Comments on: The hardest parts of science

By: Jaclyn

Jaclyn — Mon, 12 May 2008 21:34:41 +0000

I’ll second that – and add that it’s true across disciplines (I’m a sociologist). It’s more important to look for an advisor who is willing to invest in your success (that is, offer you time, energy, and both intellectual and emotional support) than whose research interests are identical to your own.

By: Anthony

Anthony — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 20:16:51 +0000

Steve,

I’m afraid I’m not familiar enough with the plant systematics crowd to recommend people or places. What I can say though is that I think the personality and general helpfulness of a potential advisor is more important than the exact topic that they study. And as for idea generation, don’t sell yourself short! You probably have some great proto-ideas that could be whipped into concrete shape by a good lab group. Thanks for reading.

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:29:33 +0000

Anthony,

I found your blog looking up information on sedge taxonomy/systematics, as I’m leaning toward finding a master’s program with a project along those lines; I was hoping to find potential advisors. Perhaps you’re familiar with a few authors who know their sedges?

At any rate, I agree that a huge obstacle in the way of getting science done is having good ideas (which I would imagine come from direct experience and reading). If I had lots of good (realistic, concrete) ideas, I would be doing science, rather than field work.

Thanks, and nice blog.

Steve