The Update- Part 4

It’s been about a month since my last post, which admittedly is far too long. Instead of the usual fare, I thought it was a good time to give a quick update as to where I am, and where I am headed. To sum it up- I am finished with my PhD. I received the official notice of the acceptance of my dissertation by the graduate school. It’s funny, the big steps in the end … Read more

9 tips for getting the most out of graduate school

Ringed Notepad & Pencil

Now that I am in the home stretch of my PhD, I started reflecting on my experiences throughout. I recently saw a post on Cal Newport’s blog about some of his thoughts on grad school, so I thought I might toss my hat in the ring. Below are two sections. The first section is aimed at ideas for all graduate students, but the second section are ideas geared mostly toward PhD students in the same … Read more

Great TED Talks: Melissa Marshall on Scientific Communication

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Being able to relay what we do to the public and practitioners as scientists is incredibly important. My field, in particular, is especially applied. Most of what I study aims to improve the methods of practitioners. However, if I don’t take the time to relay this information to the people whose practice I am trying to improve- I’m not doing enough.  Here’s a TED talk from Melissa Marshall about how scientists can do a better … Read more

2014 Year in Review

It has been a pretty busy year! Here’s a bit of summary, and a bit of play by play. Website: I launched the website in August of this year, as a place for me to put down my thoughts, and write about topics I really like to write about. I get the luxury of writing with bad jokes, sarcasm, and well, voice. You don’t typically get that in academic/scientific writing- though don’t get me wrong, … Read more

Book Recommendation: Discovering Statistics

I have a confession to make. I really like statistics. It’s funny, because when I took it as an undergraduate, I didn’t like it at all. Flipping coins and counting M&Ms didn’t seem like something I could ever actually use. I did keep the textbook though; for some reason I thought that if I kept the book in my bookshelf long enough, I would actually begin to like the subject. I guess I assumed Stockholm … Read more