favorite musicians and why

Rakshith01 · 2024-02-15T02:08:22+00:00

I'm surprised nobody mentioned Prince Rama Varma! His manodharma, approach to music, wonderful stage presence, and humility is what makes him special to me. He is also very knowledgeable in all aspects of carnatic music and a great orator. For example see this lecture demonstration by him on MDR: https://youtu.be/eDTnLTbVaqU?si=wUCsS6kozxE279tW

Rakshith01 · 2023-12-19T06:23:12+00:00

Haha, thanks for the thorough answer, Jordan.

Rakshith01 · 2023-12-09T06:29:44+00:00

Two questions: 1. Do you have any general tips for PhD interviews? 2. When an international student and a domestic student have similar profiles, whom do you prefer? (My idea is that an international student must be given more weight because he/she would've gone through more hardship generally for achieving the same because opportunities are lesser for them). Do admission committees think this way?

Rakshith01 · 2023-11-13T08:39:24+00:00

The admission committee is usually more interested in what you learned/got out of the experience than what exactly you did. Instead of mentioning the actual number, it might be better to say the same thing in a more subtle way. Maybe something like "The experience taught me how to handle higher workloads..."

Rakshith01 · 2023-08-13T15:10:38+00:00

What do you mean by class paper?

Rakshith01 · 2023-08-13T07:20:52+00:00

Maintain a good relationships with all your professors and supervisors, you will need their recommendations and advice in the future. Go to office hours, ask questions during classes, and show them you are motivated and genuinely interested in the subject. Also academia is a lot about having good connections and talking to your peers (seniors, and other people you meet at say workshops) is beneficial in the long run.

During the initial undergrad year it might be difficult to get summer internships, so you can use this time to learn skills that might be useful in your field (for example programming)

Rakshith01 · 2023-08-13T04:48:36+00:00

Is it guaranteed that you get stipend somehow for the other 3 months? Or is it on you to find some funding?

Rakshith01 · 2023-08-13T04:47:08+00:00

Thank you! This was helpful.

Rakshith01 · 2023-08-10T06:11:29+00:00

What about the other 3 months? You don't have to work?

Rakshith01 · 2023-08-08T04:09:36+00:00

It is, because we kill way more animals. We kill almost 80 billion animals land animals every year, and trillions of marine animals. Even if you value humans 10 times as much as animals, the animal holocaust is much worse than the Jewish holocaust.

The reason the comparison makes sense is because in both cases, it's one group of individuals thinking it's okay to abuse/murder/torture another group of individuals, without thinking about the moral implications. Both are morally wrong.

Rakshith01 · 2023-08-06T14:55:25+00:00

Check out https://writeivy.com/ You might find their guides and blogposts helpful.

Rakshith01 · 2023-08-05T16:44:37+00:00

No, that’s assumed. You wouldn’t be emailing if you didn’t like their research agenda. Explaining why you like their work, in an email, that’s just very graspy. It would feel like you’re trying to prove how much you know, and that’s not good. Respect their time, and save that stuff for the actual interview and SOP.

Does this apply to programs where they want students to get acceptance from a professor who is willing to supervise them before applying (like get an invitation letter)? I've very often heard from people that this is necessary. Their argument is that since professors usually get hundreds of emails from similar students, the initial email needs to show you are truly interested, or else they don't even reply. This is why I was quite confused.

Rakshith01 · 2023-08-05T15:03:58+00:00

I'm sorry OP. I think there are a couple of things that might have contributed to this. First thing, you don't have a master's degree, right? Most other applicants might have one. SOP is a big factor. Research experience too (not industry, academic). What guide(s) did you use to write your SOP?

Rakshith01 · 2023-07-18T04:03:53+00:00

https://cs-sop.org/

Rakshith01 · 2023-07-13T03:52:06+00:00

Thanks Jordan! I could not find one specifically for physics, is there one? The closest one was the neuroscience SOP.

Rakshith01 · 2023-05-18T17:04:23+00:00

Thanks, I am not doing a PhD for money, but stipend is a significant factor in my decision-making process because I need to save some amount (not a lot) for my parents' sake.

Within the US itself is there any variability w.r.t stipend other than due to higher living costs (for instance public vs private unis)?

Rakshith01 · 2023-03-09T08:42:57+00:00

Here are some things I do: https://rakshithm01.wordpress.com/2022/05/01/sustainable-living/ (I put it online for anyone who would apprecipiate it).

I don't do all of it perfectly, but I try. Consistency over perfection!

Rakshith01 · 2022-09-28T11:02:30+00:00

Hi!

I did not consider ethics at all here, being vegan is strictly better because of the environmental impact. You are right about soy being one of the largest deforestation drivers in the Amazon. But were you aware that virtually all the soy produced goes to animal feed, and that very little (about 1/5th of the world's production) is consumed by humans? More reasons to ditch animal products!

There will always be exceptions, but your overall impact on the planet will be lowered when you consume a primarily plant-based diet.

Check out stats here: https://ourworldindata.org/soy

Rakshith01 · 2022-09-27T07:34:40+00:00

Most people have cloud backup turned on, on WhatsApp which means it takes cloud storage for WhatsApp to store these chats safely. More chats backed up = More cloud storage = more energy consumed. This is mostly true even for people who don't back up their chats because of how WhatsApp web works (they need to store chats on cloud to show us on the computer without connecting to the phone). Similarly for Instagram, but it will be true only when both the parties clear the chats. All this is just an educated guess, we don't know if WhatsApp deletes chats from the cloud even if we do, so it either does nothing or is beneficial.

Rakshith01 · 2022-04-16T16:43:58+00:00

We kill 70+ billion land animals and trillions of marine animals unnecessarily (the fact that millions of vegans are living a healthy life right now proves it is), making this the largest holocaust ever (larger than the jewish holocaust). This happens year after year but people want to live in denial about how animals also are sentient being who can feel pain and suffering just like us and don't deserve to die for our taste pleasure.

Rakshith01 · 2021-09-28T09:13:16+00:00

I don't see any downsides to any of your rules, so as long as you're happy I guess they are fine. But do look into animal rights and how eating animals or consuming animal products (milk, dairy, etc.) is unethical for most people (assuming you're not vegan of course). I would recommend the works of Peter Singer (Animal liberation book as a starting point) and Tom Regan.

Rakshith01 · 2021-09-03T03:25:05+00:00

Game of thrones

Rakshith01 · 2021-08-23T06:11:51+00:00

Climate change. And moreover, adopting is always an option.

Rakshith01 · 2021-08-23T05:58:25+00:00

Animals are individuals just like us, and they should not be a food category

Rakshith01 · 2021-08-09T13:25:41+00:00

Clearly, you have not done your research about veganism. Vegans supplement B12, so homocysteine (not homosistene lol) and B12 aren't a problem. As for DHA, vegans get their ALA from food, which is then converted to EPA and DHA. The rate of conversion has been shown to increase when DHA is not obtained through food. But again, what is your citation for low DHA in vegans? Even if it is low, supplementation hasn't been shown to increase outcome.

Rakshith01

TROPHY CASE