Connection

A scientist and his daughter look up in the sky where he is pointing. He says, "It's there." She says, "I don't see anything Dad." He says, "You just need to squint more." Caption: A theorist connecting their work to the real world.

I’m publishing this a day before Erica Thompson’s wonderful new book Escape from Model Land. This book is a treasure trove of ideas about the limitations of models and how we should question their foundational assumptions. If you work with models, please check out this book!

23 Nov 2022

Fit

A scientist tries to shove a blob labelled, "Any Problem" into a cubby labelled "The tools from your PhD". The scientist says, "Come on, I know it will fit!"

“I’m going to milk these tools for everything they’re worth!”

21 Nov 2022

Reset

A graph of "How much I think I know" versus "Time". There's a steady linear increase until grad school, where it plummets before slowly increasing again.

Graduate school: Realigning your expectations.

18 Nov 2022

Brick Walls

A researcher stands in front of three brick walls labelled, "Project 1", "Project 2", and "Project 3". Caption: Don't load yourself up only with projects that feel like brick walls.

Going for big impact is great, but it’s nice to at least have something to switch your mind to when you’re stuck.

16 Nov 2022

Explicit

A student stands on a ledge looking at a huge gap with very thin sticks protruding along the gap that act as a "bridge". The other side has the label "Result" and the sticks have the label "Explicit steps in a proof for too many papers".

It’s almost as if the researchers have spent so long looking at this problem that they’ve internalized all of its difficulty for new readers…

14 Nov 2022

Advocate

A graph of "How cool X seems" versus "Time spent studying X". The relationship is linear, and where both are high, there's a label: Why it's hard to get others excited about X.

So this is why my family and friends look at me in horror and confusion when I insist on explaining them a proof or concept from my research that probably requires huge amounts of background study.

11 Nov 2022

Small Steps

A student walks up a long slope towards the top, where there's a sign labeled "PhD". The student tells himself, "Don't look up, don't look up. You still have a long way to go." Caption: Focus on the next few steps.

Exercise some self-discipline now, witness some great sights later!

09 Nov 2022

Reading Papers

A graph of "Progress in reading a paper" versus "Time". There's a staircase progression as I understand the various equations, followed by a huge drop when I realize I didn't understand the equations the first time around. Then it goes up again.

It’s a minor miracle if I understand a paper on the first read.

07 Nov 2022

Into the Unknown

A person jumps off a ledge labeled, "Known knowledge". The person jumping into the void has the label, "Research".

If we knew we would succeed, it wouldn’t be research!

04 Nov 2022

Osmosis

Two researchers walking together. The first says, "Wouldn't it be a good idea to offer the grad students formal training on research and teaching?" The other waves the concern away and says, "Nah, they'll learn by osmosis from their advisor."

“We didn’t get any of that when we were younger, and we turned out fine!”

02 Nov 2022

To the past To the present