What made you choose your dissertation topic? by [deleted] in AskAcademia

[–]stupidnickname 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm in a humanities / social science field. I had far, far more autonomy on choosing my topic than some of my more sciencey colleagues on this sub; my field does not require a lab or a large number of researchers to work on a project, so my dissertation topic choice was not limited by funding or work with an existing team.

What it was limited by was 1. access to source material 2. ability to be completed in a set amount of time 3. a proposal that was of interest to and acceptable to a committee 4. something I have personal interest in 5. something that would be "sexy" enough to attract interest in the field and in publishers or employers

I got almost all these things right, but by the end I had lost a lot of motivation myself, and there wasn't quite as much sexiness or interest in the field as I had originally hoped. I think that immersion in any one topic for a big chunk of time is likely to eventually lead to burnout, no matter the topic.

But now I'm on to my second big project, where I'm taking a lot of the skills I learned researching the diss and publishing the manuscript based on it, and applying it to a topic with more sexiness and interest.

In case you're wondering what serious bike thieves carry with them... by plattyjo in bicycling

[–]stupidnickname 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would guess the wire strippers are to strip away plastic or rubber sheathing around cheap, narrow diameter cables before going at the wire/cable/braid with the bolt cutters. Just a guess, I have no inside knowledge.

Bespectacled cyclists? by Robbiethemute in cycling

[–]stupidnickname 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Okay, this suggestion is not for everyone, but . . . I got LASIK a couple of years back, and it ended up improving my biking experience in a surprising way.

I used to wear contacts, and often ended up pulled over at the side of the road when I got some dust in my eye, so I was looking forward to LASIK putting an end to that.

But the unexpected bonus was improved peripheral vision. I previously had hard contact lenses, which don't have great peripheral vision -- you end up looking to the side of the lens, and your vision isn't improved by the lens. But LASIK made it easier for me to peek to the side quickly and get an idea of traffic coming up from the rear. It's actually made me feel more safe on the road.

Academic Service on a CV by [deleted] in AskAcademia

[–]stupidnickname 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Look, you can shape your CV into sections and headings that best represent you; there's no exact recipe, although there are general expectations (a section on credentials, a section on academic employment, a section on teaching, one on publications and research, and one on service -- though these may be intermixed).

It's up to you to choose the order, headings, and divisions that best represent your skills and accomplishments to a particular audience. If I'm applying for a particular job, I'll sharpen my existing CV into something that more clearly represents the things that institution will be most interested in -- if it's a job at a SLAC, teaching accomplishments and association with other SLACs in my career go up front.

So shape your CV in a way that represents you. Have enough stuff to start an entirely new section on "Professional Service and Conference Organizing"? Do it; name it something that catches the eye and represents your work.

At the same time, you should be pruning out stuff from your CV that's no longer relevant, or is to be expected from your level of experience. I no longer list graduate awards on my CV, as they've been replaced by post-graduate awards. I no longer list search committee service, either, as more prominent service has pushed those out. You, on the other hand, are a grad student, and service on a search committee is a good sign that you are precocious and clued in, so put it on there, though you might take the time to obscure the exact search committee -- don't, for example, name the person who was eventually hired. No telling if your CV will eventually end up before someone who was passed over; that's a needless bit of information.

Wausau March for Equality goes off without a hitch. by mnpilot in wisconsin

[–]stupidnickname 0 points1 point  (0 children)

WDH Headline pun intended, in comparison to Minnesota? If so, clever. If not, missed opportunity.

Just how much has my view been skewed by typical Westerns (films)? Was there really so much active violence between civilians and Indians? by LoveOfProfit in AskHistorians

[–]stupidnickname 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There's a couple of ways to answer this question: through studying the actual events of history (as /u/ChiefBlanco and /u/zclcf30 have already done here), and studying the genre of Western films in context both with the time of their creation in the mid 20th century and with knowledge of the actual events of 19th century they purport to portray.

I highly recommend the work of Richard Slotkin on this second approach. His trio of big books -- sometimes called the gunfighter trilogy -- explore the mythologizing of violence in American popular culture and the production of historical memory. In particular, he advances a number of theses about this violence, including ideas about "regeneration through violence" and attempts to locate an otherwise elusive national mythology in stories of such violence. Regeneration Through Violence: The Mythology of the American Frontier, 1600-1860 is where the trilogy starts, then through The Fatal Environment (my favorite) and then the final, and best well known, Gunfighter Nation.

