"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them."

Albert Einstein

The non-PhD route

September 27, 2011

Some Comments

6 comments

What does it mean, to be a PhD? It’s different in different places, of course. There have been several articles published on this topic, for me most notably in Nature and the Economist.

The idea of doing some research that I’m extremely interested in is still very appealing to me. It’s just that…I don’t want to do the PhD to get there, and it may not really be necessary. Like in the Nature article, there are ways to get involved in research at the entry or mid-level. I just won’t be able to be a Principal Investigator (PI) on any grant proposals.

And I’m glad of it! Being a PI comes with great expectations and responsibilities. You are tasked with accomplishing the Great and Many things that you promised in the proposals, and at the same time you have to stay within The Budget. Then you have to get your work published in High Impact Journal A or High Impact Journal B, and then compete with peers all over again for more funding.

Not to mention, when you exit with your PhD, your options are both limited and wide-ranging at the same time. Limited in that you probably won’t want to settle for something that pays less or doesn’t acknowledge your Killer Skills or Awesome Expertise. And you do come out an expert…in a very very very specific area, which in turn may lead to more limitation. Your options are wide-ranging in the way that you could go to many different places in the world, granted that there are people who want you on their team. But even that seems to ultimately be somewhat limiting, because jumping from place to place is not conducive to the paper-publishing feedback-loop of a career of the PhD.

I’m not bashing on PhDs, or the system (though it seems very flawed). I’m just saying here, out loud, finally, that I’ve changed my mind and it isn’t for me. I’ve got my Masters, and that might be enough. Who knows, maybe I’ll change my mind, but I’m not going to feel bad about this choice or any other subsequent choice. I’m not 100% sure where I’m headed now, but I’m excited about figuring it out and going with wherever it takes me.

Whew! That was a load off! I hope I haven’t disappointed you.

 

For further reading, some interesting blogs about academia and other science things:
Female Science Professor
Context and Variation which used to be at Blogspot

Flourescent coral makes for really cool living scientific art

January 29, 2010

Nerdy Things, Science, Society

7 comments

If I were ever to have a video as a desktop background, one of these would probably be it! (But I probably never would because it would use up too much electricity to keep it going.) Take a look:


‘Preener’ from MORPHOLOGIC on Vimeo.



‘Corynactis viridis’ from MORPHOLOGIC on Vimeo.



These videos are from Morphologic, a science/art initiative based in Miami and led by a marine biologist, Colin Foord. and a designer, Jared McKay.


Thanks to Deep Sea News (who found it on Boing Boing)!

What is the Study of Science and Religion?

January 20, 2010

Features, Science, Society

5 comments


Image credit: Flickr user Colin Purrington
(This image created by Axis of Evo is not exactly what this entry is about, but it is an interesting use of a scientific technique to map out religions of the world.)

I wasn’t so sure what to expect when I went to the first lecture of the Earth Institute Practicum yesterday. The speaker was Bob Pollack of the Earth Institute’s Center for the Study of Science and Religion (CSSR). The first thing he did was tell us that the ideas of “right” and “wrong” are completely human constructs and that there is no evidence of them in nature.

So what is “natural” and how are science and religion connected?

Pollack’s definition of what is natural is biologically derived. DNA is the force by which things may naturally happen, and anything that happens by other means could be considered “unnatural” or derived from human imagination.

The biggest example of the latter that was discussed over the 2-hour seminar was language, not just as words, but also as ideas and general communication. Pollack explained that it was the main goal of CSSR to facilitate communication between science and religion and their practitioners. They certainly are not attempting to incorporate the two, but reconcile them so that they both can work to solve global issues.
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