Graduate students are a rare and special breed of creature, who live on the fringe of contemporary society. Therefore, it shouldn’t be surprising that special care has to be made when talking to them. So, in an unknown number of parts, I plan to help the average person whose life decisions did not involve sacrificing their youth to a subtle chunk of academic minutia learn how to communicate with the graduate students in their lives.

In this part, we discuss “idle conversation” themes. Most people will ask “so what do you do?” and get an answer like “I’m an accountant.” or “I’m a executive producer for a pornography production company.” From here, you can begin to express an interest in aspects of this career. But the moment you hear “I’m a graduate student” it’s time to tread lightly, both for your sake and theirs. So here are a few loaded questions you should know what you’ll be in for. Read more »

Posted: October 31st, 2007 under Personal.
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I just read a Reuters FACTBOX regarding the Dalai Lama’s receiving the Congressional Gold Medal this coming Friday. The article can be found here. I think this is an excellent example of how the media skews things by attempting to compress information.

The first fact is

The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s god-king, fled on horseback after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959 and now lives in exile in northern India. China accuses him of seeking independence for Tibet. The 72-year-old spiritual leader says he only wants greater autonomy for the region.

which is incorrect on a few levels. First of all, referring to the Dalai Lama as a “god-king” is fairly misleading. In the Buddhist tradition, he is a bodhisattva of compassion, and not a “god”. His position is administrative, yes, but he is more a religious figure who happens to be traditionally a head of state than a “god-king” in the sense of other Western civilizations (ancient Egypt, for example).

The second fact

Within Tibet, simply having the Dalai Lama’s picture can be grounds for imprisonment. Critics say Buddhist monks and nuns loyal to the Dalai Lama have been jailed and tortured.

smiles on China’s intervention in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition too much. The tenth Panchen Lama died in 1989. On a par with the Dalai Lama, this figure is replaced in the Gelugpa tradition, the Panchen Lama is partially responsible for the search for the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, and vice versa. The Dalai Lama, in exile, named Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the eleventh Panchen Lama. He was promptly exiled and the Chinese government appointed their own Panchen Lama, thereby giving them “influence” over appointing the next Dalai Lama. This is a transparent power play to remove the influence of the Dalai Lama in exile upon the death of the current one.

Finally,

The central government has invested billions of dollars in improving Tibet’s infrastructure, including a new railway across the snowy plateau that links Beijing and Lhasa.

This almost downplays the poor treatment the Chinese government has heaped on Tibet, which is essentially a twenty-first century colony. Starting with the Great Leap Forward and on, 1.2 million Tibetans have died under the rule of the Chinese government, which Beijing of course denies.

I just wanted to point out how wording can have a large impact on how people read an article. Shame on you, Reuters.

Posted: October 16th, 2007 under Politics.
Comments: none

This year has been an insane set of upsets from the top to the bottom, so, in an effort to increase general content, here are my top five:

Number 5 - Syracuse 38, Louisville 35

We start the countdown with a game that exposed a weakness. Louisville has no defense, but the idea that Syracuse of all teams could run with the Brian Brohm offense would seem absurd to any competent sports broadcaster, and I include Lou Holtz in that list.

Read more »

Posted: October 14th, 2007 under Football.
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I’ve made the wild and crazy decision that, next summer, I will be spending two weeks in Reykjavik. My plan is as follows:

(1) Take the flight from JFK to the international airport

(2) Get off the airplane and get to the hostel

(3) Look around and go “Okay, now what?”

I’m very excited about this idea, although it seems completely insane. My plan is to just show up and enjoy life for a little while before I return to the humdrum life of a graduate student.

Posted: October 13th, 2007 under Personal.
Comments: none

    All six readers, I now make my first post in a while.

Running this blog has made me realize that life as a graduate student is phenomenally boring. Ever since classes set back in, I came to the realization that classes after your first year of grad school are more inconvenient than helpful. I have hardly any time to do research. I have to grade labs, which is both time-consuming and depressing. I basically want this semester to end so I can hurry up and get onto full research with no teaching.

On the plus side, I’m broadening my discussion in this blog to other aspects of my personal life. You are free to start snickering now. But this means I can talk about aikido, political idiocy, and my neverending fascination with the culture of Long Island. As a bonus, I might even share my mad dating tips for physicists.

Posted: October 1st, 2007 under Personal.
Comments: 1