On 11-Nov-08 21:39, Orchid XP v8 wrote:
 > I did look into a few companies such as IBM, HP, Nokia, etc. But they're
 > all based either in London or in other remote areas of the country.

I like that 'London or other remote areas'. BTW I hope you do realise
that the main reason for asking was that I probably am going to ask you
to apply for a PhD position in Amsterdam somewhere next year. (and if I
don't that will probably mean that I had to find a new job elsewhere too).

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andrel wrote:
> On 11-Nov-08 21:39, Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>  > I did look into a few companies such as IBM, HP, Nokia, etc. But they're
>  > all based either in London or in other remote areas of the country.
> 
> I like that 'London or other remote areas'.

Well, London isn't "remote", but no sane person would want to go there. 
The people who aren't in London are in places like Southampton, York, etc.

> BTW I hope you do realise
> that the main reason for asking was that I probably am going to ask you
> to apply for a PhD position in Amsterdam somewhere next year. (and if I
> don't that will probably mean that I had to find a new job elsewhere too).

Um... the obvious problem here is that I'm obviously not intelligent 
enough to do a PhD. :-P

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> Um... the obvious problem here is that I'm obviously not intelligent 
> enough to do a PhD. :-P

I think intelligence is one of the less-needed skills. Writing, some 
level of research, persistence, dealing with other people, dealing with 
bureaucratic BS, and yes some amount of learning graduate-level computer 
stuff, since you need the MS first.  (Assuming you're getting a PhD in 
computers.)

The PhD (at least in computers) doesn't teach you anything about 
computers. It teaches you about "philosophy."  Hence the name.

You probably need to be a lot smarter to get a PhD in (say) physics or 
engineering than in computers.

-- 
Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)

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Darren New wrote:
> Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>> Um... the obvious problem here is that I'm obviously not intelligent 
>> enough to do a PhD. :-P
> 
> I think intelligence is one of the less-needed skills. Writing, some 
> level of research, persistence, dealing with other people, dealing with 
> bureaucratic BS, and yes some amount of learning graduate-level computer 
> stuff, since you need the MS first.  (Assuming you're getting a PhD in 
> computers.)
> 
> The PhD (at least in computers) doesn't teach you anything about 
> computers. It teaches you about "philosophy."  Hence the name.
> 
> You probably need to be a lot smarter to get a PhD in (say) physics or 
> engineering than in computers.

Fact: I absolutely *suck* at research. At uni, every assignment 
involving any element of research was consistently graded very poorly 
indeed. Several such modules I failed outright.

Fact: I also suck at report writing. I'm good at writing technical 
stuff, but reports are supposed to have a specific structure and I don't 
really grok that. Also I'm not very good at structuring large documents; 
the flow tends to end up rather muddled.

Fact: I don't actually need a PhD for anything. Certainly I don't have 
the money to pay for one. Time would also seem to be an issue.

I could almost be tempted to do math classes - but again time and money 
would seem an issue. (As well as the minor detail of finding a suitable 
class somehow.)

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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On 12-Nov-08 22:48, Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> andrel wrote:
>> On 11-Nov-08 21:39, Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>>  > I did look into a few companies such as IBM, HP, Nokia, etc. But 
>> they're
>>  > all based either in London or in other remote areas of the country.
>>
>> I like that 'London or other remote areas'.
> 
> Well, London isn't "remote", but no sane person would want to go there. 

?

> The people who aren't in London are in places like Southampton, York, etc.
> 

I happen to be in Amsterdam actually. Or don't I count as people? (or is 
that '... do I not...')

>> BTW I hope you do realise
>> that the main reason for asking was that I probably am going to ask you
>> to apply for a PhD position in Amsterdam somewhere next year. (and if I
>> don't that will probably mean that I had to find a new job elsewhere 
>> too).
> 
> Um... the obvious problem here is that I'm obviously not intelligent 
> enough to do a PhD. :-P

Intelligence is not a prerequisite for a PhD position. As long as you 
have a MSc or equivalent you could be hired. Please, leave the job of 
finding reasons why you are not qualified to the selection committee. 
BTW if it ever comes to this I will probably not take part is the job 
interview. I might know too much about you to be objective.

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On 12-Nov-08 23:03, Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> Darren New wrote:
>> Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>>> Um... the obvious problem here is that I'm obviously not intelligent 
>>> enough to do a PhD. :-P
>>
>> I think intelligence is one of the less-needed skills. Writing, some 
>> level of research, persistence, dealing with other people, dealing 
>> with bureaucratic BS, and yes some amount of learning graduate-level 
>> computer stuff, since you need the MS first.  (Assuming you're getting 
>> a PhD in computers.)
>>
>> The PhD (at least in computers) doesn't teach you anything about 
>> computers. It teaches you about "philosophy."  Hence the name.
>>
>> You probably need to be a lot smarter to get a PhD in (say) physics or 
>> engineering than in computers.

