ABSTRACT
In his valedictory invited address to the Psychonomic Society, Gordon Bower said, “Read the experimental literature broadly, listen to your colleagues in other areas of psychology and appreciate their research, avoid specializing and getting stuck in one topic too soon, and expect to change research interests every 5 to 10 years.” I’ve tried to follow his advice. This has led me to do work in memory, reading, professional expertise, applications of artificial intelligence to training, assessment, and teacher preparation. In each area, I’ve benefited greatly from the mentoring that Gordon provided. He continually modeled the level of focus and discipline needed to do good research. He also passed on a spirit of adventure, as captured in a remark he made at a Western Psychological Association meeting over 35 years ago: “Research assistants arise! You have nothing but your S-R bonds to lose.”
