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The illustrated guide to a Ph.D.
Imagine a circle that contains all of human knowledge: By the time you finish elementary school, you know a little: By the time you finish high school, you know a bit more: With a bachelor's degree, you gain a specialty: A master's degree deepens that specialty: Reading research papers takes you to the edge of human knowledge: Once you're at the boundary, you focus: You push at the boundary for a few years: Until one day, the boundary gives way: And, that dent you've made is called a Ph.D Of course, the world looks different to you now: So, don't forget the bigger picture: Keep pushing. There's a bit more below, but I also wrote a follow-up 5 years after the illustrated guide which may be of interest -- HOWTO: Get tenure. Related posts If you like these posts, then I recommend the book A PhD Is Not Enough Get it in print; fund students; save lives By request, a print version of The Illustrated Guide to a Ph.D. is on sale. Click here to preview or buy it. Why biology? License: Creative Commons Resources
What Causes Fear?
A potential for pain, or an unrecognizable event, causes fear. The amygdalae, organs in the limbic system, detect such possibilities and send the signals which generate the fear emotion. Unlike the rational brain, emotions trigger a variety of instinctual attitudes and behaviors. Each such emotion is chosen by the limbic brain to meet a particularly demanding contingency in life. Fear acts instantly. Fear, triggered by the amygdala, is one of nature's earliest survival mechanisms. Later, when the sound alone is heard, its amygdalae will fire fear signals. What Causes Fear – Terror & HorrorFear is expressed at increasing levels as worry, anxiety, dread, terror and panic. What Causes Fear – Bodily ResponsesOn receiving fear signals from the amygdalae, the hypothalamus, acts reflexively to control the reproductive, vegetative, endocrine, hormonal, visceral and autonomic functions of the body. What Causes Fear – The Startle ResponseFear begins with the startle response. Back To Top
Asking for a letter of recommendation
Aside: Professional correspondence Update: A few readers have asked if I have general recommendations on writing professional emails and correspondence. I do. I have an article on how to write an email. For professional correspondence, I keep a copy of Business Notes by Florence Isaacs on my desk: It's a valuable reference. Ask early Do not wait until right before the deadline. Don't be shy Do not be shy about asking for letters. Remember that everyone you ask for a letter once had to ask for letters themselves. I hated asking for letters because it seemed like such an imposition, and I hate to impose. Sitting on the other side of the desk, I realize that writing letters is something we sign up for with the job. Personally, I don't mind writing letters, and for good students, I enjoy it. Pick your letter-writers well If you're applying to grad school, you should seek letters from strong names in the field in which you wish to do research. Don't get n letters This will get a student an "nth" letter.
Improve Your Google Search Skills [Infographic]
Don’t limit yourself to just plugging in simple search terms to Google; check out this infographic and learn a search string search or two. You don’t need to limit yourself to searching just for simple strings; Google supports all manner of handy search tricks. If you want to search just HowToGeek.com’s archive of XBMC articles, for example, you can plug in site:howtogeek.com XBMC to search our site. Get More Out of Google [HackCollege via Mashable] Jason Fitzpatrick is a warranty-voiding DIYer who spends his days cracking opening cases and wrestling with code so you don't have to. If it can be modded, optimized, repurposed, or torn apart for fun he's interested (and probably already at the workbench taking it apart).
Free Online Course on Identifying Misinformation
Is that photo of a shark swimming down a highway in Texas real? Is that story published on what looks like the website of a national broadcaster all as it seems? Is that Twitter account being quoted across the mass media legitimate – or is it a bot, troll or imposter? In the past three years, we’ve trained thousands of journalists to answer such questions – and many more. Similar skills and techniques allowed the Washington Post to scrutinize digital footprints and avoid falling victim to a hoax about Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore in November. Today, we’re releasing our short course on essential verification skills to train even more journalists, teachers and others dealing with online information on how to authenticate what they see online. Access the course by going to firstdraftnews.org/learn and clicking the ‘Get Free Access’ button. This one-hour course is free to use and requires just a one-step registration.
Academic martial arts: Defending your Ph.D.
A good thesis proposal A proper defense begins at the thesis proposal. A good thesis proposal makes a subsequent defense significantly easier. A poor thesis proposal delays graduation and reduces the odds of success. A good proposal forms a contract between student and committee: If I do X, Y and Z, you agree that this constitutes a Ph.D. See my prior advice on thesis proposals. Check in with the committee Students should check in with their committee members at least once a semester between proposal and defense. The committee should receive a copy of any new publications. If conditions arose during the thesis proposal, students should follow up with committee members to ensure that those conditions are being satisfied. The goal is to make the committee feel like the candidate is addressing their concerns, and to simultaneously convey a sense of activity and momentum to the candidate's research. Structure the talk It's a short read, and it will improve presentation skills overnight. Motivation Thesis
Ph.D. Depression: Ten Tips for Staying Sane While Getting a PhD
When starting this blog a few months ago, my goal was to alternate posts between those that document my struggle with PhD Depression and those that provide tips for surviving the PhD program. I didn't think it was useful to focus entirely on the negative and wanted to suggest some things that were helping me pull myself out of my all time low, which caused me to start this blog back in July. I've collected the first 10 here for anyone who's interested in getting an overview of what I said. Within each tip post are suggestions of how to go about putting the tip into practice, so click on the links if they sound interesting. As usual I'd love to hear feedback if this is useful or worthless or missing something that works for you. Without further ado... Write down your negative thoughts - Identify what it is that is really bothering you.
