Here is a copy of the talk I gave tonight on academic careers.
Some of the feedback included:
* the importance of mental health issues (I will try and do a few future posts on this).
* dogged perseverance is often a key component to success
It would be good to get some discussion going on some of the issues I raise in the talk.
Great talk, Ross. I second bringing up the issues of stress and overall mental health, particularly for PhD students.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I highly recommend every PhD student read phdcomics.com. :) It's a great way of knowing that all the little things you deal with (ranging from the Meaning of Life (your thesis) to procrastinating to free food) are common. So common that you can make a highly successful comic strip about them. Definitely made ME feel better!
I am wondering if this prevalence of mental health issues is a reflection of the system, or are the sort of people who decide to do PhDs just more susceptible?
ReplyDeleteI know there are various studies that have shown people studying physics/maths score higher on the autism spectrum. I also vaguely recall articles linking higher IQ to higher incidences of various ailments, but I can't find references, so I might be mistaken.
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