Amen!
On 15/04/19 14:58, Judith Gregory wrote:
> Great, thank you, jg
>
> On 24/03/12 23:46, Bob Este wrote:
>> Dear Teena /et al/:
>>
>> Having just been virtually convocated with the Ph.D 20 Feb 2012 after
>> 10 (ten) years of consistent effort (yes, 1/6 of my life), the only
>> drudgery I ever experienced was with making a living during this
>> time. This had nothing whatsoever to do with the intellectual
>> challenge, learning and exploration that took place over that decade
>> (and continues, of course).
>>
>> The unfolding intellectual pursuit of what I gradually came to focus
>> on, about 1/2 way through that time -- which pursuit is far from over
>> and in fact has become my life-long focus -- had nothing whatsoever
>> either in common or isomorphic with drudgery.
>>
>> In achieving the Ph.D, I know that I created a path never previously
>> trod. Simply put, I "broke trail" the whole way. Although others had
>> perhaps been on parallel tracks, nobody had ever taken the path I
>> chose. And in so doing, the notion of drudgery never once entered my
>> mind.
>>
>> The metaphor that my supervisor and I both used from time to time
>> emerged from our respective and quite independent experiences of
>> growing up in the Far North of Canada -- something neither he or I
>> even knew about when I began -- we knew nothing about each other in
>> that realm when the first connections and alignments were undertaken.
>>
>> So, the Ph.d for me was a long, _/totally/_ independent, and quite
>> difficult but exceptionally exciting journey through arduous (and, in
>> my unique case in terms of physical health, even life-threatening)
>> conditions.
>>
>> The metaphoric question was how to survive and get to one's goal in a
>> very hostile environment -- whether this happened to be the real
>> Arctic, or the intellectual terrain that was being traversed in such
>> unique ways.
>>
>> I chose this particular journey very consciously -- and I have been
>> unbelievably fortunate that my wife, family, and friends never
>> stopped urging me to take yet another step, and then the one after
>> that. Even if they got sick and tired of hearing my frequent cries of
>> frustration, apparent hopelessness and expressions of profound
>> existential angst, it was wonderful to know that my journey in such
>> absolute solitude was supported in this way. In a sense, being so
>> very alone meant never really being alone.
>>
>> So, on this almost impossible journey (that sometimes I thought would
>> never end), my goal was to trudge through the penetrating cold and
>> exceptionally deep snow to eventually get to something like a frozen,
>> long-abandoned cabin in the wilderness. Finally getting there
>> represented the completion of the dissertation. I pushed the creaking
>> door open, and saw ... nothing.
>>
>> But, once inside in total frozen darkness, I had to figure out a way
>> to spark a sustainable fire in the stove to warm things up, to get
>> the kerosene lamp to flicker to life, to melt some ice to make tea,
>> and then to get back on track and effectively make use of both the
>> experience of finally getting there and the essential process of
>> shaping the next steps. Onwards into the future.
>>
>> This last part is still very much underway.
>>
>> There is no drudgery in this journey. Joy and satisfaction, yes --
>> drudgery, absolutely not.
>>
>> Please accept my best wishes for your successful completion (which I
>> am sure will burst forth, no matter what) ...
>>
>> Bob Este, Ph.D
>> Business Development Officer
>> Institute for Space Imaging Science
>> Department of Physics and Astronomy
>> The University of Calgary
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 24/03/12 3:33 PM, Bill, Amanda wrote:
>>> I'm with you, Teena. I'd happily do a PhD all over again! Enjoy these
>>> final weeks of enlightenment and I hope the drudgery never returns.
>>>
>>> Amanda
>>>
>>> On 25/03/12 9:57 AM, "teena clerke"<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Dear all,
>>>>
>>>> I am delighted to see the positive responses to my provocation.
>>>>
>>>> Speaking as a doctoral candidate 4 weeks away from submission, while
>>>> the PhD has been intense, confusing, enlightening, humbling,
>>>> frustrating, exciting and many other things besides, it has never,
>>>> ever, not once, felt like drudgery.
>>>>
>>>> On the other hand, professional design practice, teaching, academic
>>>> life in general, as well as family life have all, at times, felt like
>>>> drudgery.
>>>>
>>>> My hope is that life after the PhD continues to not feel like
>>>> drudgery. Happy studying for those in the middle!
>>>>
>>>> cheers, teena
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 24/03/2012, at 9:06 AM, Mark Evans wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Teena
>>>>>
>>>>> Speaking as a supervisor and examiner, PhDs pose a significant
>>>>> intellectual challenge and it¹s quite possible that the lack of
>>>>> rigour and discipline experienced during an illustrious career
>>>>> outside of academia has failed to equip the candidate with the
>>>>> skills and knowledge required to undertake robust research. Or
>>>>> maybe they just picked a topic that failed to inspire them.
>>>>>
>>>>> Dr Mark Evans
>>>>> Loughborough Design School
>>>>>
>>
-----------------------------------------------------------------
PhD-Design mailing list <[log in to unmask]>
Discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design
Subscribe or Unsubscribe at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/phd-design
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|