I didn’t listen to Nevermind by Nirvana when it came out. I was in my teens in the 90s, but for some reason the album never connected with me. Of course, I heard Smells Like Teen Spirit but it just sounded loud and angry. I didn’t get it.
In my thesis I wrote a really detailed explanation of how I produced a particular algorithm. I walked the reader through it step by step. And it didn’t connect with my examiners. They thought it read like a story. They didn’t get it.
In both cases though, there was an opportunity to correct. In my viva I was able to explain the process, and my examiners got it. They asked me to re-write my explanation, but they understood what I was trying to get across: my thesis was better as a result.
And last month I listened to Nevermind for the first time: life is better as a result.
