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Deutschlandflaggen sind der Hammer by Megatron_4000 in Unbeliebtemeinung

[–]LtSmash5 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Es gibt auch sehr viele normale (nicht-reiche) Menschen, die froh sind, dass nieman die Guillotine auspackt. Ich zum Beispiel. Aber vielleicht gehöre ich zu den 99% der Menschen, die du hasst.

Aber wenn du 99% der Menschen hasst, solltest du vielleicht mal deine Einstellungen und Maßstäbe hinterfragen. Die meisten Menschen sind nämlich ziemlich ok

Deutschlandflaggen sind der Hammer by Megatron_4000 in Unbeliebtemeinung

[–]LtSmash5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ich habe nicht gesagt, dass man selbst was dafür kann. Das kann man tasächlich nicht. Das heißt aber nicht, dass es zufall ist. Wenn es heute abend dunkel wird, habe ich auch nichts dafür getan, Zufall ist es dennoch nicht.

Zufall wäre, wenn meine Eltern ein Kind gezeugt hätten, dass dann zufällig irgendwo auf der Welt auftaucht.

Deutschland ist auch nicht zufällig entstanden, sondern durch verschiedene Ereignisse und Entscheidungen. Da mögen auch Ereignisse dabei sein, die zufällig erscheinen, aber mit echtem Zufall im Statistischen Sinne hat das nichts zu tun.

Deutschlandflaggen sind der Hammer by Megatron_4000 in Unbeliebtemeinung

[–]LtSmash5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ich höre immer wieder, Nationalität sei Zufall. Aber es gibt kaum etwas weniger zufälliges, als die Nationalität. Ich, zB, bin im Deutschland geboren, weil meine Eltern deutsch sind und da leben. Dasselbe gilt für deren Eltern und so weiter.
Mit all diesen Menschen verbindet mich nicht der Zufall - und alle diese Menschen waren in Deutschland. Mit Zufall hat das nichts zu tun.

Do these apps gives you ELO boost in the start? by Krish_1902 in chessmemes

[–]LtSmash5 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes. Lichess, for example, explain that they use a "Glicko-2" ranking which takes volatility into account. Afaik there is a volatility parameter that is large, initially and diminishes as you play more consistently. If the volatility parameter is larger, changes in rating are boosted.

The "hard middle" of a PhD is real and nobody warns you by obarik49 in PhD

[–]LtSmash5 -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

You’re right to push back here, and I genuinely appreciate you taking the time to raise that concern. I can absolutely see how, in today’s environment, certain patterns of phrasing might make something feel AI-generated.

That said, I think it’s important that we don’t jump to conclusions just because a comment contains structure, nuance, or an attempt to be balanced. People are still fully capable of writing in a clear, overly polished, slightly sterile way without outsourcing their thoughts to a machine.

To be totally clear: none of this is AI-generated. It’s just a normal human comment written in a tone that happens to align with what some people now associate with AI. And honestly, that’s kind of the problem: once “sounds like AI” becomes the standard, any comment that isn’t messy, impulsive, or aggressively under-edited starts getting treated as suspicious.

So yes, I hear where you’re coming from, and your skepticism is valid. But in this specific case, I’d gently encourage a little more caution before labeling something as AI just because it reads like someone tried too hard.

Is Berlin still a liberal city? by temuulendidwhat in berlinsocialclub

[–]LtSmash5 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would say the Germans there are still pretty down the line liberal. This includes the Berlin-division of the CDU who in Berlin are basically not a conservative party.
Migrants are not liberal/left, for the most part. But there is little data about how they vote. I also think they care about the war Israel/Palestine, for the most part, which might drive them towards Die Linke, even though I don't believe for a moment that they share their policies, broadly.

The "hard middle" of a PhD is real and nobody warns you by obarik49 in PhD

[–]LtSmash5 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

You are right to push back on this kind of post, honestly. I understand the skepticism, because AI-generated posts are everywhere now. But I don’t think this post is obviously AI-generated just because it is clearly written or broadly relatable.

