03.08.05
Posted in grad school at 9:39 am by
I was at the hairstylist this morning. Jen and I use the same stylist. This is a good idea because it avoids the awkwardness of those ‘hairstylist conversations’ that I know we all hate. You know the ones I mean. You’ll be sitting in the chair and talk for 45 minutes straight about the weather, how much you hate the town you live in, and how much you’d love to live someplace warmer.
When you share a hairstylist with your wife you’ve got an instant topic of conversation. You can talk with that stylist about her. I like that. Anyway, our hairstylist bucks the system. She actually knows and remembers us. She asked me this morning about grad school and how it was going. I think I came up with something profound.
Hairstylist: So, if it’s spring break, why do you have to go to school today?
Me: Good question. I have a meeting with my thesis advisor. We’re going to talk about my thesis.
Hairstylist: What do you talk about?
Me: Good question. Basically, my thesis advisor reads the parts of my thesis that I have so far, and she tells me how dumb I am.
Hairstylist: That doesn’t sound fun.
Me: No, it’s not. But that’s what grad school is all about. Basically, you show up, think, and write. Your professors point out how dumb you are, time after time. Eventually, the hope is that you either drop out, or get less dumb. Either way, they turn out quality graduates. It’s really about perserverance and sticking with the process more than being smart. It’s not about being smart at all, it’s about realizing how dumb you really are.
Okay. I’ll admit that’s pretty cynical. But, I think that realizing how dumb you really are is one of the most important lessons one can learn in academia. After all, thinking you know how something works is NOT the way to get a publication. Knowing things we already know is basically recitation, regurgitation. It’s NOT knowing that really drives you toward success, toward uniqueness and, yes, genius. What an enigma.
Kinda makes you think twice about that ‘the more you know’ campaign that they used to show during the Saturday morning cartoon commercial breaks.
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Posted in grad school at 9:39 am by
I was at the hairstylist this morning. Jen and I use the same stylist. This is a good idea because it avoids the awkwardness of those ‘hairstylist conversations’ that I know we all hate. You know the ones I mean. You’ll be sitting in the chair and talk for 45 minutes straight about the weather, how much you hate the town you live in, and how much you’d love to live someplace warmer.
When you share a hairstylist with your wife you’ve got an instant topic of conversation. You can talk with that stylist about her. I like that. Anyway, our hairstylist bucks the system. She actually knows and remembers us. She asked me this morning about grad school and how it was going. I think I came up with something profound.
Hairstylist: So, if it’s spring break, why do you have to go to school today?
Me: Good question. I have a meeting with my thesis advisor. We’re going to talk about my thesis.
Hairstylist: What do you talk about?
Me: Good question. Basically, my thesis advisor reads the parts of my thesis that I have so far, and she tells me how dumb I am.
Hairstylist: That doesn’t sound fun.
Me: No, it’s not. But that’s what grad school is all about. Basically, you show up, think, and write. Your professors point out how dumb you are, time after time. Eventually, the hope is that you either drop out, or get less dumb. Either way, they turn out quality graduates. It’s really about perserverance and sticking with the process more than being smart. It’s not about being smart at all, it’s about realizing how dumb you really are.
Okay. I’ll admit that’s pretty cynical. But, I think that realizing how dumb you really are is one of the most important lessons one can learn in academia. After all, thinking you know how something works is NOT the way to get a publication. Knowing things we already know is basically recitation, regurgitation. It’s NOT knowing that really drives you toward success, toward uniqueness and, yes, genius. What an enigma.
Kinda makes you think twice about that ‘the more you know’ campaign that they used to show during the Saturday morning cartoon commercial breaks.
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http://www.badchristian.com/2005/03/08/i_think_i_have_grad_school_figgered_out/trackback/
Kevin said,
March 8, 2005 at 10:08 am
So the solution is to one day become a thesis advisor yourself. Then it’ll all be worth it.
Resident Atheist said,
March 8, 2005 at 2:22 pm
Graduate programs are often very good at helping people notice the difference between “intelligence” (as some sort of innate ability) and actual accomplishment. When I get my ass handed to me, it helps me to remember that my abilities aren’t being questioned (in most graduate programs, if you can’t cut it then you don’t make it there in the first place), only the merits of what I’ve done.
There are a lot of very nice side-effects to spending a few years in academia. You tend to trust authorities less, since a genius in one field can be a crackpot in another; you get an intuitive sense for the “scope” of broad claims, i.e., the domain in which they’re likely to be true and outside of which they’re suspect; and you get library access. Mmm, libraries.
Brandon said,
March 8, 2005 at 8:11 pm
Yes, indeed. Library access.
Jason said,
March 9, 2005 at 11:55 pm
Thanks for your thoughts. As one who will enter a graduate program this fall, I now have a great deal to look forward to. Seriously, my minor neuroses were calmed by your story, and for that I am grateful…
grace and peace
e said,
October 16, 2005 at 5:42 am
As someone who has felt terrifically stupid this past week, I can totally relate.