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Invisible wrote:
>> Seriously. I think it's the best advice you've been given. You get
>> paid
>> to do all the fun geeky stuff your adviser wants you to do. And it's not
>> that rare that you'll also want to do it too! You'll be around smart
>> people (which *may* make you feel stupid for a while, but that'll go
>> away). And not sure about the UK and Europe, but (many) campuses in the
>> US have a good social environment. Lots of great speakers visit campus
>> and give talks - spanning the whole spectrum from science to politics.
>
> Sounds positively utopian.
There are downsides. Serendipity plays a role. Your adviser could suck.
Department policies can suck. Grading policies can suck. There is
variability. It's quite possible you may get stuck with a thesis topic
that doesn't interest you too much. And for most people, the first 0.5 -
1 years of doing research are quite dull. Reading papers in an area you
barely know anything about is depressing.
But once you learn enough to grok them, that problem disappears.
But that's how life is. Same issue with work. Except I'm almost certain
it's more likely to be dull.
> You'll excuse me if I'm a little skeptical... I was promised that
> college would be like this, and it wasn't. I was promised that
> university would be like this, and it wasn't.
Depends on the university. I met exchange students from Denmark and
Belgium. At their universities, there were no social activities. It was
almost like work - except the actual work was more interesting. They
didn't have quite a few of the things that I mentioned (the people
didn't lack it, though - those events still occur in the city).
At my most recent university in the US, we have 30-40K students. They
form lots of student organizations. You can bet there are lots and lots
of things going on. Everything I said occurs here. I can't speak for the
UK or Europe, but heck - Darren confirmed what I said as well.
I also went to a smaller, unknown university. Not as much stuff going
on, but still quite a bit.
The key to all of it is that you have to actively participate if you,
well, want to participate in those events. They put all kinds of notices
on bulletin boards, but you actually have to go to them ;-)
But those were the perks. In terms of studies, what I said is also true
in the US. They generally are fairly flexible about you taking courses
from other departments.
If you're unsure, the policies are outlined on their web sites. If it's
a pain to find, email the department secretary.
> You'll recall that I currently earn very little money. Am I likely to
> end up earning even less doing a PhD?
I think that question has been answered for the UK. In the US, it
varies. It helps if you go to a university that's not in an expensive
city - and there are a number of good ones in those kinds of locations.
--
Ground yourself, THEN hug your motherboard!
/\ /\ /\ /
/ \/ \ u e e n / \/ a w a z
>>>>>>mue### [at] nawaz org<<<<<<
anl
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>> That's how LED works (they're diodes!),
>
> It's not so much because they're diodes as it is because they're quantum
> semiconductors, actually. Vacuum tube diodes don't work this way, for
> example.
Oh, there was me forgetting that not all diodes are semiconductors ;-)
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>> Sounds positively utopian.
>
> There are downsides. Serendipity plays a role. Your adviser could suck.
> Department policies can suck. Grading policies can suck. There is
> variability. It's quite possible you may get stuck with a thesis topic
> that doesn't interest you too much. And for most people, the first 0.5 -
> 1 years of doing research are quite dull. Reading papers in an area you
> barely know anything about is depressing.
>
> But once you learn enough to grok them, that problem disappears.
>
> But that's how life is. Same issue with work. Except I'm almost certain
> it's more likely to be dull.
Heh. Depends what your job is... ;-)
>> You'll excuse me if I'm a little skeptical... I was promised that
>> college would be like this, and it wasn't. I was promised that
>> university would be like this, and it wasn't.
>
> Depends on the university.
>
> At my most recent university in the US, we have 30-40K students.
The uni I went to was pretty tiny. I don't know precisely how big, but
it consisted of two fairly small buildings, and none of them ever seemed
particularly crowded.
> They
> form lots of student organizations. You can bet there are lots and lots
> of things going on.
One time I was workin late in the computer room. Just for giggles I
decided to wander over to the student union bar. They're always putting
up posters splashed with details about the latest event or whatever.
When I got there, it was amazing... They had a live DJ with a sound
system and they had disco lighting set up and so forth... and there were
THREE PEOPLE in the entire bar!
I LOL'd. For real. To this day, it still amazes me that they would go to
this much trouble to entertain 3 people. Unless that particular night
was unusually quiet for some reason - and I don't see why that would be.
Epic fail.
> The key to all of it is that you have to actively participate if you,
> well, want to participate in those events. They put all kinds of notices
> on bulletin boards, but you actually have to go to them ;-)
Yeah. I guess when I arrived at uni I *was* still in the "must avoid all
people" frame of mind...
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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Invisible wrote:
>>>> And despite what you say, you *can* write technical documents. You keep
>>>> posting them here, and they are well-written.
>>> Well, at least somebody has something nice to say about me. :-}
>>
>> Everyone says it, if they're sufficiently interested to read it!
>
> Heh. If there's one thing I've learned, it has to be this: Nobody gives
> a **** about Haskell. Seriously. Nobody cares.
I can't pretend I'm about to go out and try to use it, at least anytime
soon, but I do find the conversations about it interesting. I hadn't
even heard of it until I read about it here from you, so my horizons
have definitely been expanded at least a little...!
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Chambers wrote:
> I'm currently in a course that seems to be designed around the movie
> "Memento."
>
> Week one: talk about the history of Film and Literature (the title of the
> course).
> Week two: read the short story "Memento Mori", which "Memento" is based
> on.
> Week three: Watch "Memento".
> Week four: More talking about "Memento".
> Week five: ...
Shouldn't all that be the other way around? ;-)
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Invisible wrote:
> Heh. If there's one thing I've learned, it has to be this: Nobody gives
> a **** about Haskell. Seriously. Nobody cares.
http://curtis.lassam.net/comics/programmers.png
--
Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)
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Darren New <dne### [at] sanrrcom> wrote:
> Invisible wrote:
> > Heh. If there's one thing I've learned, it has to be this: Nobody gives
> > a **** about Haskell. Seriously. Nobody cares.
>
> http://curtis.lassam.net/comics/programmers.png
>
How appropriate for Invisible! :)
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nemesis wrote:
> Darren New <dne### [at] sanrrcom> wrote:
>> Invisible wrote:
>>> Heh. If there's one thing I've learned, it has to be this: Nobody gives
>>> a **** about Haskell. Seriously. Nobody cares.
>> http://curtis.lassam.net/comics/programmers.png
>>
>
> How appropriate for Invisible! :)
On the other hand, there's a long list of programs that didn't even make
the picture.
--
Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)
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On Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:56:14 +0000, Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>>> I'm not disputing that getting paid for OSS is a good idea - I'm just
>>> saying it's highly nontrivial to achieve this.
>>
>> If it's non-trivial to fill out an application, then I guess you're
>> right. But you won't know UNTIL YOU TRY.
>
> Gotta find somebody to apply to first. :-P Same as everything else...
I pointed you at a couple of places, did you have a look?
Jim
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On Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:20:16 +0100, andrel wrote:
> I think Gilles run out of inspiration we are still at #95 pity, some
> were very good.
I concur - I really have enjoyed reading it. :-)
Jim
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