Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourself, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous and talented? Who are you NOT to be?
Written by: ben-ja-men
by that definition i could record my bowel movements for 3 years and recieve a phd as i have contributed new knowledge to science, imho a Phd is about making a significant (ie the vine think i mentioned before was not significant as it was so easy) contribution to the body of knowledge.
Written by: University of Edinburgh PhD thesis workshop (incomplete quote, but much is based on science topics or not important for the discussion)
Examiners Report form:
The thesis...
- is an original work making a significant contribution to knowledge or understanding in the field?
- contains material worthy of publication
What examiners don't like to see:
- Unimportant problem, or interest and importance not properly introduced
- Work that only repeats or confirms well-established findings made by others
What makes a very good PhD:
- Focus on an interesting and important problem in the field
- Findings that will change the way you and others think
"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)
Owner of Dragosani's left half
Well, shall we go?
Yes, let's go.
[They do not move.]
Written by: NYC
1) Aren't you looking at extreme examples? It's certainly never good to judge the state of something by extreme examples.
Written by: NYC
2) Since literally millions of people are working on PhDs, wouldn't it be logical to assume that some (if not most) of them are going to be a bit obscure?
3) If a scientific concept has no application, is there still value to studying it?
Written by: NYC
I REALLY believe there are MUCH bigger problems with public education than the ones you seem to be ranting about.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourself, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous and talented? Who are you NOT to be?
Written by: ben-ja-menWritten by: NYC
2) Since literally millions of people are working on PhDs, wouldn't it be logical to assume that some (if not most) of them are going to be a bit obscure?
3) If a scientific concept has no application, is there still value to studying it?
the problem isnt whether they are obscure or not but whether they are significantly hard and have enough merit to warrent a phd
Well, shall we go?
Yes, let's go.
[They do not move.]
"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)
Owner of Dragosani's left half
After much consideration, I find that the view is worth the asphyxiation.
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I may disagree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
Written by: Patriarch917
If a guy has a Ph.D. in a pointless subject, I will merely regard him as someone who chose to spend a lot of time and money pursuing a hobby that does not interest me. I will have the respect for him in the way that I do for someone who completes a 10,000 peice jigsaw puzzle.
It was a day for screaming at inanimate objects.
What this calls for is a special mix of psychology and extreme violence...
Written by: ben-ja-menWritten by: Pyrolific
by definition a Phd is a contribution to the body of knowledge.
by that definition i could record my bowel movements for 3 years and recieve a phd as i have contributed new knowledge to science, imho a Phd is about making a significant (ie the vine think i mentioned before was not significant as it was so easy) contribution to the body of knowledge.
Written by: Pyrolific
BTW in order to study an Australian uni course in English candidates do need to attain a minimum level of English on standardised tests. perhaps its too low, or perhaps some people get through the testing process with too low a level, who knows? either way that student that couldnt understand the instructions was going to fail - so the system works.
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Help! My personality got stuck in this signature machine and I cant get it out!
Written by: Pyrolific
RE: significance and difficulty
but difficulty is so subjective - by that measure a super-genius' Phd would mean less because it was 'easy' for them.
Written by: NYC
So my next question is "Could it be that you are giving too much credit to what it means to get a PhD?"
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourself, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous and talented? Who are you NOT to be?
If we as members of the human race practice meditation, we can transcend our fear, despair, and forgetfulness. Meditation is not an escape. It is the courage to look at reality with mindfulness and concentration. Thich Nhat Hanh
Love and Light
~*~ Katinca ~*~
Written by: Katinca
So well this is an interesting discussion.
It makes me think of all the PhD’s that could be written on the ‘Rise’ of Fire twirling and HOP and how HOP has contributed to Fire twirling. Or you could use this as some data to prove that fire-twirling has a significant positive contribution to the well-being of people. Maybe you could think about how this one thing we all have in common has allowed us to talk about other pressing issues about the world and explore different peoples opinions we would have never be able to before....etc....OH the number is endless.
So Ben... do you think the people who might be analysing the social aspects of HOP for a PhD (and I am sure there are some ppl out there) are contributing to the general knowledge of society. Are they contributing to how society functions, analysing what makes a social group cohesive, or what makes it fall a part. Or are these people just faffing around with their own personal hobby?
To even do a PhD in a subject area you have to be pretty 'INTO' it. You can’t tell me that you are not obsessed or totally interested in what your PhD is on, does that mean your PhD is a hobby?
Written by: NYC
So my next question is "Could it be that you are giving too much credit to what it means to get a PhD?"
Written by: benWritten by: NYC
So my next question is "Could it be that you are giving too much credit to what it means to get a PhD?"
i dont think so, doing a phd on a particular area is supposed to make you the worlds leading expert in that area ....
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Help! My personality got stuck in this signature machine and I cant get it out!
Written by: Pyrolific
Has anyone won a Nobel prize for a phd? I doubt it...
"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)
Owner of Dragosani's left half
Written by: Katinca
So Ben... do you think the people who might be analysing the social aspects of HOP for a PhD (and I am sure there are some ppl out there) are contributing to the general knowledge of society. Are they contributing to how society functions, analysing what makes a social group cohesive, or what makes it fall a part. Or are these people just faffing around with their own personal hobby?
