Tom Haffie has taught tens of thousands of biology students over his teaching career at Western. On today's episode, he walks us through the ups and downs of his journey and speaks to the lessons he has learned along the way. Tom also shares some of his tips on carving out space to be creative and to succeed in a hyper competitive world, and talks about his lily pad theory of career progression.

This episode was made possible by the generous support of the University Students' Council at Western University. 

Producer: Jay. 

Timestamps:

(1:53); Educational background and what got Tom into teaching

(3:46); What it's like being a professor? And reflecting on having taught tens of thousands of students over 30 years

(19:20); Introspection and finding the space to be creative

(23:03); Biology and archeology

(25:52); The importance of being open and not pigeonholing yourself

(30:35); Tom's lily pad theory of career progression

(38:03); Horizontal vs. vertical development

(39:49); Applying complexity theory to education

(45:27); Treating your undergraduate career as an infinite game

(51:22); Recommended books

(54:34); Biology isn't going to solve world hunger

(1:00:51); Simple solutions to complex problems just create more problems

(1:03:21); Looking at COVID, education, and success from the lens of an infinite game

(1:08:21); Advice for undergrads

Links to the books mentioned ***NOT affiliate links***

Getting to Maybe: https://amzn.to/2YXFyF1

Finite and Infinite Games: https://amzn.to/3tEHyA1

The Importance of Living: https://amzn.to/3aH1Hww

Presence: https://amzn.to/3a1m6xq