Hierarchy of Worries
I record every question I get asked in workshops. The text document runs to over 15,000 words now. Over time I see trends and themes, and they help me to think about how I evolve the workshop. In particular I...
Daily viva help for PhDs
I record every question I get asked in workshops. The text document runs to over 15,000 words now. Over time I see trends and themes, and they help me to think about how I evolve the workshop. In particular I...
What if you wanted to tell a friend about your research and you only had one sheet of paper? What would you put on this cheatsheet? Would it have lots of pictures? Bullet-points? Would your abstract feature? And would it...
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...
I love Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee, the web series by Jerry Seinfeld where he interviews comedians in ca- well, you probably get the idea. One of my favourite episodes is with Steve Martin. It’s funny and well worth a...
Bookmarks, Post Its and annotation in your thesis help you, but they’re also a signal. They tell your examiners you have prepared for the viva. You’ve read your thesis and clearly thought about it a lot since submission. At the...
When I first got interested about the viva someone told me, “People hopefully pick an internal who they like, and hopefully pick an external that is an expert in their field.” I’m not sure that’s the best advice for picking...
If you ask around about viva length, two to three hours is fairly common. If you google you’ll find lots of lists of standard questions. On the day you will probably find out the result within thirty minutes of the...
Why might I fail? What happens if I fail? What is the process for failing the viva like? I am asked questions like this all the time. Some people do fail the viva. The vast majority don’t. What makes you...
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore— While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my...
Promise becomes skill. Thoughts made real, words and more. A test to close. Done. (with thanks to Paul Spencer for the inspiration!)