Gary_Yngve Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Two years ago a project I was working on with my advisor fizzled out. My advisor contended that I gave up to early, and I contended that he led me down a wild goose chase. This weekend, as a corollary to some other work I was doing, I proved that what we were trying to do was impossible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottP Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Thanks for sharing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foraker Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Heh. At some point in my thesis, after bashing my head against a wall for quite some time, my advisor came out with "If I'd known this was going to be so hard, I wouldn't have set you off doing it". Small comfort from the man who already had his diploma and job in hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foraker Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Of course, maybe he emphasized the me doing it part and I just missed that. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EWolfe Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Get a hold on your life. I'm tired of your bitching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
layton Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 if something doesn't work, force it to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlpineK Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Get a hold on your life. I'm tired of your bitching. Yeah I'm going to go with E on this. Come on Gary, every person you meet has bs in their life. Why are you special? Get a different advisor, get a job and forget about grad school, or suck it up and take it. those are the first three obvious options. But please please please quit whining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Trippett Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 My advisor sucks donkey schlong. I wish he could be "taken care of". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlpineK Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 There you go option #4... put a hit out on your advisor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griz Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj001f Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 This weekend, as a corollary to some other work I was doing, I proved that what we were trying to do was impossible. Wow. That sounds like my jobs. Except when I prove it's impossible they give me a pink slip. Count your blessings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman_Clyde Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 if something doesn't work, force it to. Please tell me they didn't teach you this in chiropractic school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TREETOAD Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Thanks for sharing... Hey that looks like an IUD I bumped into a few times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Just falsify your data and get your degree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomtom Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Two years ago a project I was working on with my advisor fizzled out. My advisor contended that I gave up to early, and I contended that he led me down a wild goose chase. This weekend, as a corollary to some other work I was doing, I proved that what we were trying to do was impossible. You should have done this two years ago, then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_warfield Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 If you know how it's going to turn out, it isn't research. Dead ends are a valuable and inevitable part of grad school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selkirk Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Don't tell me your still under the impression that research is supposed to work, and do things like give you reasonable data , and makes sense are you? I know a pour sould who's in the fifth year of masters degree because he keeps hoping to get "good" data. Poor guy. I finally just ignored the 3/5's of my data that I didn't like, and now it all makes perfect sense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minx Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 the unfortunate thing for gary is that even though he's proved that it's not possible, his advisor won't even remember that he ever worked on it b/c it was two years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camilo Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Thanks for sharing... Hey that looks like an IUD I bumped into a few times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary_Yngve Posted October 17, 2005 Author Share Posted October 17, 2005 If you know how it's going to turn out, it isn't research. Dead ends are a valuable and inevitable part of grad school. Oh yes. But the point here was that my advisor accused me two years ago of giving up too early, saying I could have found a way through had I persevered, and I just proved him wrong. I don't know what's with all you fuckers saying that I'm whining -- I was bouncing up and down on cloud nine when I discovered this, and I was merely sharing my glee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_warfield Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 If you know how it's going to turn out, it isn't research. Dead ends are a valuable and inevitable part of grad school. I just proved him wrong. Ironically, it may have given you more value to find that out after a couple years of consternation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EWolfe Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 Oh yes. But the point here was that my advisor accused me two years ago of giving up too early, saying I could have found a way through had I persevered, and I just proved him wrong. I don't know what's with all you fuckers saying that I'm whining -- I was bouncing up and down on cloud nine when I discovered this, and I was merely sharing my glee. From one who knows: Crying Wolf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary_Yngve Posted October 18, 2005 Author Share Posted October 18, 2005 A classic tidbit today: (I sent my advisor some ideas an an email a few days ago.) Him, interrupting my analysis of the Zuu matrices: But what if we could improve the stability by (idea that I sent him in email)? Me: Yeah, that's a really good idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj001f Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 A classic tidbit today: (I sent my advisor some ideas an an email a few days ago.) Him, interrupting my analysis of the Zuu matrices: But what if we could improve the stability by (idea that I sent him in email)? Me: Yeah, that's a really good idea! Wait for the real world when they patent it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foraker Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 I saw a corollary of this is at a workshop once. My advisor was describing a problem he was going to work on to some grad student of a colleague. Toady Grad Student immediately bolted off to Worshipped Advisor describing how they could do this problem NOW, knowing full well that it would take my advisor a couple of month's work to start getting results. He didn't discuss research problems with anyone after that. Toady Grad Student is now chairman of the department at UC Berkeley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.