The illustrated guide to a Ph.D. An Article by Matt Might matt.might.net Show image 0 Show image 1 Imagine a circle that contains all of human knowledge. By the time you finish elementary school, you know a little. By the time you finish high school, you know a bit more. With a bachelor's degree, you gain a specialty. A master's degree deepens that specialty: Reading research papers takes you to the edge of human knowledge. Once you're at the boundary, you focus. You push at the boundary for a few years. Until one day, the boundary gives way. And, that dent you've made is called a Ph.D.. Of course, the world looks different to you now. So, don't forget the bigger picture. Keep pushing. knowledgescienceprogressresearch
The Art of Looking Sideways A Book by Alan Fletcher www.alanfletcherarchive.com Cover art for Alan Fletcher's wonderfully expansive commonplace book. Thinking is drawing in your headThe picket fenceThe chicken was the egg's idea for getting more eggs The brain is wider than the skyWhat this site is graphicsdesigncommunicationcommonplacestylecollections
The picket fence There was a fence with spaces you could look through if you wanted to. An architect who saw this thing stood there one summer evening. Took out the spaces with great care and built a castle in the air. The fence was utterly dumbfounded, each post stood there with nothing round it. Christian Morgenstern www.andrew.cmu.edu spacearchitectureabsurdity