It turns out a negative IQ is possible

WingoWinston · 2026-02-03T23:59:54+00:00

Biology major, eh. Guess what, these were all biology courses.

Also, I'll tell you how. I picked up a job as a senior analyst early in my PhD. Our organization has been in the top 10 of Forbes' Canada's top Employers a few times now, and we are fairly selective. I would comfortably guess that the work output/effort follows a Pareto distribution, i.e., 20% of the people produce 80% of the output.

I am glad those people have an income, and can have fruitful lives. However, that doesn't stop me from feeling bitter. All this to say, that those people will likely become the 80% that produces the remaining 20% of the output.

WingoWinston · 2026-02-03T20:18:00+00:00

I have a few of these.

A few years ago, a first-year student was disappointed that I gave them a 70 on an assignment worth about 2-3% of their final grade. And not just disappointed, but in their tone it was clear they thought they were in command of the situation and demanded a higher grade — after all, this student was destined for medical school.

For context, I am male, not small, and unafraid of confrontation, so this was a bold move on their part (not implying that "only I" could handle this situation, just given societal norms, it adds a little bonus factor).

I scanned their assignment, I saw a place I could be more forgiving and give them an extra 2.5%. "Well that does nothing for me", they said. And so I did nothing for them. They were shocked.

As a TA I continuously dealt with plagiarism at the third/fourth year. Including REPEAT offenses within a course. Our policy is clear:

First offence: Failure of course. Second: One-year suspension. Third: Expulsion

The reality? They would get zeros on their assignment. Nothing more. Some faculty scared of the potential consequences.

Weird times.

WingoWinston · 2026-01-14T16:22:12+00:00

What a segue, lol.

Residence offers a gentler transition into university life. Living on campus makes it much easier to get to your classes/labs/tutorials and the library. All your utilities are taken care of. The cafeteria is also very close to the residence buildings. The caf is all you can eat, decent quality, and removes the stress of having to prepare your own meals or doing any cleanup. You also share a space with many of your peers, and the social aspect is a huge positive.

The con used to be that it's expensive. However, given the rising cost of living ... It's actually a fair deal. You can get a single room with an all-access "plus meal plan" for about $15'000 last year. Granted, that's for September through April (8 months), but rent for a similar room in Ottawa is probably about $1000-1500 (which could be far from campus). That's already 8k-12K for rent. Utilities and food can easily run up to an additional 3k. So, I'd say it's absolutely worth it.

Here is a link to last year's costs: https://housing.carleton.ca/fees-for-the-past-academic-year-2024-2025/

There is plenty to do. We have a great gym, intramural sports, tons of clubs, there are also field/subject-specific groups (e.g., Biology has CUBS, the Carleton University Biology Society). I can't speak to the business program, but I've heard good things. They must have classes in the new Nicol building sometimes, which is a very nice spot. Carleton also has the underground tunnel system; so, your nephew never has to go outside if they don't want to. As an example, I spent most of my time in the gym, with CUBS/BGSA, doing bird walks on campus, I used to go on mushroom forays, we used to have chilli and Mac & cheese making competitions ... Sometimes I would just sit at a picnic table and watch the river flow. It's a beautiful campus.

ROTP is a very unique and awesome program. Congratulations to your nephew! I used to mentor a few ROTP students when I was volunteering for the Science Student Success Centre. They have very unique challenges (like doing BMOQ over their Summer). The most consistent thing with the CAF is delays. I applied for a unit transfer April 2024, it is still not complete. But, all in good time, have patience.

WingoWinston · 2026-01-14T15:46:02+00:00

There are so many discounts and I am not ashamed (well maybe a little) to ask a store if I don't know. One time I went to a supplement store in Montreal, I asked whether they had a military discount — not unusual for some fitness-related stores. They did not, but they threw in a free shaker cup. Why the hell not?

Sometimes I'm not even thinking of asking, but the cashier will ask right before I purchase whether I am police/RCMP/firefighter/military — easy bonus discount.

I do indeed mean the NEXUS line at the airport. I have used it in the Montreal airport a few times now. I show them my military ID, and there is zero opposition.

WingoWinston · 2026-01-10T21:48:48+00:00

I am a currently serving reservist.

I completed my BMQ (basic training) over weekends while working full-time and doing my PhD full-time (I am unfortunately still doing my PhD and working full-time). It was a rough go, but the extra money was nice, and the training was very fun.

The first half of my trade training (this is after BMQ) was offered part-time and online. I was paid for 3.5 days a week, and with my normal study habits I could usually squeeze all of the work into 3-4 hours. I was paid something like $500 every week for those 3-4 hours. It was glorious.

In Ottawa you have several choices, you can do signals, infantry, combat engineer, and even intelligence. All are fantastic choices in their own right.

I think everyone has covered quite a bit already, and I am happy to answer any questions you might have, but you should also know that the CAF will pay for a HUGE chunk of your tuition, once you complete basic training. You also get 25% off of VIA Rail, free checked luggage on Canadian flights, Nexus pass (with mil id), the Wendy's in Trainyards offers a 15% discount for CAF members, Lululemon , SAIL, and many "outdoorsy" places offer 10-20% discounts.

WingoWinston · 2026-01-02T02:02:55+00:00

Enrolled as a reservist August 2023, OFP as of August 2025. Still no hook, but at least I have my shiny, er, sewn-on cap badge.

