Two-fer

One really great thing about my current situation is that I'm doing two processes that are typically one-offs very close together. I forget that this is a remarkable thing until people remark (yes, this was intentional) about how crazy or hard or impressive it is that I defended my dissertation proposal in March, will have my master's thesis completed in December, and then will go back to work on my dissertation in January (or maybe February if I feel like slacking). 

I see it differently - I'm incredibly fortunate to be able to learn all the ways in which I'm completely screwing up the research and writing process while doing the thesis, so that when I go back to the dissertation I can learn from my mistakes. And, to be fair, I'm not screwing up as much as not meeting my own expectations of perfection. This is a fantastic lesson to learn at any time, but I'm really glad I'm learning it now with the thesis - it will probably shave a year off of the dissertation work.

Most specifically, I've learned that the hidden outcome of the thesis product, if you will, is the knowledge that, as I'm doing it, there are things that I could explore in more detail if only I had the time, along with the acceptance that it's ok to put these things aside for later. Making peace with this never-to-exist platonic ideal of my thesis, the thesis that I would have done if only I knew at the beginning what I've discovered by doing the writing, is the entire point of the exercise. There will always be more to learn, but I've discovered that I now know where to stop, and that I can figure out where I would like to start again later. Embracing this spiral of discovery is the soul of academic work.

posted by: schoolsmelt at 18:39 | link | comments (1) |

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#1  01 December 2006 - 08:38

 

nice.

NoChaser

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