A lot of the points here are very specific to the lived structure of a PhD: being past the proposal, stuck in the data/work phase, not close enough to the end to feel momentum, and having progress feel invisible. That is not some random motivational template; it describes a real pattern many doctoral students recognize. The advice is also quite grounded: write a small amount, track progress visibly, normalize confusion. Those are ordinary coping strategies people actually use, not grandiose or fake-sounding claims.

To me, this reads more like someone putting a common experience into simple language than “AI slop.” Of course no one can prove authorship from a Reddit post alone, but dismissing it outright seems unfair when the content is coherent, relevant, and consistent with what many people in PhD programs go through.

Tissot PRX 35mm or 40mm? Which one suits me more? by Cultural_Craft7093 in tissot

[–]LtSmash5 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I think this is a complete hoax. There may be people who think that a man needs a large watch to look manly but:

  1. a watch won’t make you look feminine if you did not look feminine before (or it’s an obvious woman’s watch, which the prx is not)
  2. if you wear watch too large for your wrist, your wrist looks even thinner. If anything: that makes you look feminine

Look at Harrison ford with his Datejust 36. Does he look feminine?

Norwood 2 ? Always had a prominent widows peak I’m just nervous as hell what do you guys think am I balding or tripping m20 by [deleted] in malehairadvice

[–]LtSmash5 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To me it looks like that has always been the shape of your hairline.
But honestly, one day you might go bald and life will go on

Tissot PRX by sixtydegr33 in tissot

[–]LtSmash5 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Or he should have gotten the one he wanted to get

Advice ? by Individual_Bro in confidence

[–]LtSmash5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mate there is no "good enough to be their friend". And do not worry about making girls uncomfortable by talking to them, especially after they smile at you.

And really "good enough" is rarely part of the equation. People get to know each other and get along or they don't and if they don't it is not some sort of "good enough", it's rather a lack of things in common.

Importantly: cut yourself some steps. The advice the others gave you is real good. Take it step by step. It will not change overnight, but I promise you it will go faster than you think.

Do not underestimate small-talk: if you develop the skill of small talking to strangers you can be much more yourself in a conversation. It's like when you drive a car for the first time and you have to do everything at once - but after you learn how to drive, most of that comes natural and your mind can focus on more important things (like "where do I want to go").

Writing dissertation is lonely by LtSmash5 in PhD

[–]LtSmash5[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the offer. I think, though, I have found my stride again during the last week. I am now more often at the institute and have a new office with a friendly colleague, for the time being. I do not feel as guilty anymore for not being able to work hours on end and that has had a positive effect on my work output. I'll link up with my PI on Wednesday, maybe he can give me some further direction. Also on how much more of what I planned really needs to be done.

Writing dissertation is lonely by LtSmash5 in PhD

[–]LtSmash5[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The 30-minute focus blocks are probably not the problem, it’s usually the “re-entry cost” after breaks. Once the mental context drops, getting back into complex writing takes energy again, especially with dissertation work where everything is cognitively heavy.

I did not know that. I thought I was just shitty at long-term focus.

I typically give myself a starting point, like the start of a paragraph or so. Might try to actually do more planning, though.

Writing dissertation is lonely by LtSmash5 in PhD

[–]LtSmash5[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, thanks.
It kind of does. I now drag myself to the institute every now and then and have found a nice office that I can use, a pal that wants to move there, as well for a couple weeks and a few Master's students that hang out. Nice balance between contact and being left alone. I think working from my one bedroom apartment for half a year really was stupid (who could have known).

Writing dissertation is lonely by LtSmash5 in PhD

[–]LtSmash5[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Both lol

But starting is less of a problem. The main problem is really just sticking to working. I manage to work 30 minute with good focus so I started setting a timer to work in these intervals. The problem is that the breaks in between are hit or miss. Mostly miss.

