useless to get upset Get even! Assume reviewers are going to kill your paper

13. Discipline Humans like to procrastinate Start early Manage projects by Paper draft Schedule

14. Practice Humans are lazy Research is a craft; learn through practice read write code talk create experi- ment

15. Practice what? A chain is only as strong as its weakest link Practice the weakest link Cause of rejection

16. APPLICATIONS

17. SIGGRAPH What SIGGRAPH wants Right problem Novel idea Solid algorithms Good apps & results Clear writing Engaging talk What we have Do what you love Do the best Randomness Objectivity Discipline Practice

18. Be happy Long term productivity depends on happiness Live healthy and happy Sleep, exercise, eat, social life, … Creativity depends on happiness I got all my ideas outside office Be nice and positive to others Especially in conferences & reviews

20. Right problem Do what people care Do what people dont hate Many interesting/cute problems in graphics Pick what you love Dont be afraid of difficult problems Less competition Be brave

21. Novel ideas Dont do incremental stuff You are wasting your time Aim for the best

22. Solid algorithms Practice Most algorithms are modified from others Read a lot of papers Uncertainty Dont expect to get everything right on 1 st try Expect failures

23. Good applications Be broad Do what you love

24. Clear writing Practice Blog, love letters, etc Discipline Good writing takes time; dont wait until the end Objectivity Have others read your drafts It is hard to see what you know while others dont

25. Mentality Mentality more important than talent Do what you love Aim for the best Train your mentality Practice Have fun

26. What SIGGRAPH wants Right problem What people care right now Novel ideas Do not do incremental stuff Think big, be creative (not easy) Solid algorithms aka technical contribution Knowledge is power; study hard, be evil

27. Good applications Give people what they need Good results/effects Work hard (in demos) Good writing You cant sell what you cant tell It is all about bullshit

29. Previous work How to get your SIGGRAPH paper rejected Jim Kajiya He is too good I am not So I may have more real experiences You will like me more, and feel better

30. Contribution Rejections are part of life How to live happy with rejections Typical problems How to reduce rejections

31. Live with rejections Do what you love, so that you wont mind reject Treat rejections as normal and routine Life is not as fun without failures (I mean it)

32. How to reduce rejections My personal experience Really quite simple If I can do it, anybody can

33. Just remember Do what you love Aim for the best