The Rabbit, the Fox, and the Lion
One day, a rabbit was casually hopping back to his hole when, just as he was about to jump into his hole, he was grabbed around the neck by a fox, bent on eating him.
"Oh, please don't eat me," said the rabbit to the fox, "For I am just about to finish my dissertation."
"Why should I care about your dissertation?" asked the fox.
"Because," replied the rabbit, "I think the subject would fascinate you. It's entitled, 'Why Foxes Can't Eat Rabbits.'"
"That's a stupid dissertation," declared the fox. "Of course foxes can eat rabbits. In fact, I'm going to eat you right now!
"But wait," said the rabbit, "Just come down to my hole for a minute. I'll show you my dissertation, and, if you're not convinced, you can eat me. But, I promise you, I will prove to you that my thesis is, in fact, true."
Reluctantly, the fox agreed, and he followed the rabbit down into the hole. There, in the rabbit's hole, the fox saw a pile of bones in one corner, and a lion typing on a laptop in the other.
"What's that?" the fox asked, gesturing at the pile of bones.
"That's my research," replied the rabbit.
"Well, what's he doing here?" asked the fox, looking at the lion.
"Oh, he's my advisor," said the rabbit, at which time the lion pounced and ate the fox.
Moral: The subject of your dissertation really doesn't matter. All that matters is who's your advisor!
"But wait," said the rabbit, "Just come down to my hole for a minute. I'll show you my dissertation, and, if you're not convinced, you can eat me. But, I promise you, I will prove to you that my thesis is, in fact, true."
Reluctantly, the fox agreed, and he followed the rabbit down into the hole. There, in the rabbit's hole, the fox saw a pile of bones in one corner, and a lion typing on a laptop in the other.
"What's that?" the fox asked, gesturing at the pile of bones.
"That's my research," replied the rabbit.
"Well, what's he doing here?" asked the fox, looking at the lion.
"Oh, he's my advisor," said the rabbit, at which time the lion pounced and ate the fox.
Moral: The subject of your dissertation really doesn't matter. All that matters is who's your advisor!
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Although I've only had to write theses to complete my masters degrees, the fable hits close to home. Very funny.
Ha! How true! I finished mine in Dec. '06 (in a social sciences field). My dissertation advisor/chair made all the difference. She was humble, had my best interests in mind, "drove" the process through for me, and was of the mind that a "the best dissertation is a done dissertation." Several of my former classmates are still laboring to get past the proposal stage, as they cow to their chair's/advisor's egos, under endless and endless revisions.
Some dissertation chairs/advisors should be brought out to a pub for a couple beers, and have Ecclesiastes read out-loud to them.
:)
On a bad day, I might argue that if I had a different advisor the diploma hanging in my office would say PhD instead of MPhil.
Good luck!
couldn't agree more.
am thinking of a new blog in honor of my advisor who seems bent on "getting me out"--and i'm only on year 3!
tony jones, not sure if you remember me--it's aram bae, class of pts 05, took some classes w/kenda dean and you came to teach one or two.
also, i babysat your adorable kids once--great kids, i remember. had fun.
hope you are well. here's to obeying our advisors,
aram
Not every advisor can be a "Staupitz"! Congrats on the extension; it'll go fast...
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