Click here to check if anything new just came in.
August 10 2010
“— The illustrated guide to a Ph.D.<!-- /#content-container --><!-- /#content -->The illustrated guide to a Ph.D.
Every fall, I explain to a fresh batch of Ph.D. students what a Ph.D. is.
It's hard to describe it in words.
So, I use pictures.
Read below for the illustrated guide to a Ph.D.
”Imagine a circle that contains all of human knowledge:
![]()
By the time you finish elementary school, you know a little:
![]()
By the time you finish high school, you know a bit more:
![]()
With a bachelor's degree, you gain a specialty:
![]()
A master's degree deepens that specialty:
![]()
Reading research papers takes you to the edge of human knowledge:
![]()
Once you're at the boundary, you focus:
![]()
You push at the boundary for a few years:
![]()
Until one day, the boundary gives way:
![]()
And, that dent you've made is called a Ph.D.:
![]()
Of course, the world looks different to you now:
![]()
So, don't forget the bigger picture:
![]()
Keep pushing.