Strange as it sound but this would be in medicine. Because the research 
will be carried out in the faculty of medicine. It would still be for 
programming/math/gui/graphics/database work (unless you like animal 
experiments or genotyping or some mechanical construction, then we can 
throw them in as well).

> Fact: I absolutely *suck* at research. At uni, every assignment 
> involving any element of research was consistently graded very poorly 
> indeed. Several such modules I failed outright.

I'd like to meet someone with an inquisitive mind that sucks at research.

> Fact: I also suck at report writing. I'm good at writing technical 
> stuff, but reports are supposed to have a specific structure and I don't 
> really grok that. Also I'm not very good at structuring large documents; 
> the flow tends to end up rather muddled.

Good, we'll teach you!

> Fact: I don't actually need a PhD for anything. Certainly I don't have 
> the money to pay for one. Time would also seem to be an issue.

Sorry? We pay you to get a PhD, that is the way it works here.

> I could almost be tempted to do math classes - but again time and money 
> would seem an issue. (As well as the minor detail of finding a suitable 
> class somehow.)

Every PhD student has to take some relevant classes, if that would be 
math that's fine.

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scott wrote:
>> Well, I had a diagram for a circuit where you connect a lamp to the
>> battery through a linear potentiometer. The brightness of the lamp
>> varies roughly linearly. But the brightness of an LED... does not.
> 
> LED brightness is proportional to current not voltage!

Also, are *human eyes* linear? Would you notice when brightness is changing
perfectly linearly? :)

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When you go on these rants about your childhood... With some things I feel
sorry for you, with other things I feel like you're talking about my life
and not yours.

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Invisible wrote:
> Have you heard my voice? I certainly *sound* retarded! (I talk waaaaay 
> tooo sloooowllllyyyy...)

You're not retarded.  You just have all the common hallmarks of true 
geeks.  People will think you're retard, gay, weirdo, coward etc.  Face 
it:  if you want more of life than just a job, a marriage and a house, 
you're not part of them.

We sound awkward because our brains are typically multithreading through 
a range of intelectual subjects rather than just the weather, sports 
happenings, showbiz celebrities or someone else's life.

> Well anyway, the first school I went to was a rough school. Kids could 
> beat up other kids just for entertainment. Whoever the weakest kid was, 
> he or she got beat the most. Wanna guess who the weakest kid in my class 
> was?

Calvin and Moe.  Typical infant problem.  I used to bleed a lot, but was 
proud of myself of once handling two bullies at once.  :)  They were so 
astonished that left me alone for a while...

> I can vividly remember being chased across the playground screaming blue 
> murder begging for somebody to save me. But the staff just stood there 
> smoking, not really paying attention. Afterwards I asked one of them 
> "why didn't you save me?!" The disinterested individual casually 
> responded "uw, I thought they woz just playin widja". Yeah, thanks for 
> that.

Come on, now when you think of it don't you see the whole silliness of 
the scene?  They probably see that everyday.  It's not like some kids 
are truly massacring other kids, so it's really fun to watch. :P

It's a part of becoming apt for life, I guess.  Including all the 
traumas and neurosis.

> So then I got moved to this school for weird kids. And my god, were they 
> weird! Some of them couldn't even speak properly, or at all. Almost all 
> of them were very obviously strange.

Genius children?  Mutants?  Perhaps they just communicated by 
telepathy... ;)

> Originally I assumed that I went to this school because I couldn't read 
> or write. But now, looking back, it has gradually become clear to me 
> that *I* am not normal either. I do things that normal people don't do. 
> There clearly *is* something wrong with me. And I know it's incurable. I 
> find this extremely upsetting.

Unless you're talking superpowers, I feel very much alike, except I 
don't feel weird nor wrong, it's just me being me among many other 
pathetic life forms^^^ people. ;)

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>> Well, London isn't "remote", but no sane person would want to go there. 
> 
> ?

Heh. You'll get me into trouble. :-P

>> The people who aren't in London are in places like Southampton, York, 
>> etc.
>>
> 
> I happen to be in Amsterdam actually. Or don't I count as people? (or is 
> that '... do I not...')

I meant the other companies I researched. A lot of them were in London, 
and the rest were in far-flung parts of the UK.

Korg UK is in Milton Keynes. But there office is about 10 square feet, 
so I'm guessing it's just an admin office...

>> Um... the obvious problem here is that I'm obviously not intelligent 
>> enough to do a PhD. :-P
> 
> Intelligence is not a prerequisite for a PhD position. As long as you 
> have a MSc or equivalent you could be hired.

Well, I don't have an MSc. I only have a BSc.

(You know the random Asian guys asking me to fix their Java? *They* were 
the MSc students!)

> Please, leave the job of 
> finding reasons why you are not qualified to the selection committee. 
> BTW if it ever comes to this I will probably not take part is the job 
> interview. I might know too much about you to be objective.

Why would you want me anyway? Surely somebody who already lives in 
Amsterdam would be a more sensible choice? :-P

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