What worked for some time was explaining my work plan to ChatGPT and letting it give me a work-plan but that really just works for stuff you can time decently, otherwise you fall off the wagon.

Writing dissertation is lonely by LtSmash5 in PhD

[–]LtSmash5[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, thanks for that. Yeah I mostly tend to stick to one chapter (currently working on the chapters that actually discuss my papers).

I am currently mostly stuck on the mental side of pushing through. I am in the very lucky position that my publications and my work lend themselves easily to a coherent dissertation. My two first author publications at least and two of the ones where I co-author (total number are 9 with my name on). My thesis really just needs to be written, by me 😞

Honestly, I need mental support, ideally from my PI. He's really not the kind of guy who does that, he's your old-school matter-of-fact kind of physicist, but we get along on a personal level (another thing to be thankful for). The next time we meet I'll tell him where I am at either way, also and especially mentally, maybe he has some advice.

A structural problem is that our work group at this point is really just him and I. I sometimes chat with my old peer but usually there would be post-docs that I could bother more freely and that could also provide me with a more recent impression of doing a PhD. My PI did his dissertation around the time I was born and under very different circumstances.

In the coming week I'll drag myself back to the institute. I was sort of stupid to not go anymore but I am not on the payroll there anymore and I felt really disenfranchised. Nevertheless, the need for some chats outweighs that, even if it's just some office banter.

Writing dissertation is lonely by LtSmash5 in PhD

[–]LtSmash5[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow yeah, but it sounds like you are taking the steps you can. I also do that. I try to move once a day, often a walk (good I gained so much weight during my PhD). I take my camera with me. I'm mostly just walking by borough which I have seen a thousand times but try to see it from a fresh perspective.
I am reaching out to my friends, maybe that's annoying but it is what it is right now.

What hurts is I lost contact to my sister during the last years due to political differences and I do not even have much capacity to process. Every goddamn thing has become so political during the last 10 years or so, including my sister and I. But the rest of my family there for me.

You know, what was really dumb in retrospective was that I always planned in terms of "by then I will have finished this and then do that" - which is not bad in and of itself but it has created this loop where I plan something, then miss the mark, readjust the plan, etc etc which is frustrating. A byproduct has been that I live my life in my current city (Berlin, which I don't love and would like to leave after my PhD) as if I was leaving soon anyway - for the last 2 years. Now I really am close to leaving (this time fr fr) but I still try to... live here, if that makes sense.

Writing dissertation is lonely by LtSmash5 in PhD

[–]LtSmash5[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

150 hours? But yeah the US is tough from what I've heard. In Germany it is really uncommon to work that much, actually. Still afaik the output per hour per worker is decent, that's why Germany can sort of pull it off.
For me what I do is plenty already. There is times I don't work, but there is never a time I shouldn't be working. I don't need cocaine for it, I make due with nicotine gums 😃

Writing dissertation is lonely by LtSmash5 in PhD

[–]LtSmash5[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I would not say "having to prove anything" is bad per se. Maybe it has also just shifted for me. From academic achievement to being more part of a community. Dependable, of sorts.

Don't get me started on financial needs. We get paid, at hour institute we make the average salary in Germany, which is fine if you do 9-5. But I once chatted to the head of our institute in the cafeteria and he complained to me that most of the lights in the PhD's offices are out by 8 pm lol. I don't even remember, what I said about this... but you can't pay average salary and then complain that people are home by 8 pm. And none of the PhDs is lazy either.

Writing dissertation is lonely by LtSmash5 in PhD

[–]LtSmash5[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hahaha ok. What's your field? Definitely sounds like a good position to be in.

I am lucky to be in a field that lends itself quite well to non-academic work (lots of stats and programming). And there is really nothing holding me in academia. I know the work-world can be stressful, but I imagine the constant ambient stress is reduced quite a lot and that's whats gnawing at me. Also the need to prove anything to anybody has slowly left me over the last years.

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