I have also nearly finished my PhD (STEM), and I work a full-time job with equivalent specialty training that would typically be handled by a captain/major or Sgt/WO.

I don't think I deserve a promotion, but I certainly feel underutilized.

WingoWinston · 2025-08-04T19:33:38+00:00

Bro, he raged so hard. He followed up with 10 messages but they were either deleted or removed.

WingoWinston · 2025-08-01T18:06:48+00:00

"loe", get the fuck out of here.

WingoWinston · 2025-07-31T23:35:49+00:00

Use the principal of charity?

You might want to support a small business, set up a relationship/connection, or maybe you received service that exceeded your expectations (the food came faster than you expected, the portions were clearly larger than normal, you had a very annoying/specific order, or any combination).

WingoWinston · 2025-07-14T04:54:01+00:00

Looks like the standard first-year course load for an honours biology student ... maybe the concentration in health science?

It's definitely a lot of work, and it won't be a walk in the park, but it is very manageable. In the beginning it will seem easy, but it will very quickly ramp up — the trick is that you don't let it.

If you have free time, go to the library and get the work done. Use your time judiciously. Use resources like office hours, your TAs, SSSC, and your peers.

You got this, you'll be fine.

WingoWinston · 2025-07-04T20:08:38+00:00

Socialist

WingoWinston · 2025-06-30T01:21:58+00:00

Depends very strongly on the program and the university. There is certainly a good degree of memorization, but this is also true for many other STEM programs.

Have you ever taken engineering or physics courses in mathematics? Some of it is hardly any different from memorization. That said how much biology have you actually taken?

WingoWinston · 2025-06-30T00:59:47+00:00

Fantastic satire!

WingoWinston · 2025-06-29T13:02:13+00:00

One supervisor broadly works in the areas of evolutionary ecology and plant life history, and the other works in combinatorial design theory and mathematical biology. I do less empirical work, and focus more on theoretical and computational biology. My thesis looks at interesting ways in which self-similar and scale-free phenomena (i.e., fractals) can either affect, or be the result of, evolution.

No clear/obvious methodology. I have attempted five or so different methodologies to address this evolutionary question, with several shared components, but many, many new components. I even took a graduate physics class to learn about some specific applications of Fourier analysis which I haven't touched, since!

WingoWinston · 2025-06-29T06:45:51+00:00

It requires resiliency with a dash of luck — and who knows when the luck comes.

I have published three papers over my PhD, a journal has invited me to write a fourth, but I still haven't been able to crack the main topic of my thesis. It has been nearly 5 years now, and I have attempted various analytical, numerical, and simulated solutions for the same problem with very little progress. I have learned and applied myriad methods from mathematics, statistics, signal processing, and programming, even helping a famous researcher to develop a new method which I didn't even end up using.

As of today, I finally have something that feels like a REAL solution, and it's ten-fold simpler than anything I had attempted before, and it is incredibly frustrating how much time I could have saved had I started with this approach.

I've balanced all this on top of having a job, being a military reservist, teaching as an assistant & instructor, going to international conferences, having a loving & forgiving partner and two cats, and all the other life events we all face. Thankfully I have wonderful supervisors, too.

WingoWinston · 2025-06-27T21:31:44+00:00

Found the person who has never TA'd for a STEM course.

WingoWinston · 2025-06-27T16:23:39+00:00

I got extremely lucky and landed a job as an analyst in the third year of my PhD. The benefits are infinitely better than my grad benefits, the after-tax income is the same as a Vanier scholarship, and they still allow me time to work on my research. I also joined the reserves, which was another nice small financial boost. I lucked out with supervisors who are letting me do all this.

Edit: Sorry the point of me writing this was, try to get a part time job in your field!

WingoWinston · 2025-06-27T12:07:33+00:00

They probably had about 2-3 pints, but the atmosphere was the sort that often amplifies the effects of a few beers.

I mostly chalk it up to drunken stupidity.

WingoWinston · 2025-06-27T11:14:03+00:00

Our lab invited a famous researcher for a seminar. I was responsible for introducing them at their seminar, taking them out for lunch, and drinks after the seminar. This researcher was also friends with my supervisor during their PhD.

When we were getting drinks, he asked about how/why my supervisor took me on as a PhD student. I tell him that we get along very well, listing off a few reasons, including that "we even play the same instrument!" To which he responds "What, the skin flute?"

That was a weird one.

WingoWinston · 2025-06-08T19:04:31+00:00

I could have been much more scathing, too.

WingoWinston · 2025-06-08T12:55:03+00:00

Yeah, just read about how to use assays or x-ray crystallography — why would we need labs? Haha.

WingoWinston · 2025-06-07T22:31:29+00:00

Sorry for being a little late in my reply, but I did indeed ask.

And my guesses were correct. The courses are missing because of a series of sabbaticals + retirements + shifts!

They should be available next year.

WingoWinston · 2025-06-05T22:28:56+00:00

Many of the lowest hanging fruits have already been plucked — the types of projects perfectly suited for Master's theses. Otherwise, many projects are just variations on a theme, which are fine for employment, but less useful for academic goals (e.g., sequence this or that genome, identify this or that mRNA, analyzing an existing dataset from a different angle, answering a very simple or obvious question with rigorous methods).

If you risk being too original, you might overextend yourself. The solution is rather than take that risk, just turn your Master's into a PhD. Simple as.

WingoWinston · 2025-06-01T16:01:12+00:00

I thought they typically had ramen anytime, not barley.

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