Written by: Katinca
To even do a PhD in a subject area you have to be pretty 'INTO' it. You can’t tell me that you are not obsessed or totally interested in what your PhD is on, does that mean your PhD is a hobby?
Written by: Katinca
BTW - I also agree with NYC that it seems these days that every Tom, Dick and Harry has an under grad and even a post grad now.
Written by: Pyrolific
Has anyone won a Nobel prize for a phd? I doubt it...
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourself, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous and talented? Who are you NOT to be?
Written by: ben-ja-men
doing a phd on a particular area is supposed to make you the worlds leading expert in that area ....
Written by: BirgitWritten by: Pyrolific
Has anyone won a Nobel prize for a phd? I doubt it...
You'd be surprised by how much of the work of the people who do end up with a nobel prize is done by PhD or even undergrad students.
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Help! My personality got stuck in this signature machine and I cant get it out!
Written by: ben-ja-menWritten by: Katinca
BTW - I also agree with NYC that it seems these days that every Tom, Dick and Harry has an under grad and even a post grad now.
what else can u expect when the standard to achieve them is set too low?
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Help! My personality got stuck in this signature machine and I cant get it out!
After much consideration, I find that the view is worth the asphyxiation.
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I may disagree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
Written by: Sethis
(sorry Ky!)
Keep your dream alive
Dreamin is still how the strong survive
Shalom VeAhavah
New Hampshire has a point....
Written by: ben-ja-menWritten by: NYC
So my next question is "Could it be that you are giving too much credit to what it means to get a PhD?"
i dont think so, doing a phd on a particular area is supposed to make you the worlds leading expert in that area .... if the standard to achieve a phd is set to low it devalues the whole process and we may as well get mcdonalds to run a promotion where u get a free phd with each happy meal
Well, shall we go?
Yes, let's go.
[They do not move.]
Written by: AdeWritten by: ben-ja-men
doing a phd on a particular area is supposed to make you the worlds leading expert in that area ....
Actually, it's not meant to make you the worlds leading expert in that area.
Written by: NYC
One is the obscurity and lack of applicaction of some Ph.D.s. The other is the lack of effort needed to get a Ph.D.
Written by: ben-ja-men
the problem isnt whether they are obscure or not but whether they are significantly hard and have enough merit to warrent a phd
Written by: NYC
There currently is no standardization of PhDs. If you're suggesting standardizing them, I think that's more of a nightmare scenario than what you've got right now.
Written by: ben-ja-men
not really difficulty depends on what the state of technology and the knowledge in the field is, if someone in the feild can complete your contribution over the weekend its not significant
Written by: NYC
Personally, I've never heard anybody say "He must be smart, he's got a Sociology PhD."
Written by: Pyrolific
Im not suggesting that this is the case, just that the argument "more people getting degrees means the degrees must be easier to get" is too simplistic, and that there are other factors that are plausibily involved.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourself, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous and talented? Who are you NOT to be?
Written by: ben-ja-menWritten by: AdeWritten by: ben-ja-men
doing a phd on a particular area is supposed to make you the worlds leading expert in that area ....
Actually, it's not meant to make you the worlds leading expert in that area.
"Obviously your examiners will read the thesis. They will be experts in the general field of your thesis but, on the exact topic of your thesis, you are the world expert. Keep this in mind: you should write to make the topic clear to a reader who has not spent most of the last three years thinking about it." https://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/thesis.html
gotta love thesis guides and remember an odd number of chapters is better
If we as members of the human race practice meditation, we can transcend our fear, despair, and forgetfulness. Meditation is not an escape. It is the courage to look at reality with mindfulness and concentration. Thich Nhat Hanh
Written by: ben-ja-menWritten by: NYC
Personally, I've never heard anybody say "He must be smart, he's got a Sociology PhD."
maybe you would if the standards where lifted
After much consideration, I find that the view is worth the asphyxiation.
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I may disagree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
Written by: Ade
gotta love the web, you can find quotes to justify most positions
From another web site:
"The doctoral thesis provides evidence of a contribution to knowledge with a level of originality consistent with 3-4 years of full-time study and supervised research training. It also demonstrates a candidate's capacity for critical analysis and that he/she is capable of pursuing scholarly and programmatic research that answers significant questions within a 3-4 year time frame"
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourself, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous and talented? Who are you NOT to be?
Well, shall we go?
Yes, let's go.
[They do not move.]
Written by: NYC
I think I was getting confused because you seemed to be picking on obscure, liberal arts PhDs.
Written by: ben-ja-men
[Old link] is another example of what is not appropriate for a phd, even as a masters project its a bit iffy. yes it hasnt been done before sucessfully in the published literature however the content of the problem is not sufficent to warrent a phd (the research committee rejected her application to upgrade from a masters degree to a phd for that very reason) as anyone with a knowledge of the area could solve it over the weekend.
Written by: ben-ja-men
an example of another unworthy phd topic "Optimal Design and Control of a Separately Excited DC Motor" basically it was using year 12 maths to find the optimal design for one particular motor .... if he hadnt had to collect the data which wasnt in any way shape or form innovative then it was a first year design problem at best. however because he had got so far through his canditure and the department only gets money from the government when the postgrads complete their degree he got his phd.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourself, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous and talented? Who are you NOT to be?
Using the keywords [state education today] we found the following existing topics.