Monday, January 17, 2011

that's a joke, right?


this week i begin my studies for my preliminary exams. to make a long story short: i have to read roughly 3 books a day, every day, for the next 5 months. is this possible? no. do i still have to do it? yes.

everyone knows it's impossible. no one seems to care that there might be a better way to instill knowledge that doesn't involve conquering an impossible task. it just supports my theory that getting a Ph.D. has nothing to do with intelligence and everything to do with survival. if you somehow manage to survive the process of an impossible task... well then. well done. if you break down, emotionally and intellectually, under the pressure of such a paradox... you're just not suited to have a Ph.D.

...which kind of suggests that the folks who bow out might be saner and/or, dare i say it, even smarter than us poor bastards who say, "3 books a day? sure, no problem! and you'd like me to retain that information, would you? also no problem! and how high will i be jumping in the near future? ah. good. will the hoops be on fire? well, let's be honest, if they weren't i would've been disappointed. thank you for the opportunity to debase myself in front of experts and cry myself to sleep on my bathroom floor while attempting to understand french philosophy, phenomenology, and a frightening array of interdisciplinary treatises. no, really. it's my PLEASURE."

*sigh*

by june i will either be exponentially smarter... or i will be brain dead. good times.

3 comments:

purply bunny said...

*huggs*

that sounds like torture!!

i'm just on the path of studying towards a BSc & sometimes i think that's hard going!

Lindsey said...

It's true, it's true.

I had to make a decision when I started all this PhD crap. I could never see my friends again, stop playing video games, stop seeing my family, stop reading books for fun and stop watching the BBC whilst cross-stitching and STILL not get everything done and feel crappy. OR I could continue doing all the stuff I love, not get everything done and feel moderately less crappy.

Option #2, please. ;0)

... said...

Keep going! Keep going!
It's only 'till June... *eeerk*
No, wait, really:
I vote your cranium can hack it!