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 itıs 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
>>>
>>>
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