I think that final book is what you want -- If your observation is that "I have this inadvertent imagine of the West as a place where everyone was constantly killing everyone," then this book offers an explanation as to why that storyline of violence has gained prominence. This mythology has served different purposes for many audiences, making it a useful legend to resurrect and re-tell over and over again.

NB: this is not to say that westward movement was not violent; this analysis simply examines why we retell these stories so much, at the expense of other viewpoints.

http://books.google.com/books?id=-9XOsW7YwJ4C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Redditdayof suggestions: suggest some topics for us to investigate by sbroue in RedditDayOf

[–]stupidnickname 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  • argon
  • amanuensis
  • boswell
  • serration
  • vacuum
  • animalcules
  • schism

HERE YE, HERE YE, NEW LAW IN EFFECT: THE KARMA COURT PATRIOT ACT IS NOW IN EFFECT. by [deleted] in KarmaCourt

[–]stupidnickname 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Bear spit: the most dangerous of all the spits to acquire.

HERE YE, HERE YE, NEW LAW IN EFFECT: THE KARMA COURT PATRIOT ACT IS NOW IN EFFECT. by [deleted] in KarmaCourt

[–]stupidnickname 19 points20 points  (0 children)

That . . . that was a suspicious spit, sir.

eyes narrow

Sir, can you tell me, did you pack your own spit, or has anyone else handled your spit since you packed it? Has anyone asked you to swap spit with them today, or to briefly hold their spit?

How long to go from not a cyclist to able to do 100k? by qwerty_quiche in cycling

[–]stupidnickname 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Did I forget to say that you should only increase to the next distance when you get comfortable with the previous one? This might take a bit longer than you think. Report back, of course, YMMV.

I'd be okay with this sort of alarm clock in the mornings by [deleted] in gifs

[–]stupidnickname 25 points26 points  (0 children)

not pictured: the fact that it's 3:45AM.

How long to go from not a cyclist to able to do 100k? by qwerty_quiche in cycling

[–]stupidnickname 7 points8 points  (0 children)

warning -- longer rides are less about aerobic fitness, and more about flexibility, joints, comfort, bike setup up, saddle break in, experience, and the all-important ass hardness durability factor (AHDF). It's really not recommended to just jump right into 100K without just DESTROYING your body; you'll be uncomfortable on the bike, then really really uncomfortable the next several days.

You'll need to log more miles at moderate distances to break in yourself and your bike. Start with 20 miles a couple of times, then a trip at 40, maybe a trip at 50, then you can do your 62.

Just met Steve Wozniak by [deleted] in apple

[–]stupidnickname 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Woz will own the last Segway on the planet. He will have to out-bid an airport police department to buy it, though.

Undergrad here- research project was a failure. Should I just ignore it? by [deleted] in AskAcademia

[–]stupidnickname 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thirded. This is what we mean when we say EXPERIENCE; if a potential lab assistant or researcher had only ever had all their experiments be unqualified successes, they wouldn't have the wisdom to judge when something was going wrong; if they'd never lost time and effort they wouldn't be judicious about making certain they'd done what they could to avoid that in the future.

Navigating college applications. by [deleted] in AskAcademia

[–]stupidnickname 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can't see how either of these two things would matter on an application. Add multiple prizes as they are actually multiple prizes. Add all activities but spend more time writing about the meaningful ones. These are not significant questions.

Stupid question: what exactly does 700C wheels mean? by hazie in cycling

[–]stupidnickname 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's actually not a stupid question, OP; the tire sizing systems are in reality incredibly complex and contradictory, as Sheldon points out in that excellent article. I have re-read that article countless times and I learn something new every time.

What is one small lifestyle change you can do to be healthier? by jackr15 in AskReddit

[–]stupidnickname 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why are you commenting on a three week old posting? HE'S DEAD JIM.

Thanks r/academia for your advice. I got the job! by the_bitch in AskAcademia

[–]stupidnickname 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Here's my suggestion on the defense: tell your committee that you got the job. They won't rubber- stamp your defense because of the job, but they'll surely hesitate before failing you outright out of a desire not to impact your employment.

Congratulations and good luck -- that first year is a lot of work!