Something I find incredibly cool is that they’ve found neandertal bone tools made from polished rib bones, and they couldn’t figure out what they were for for the life of them.
Until, of course, they showed it to a traditional leatherworker and she took one look at it and said “Oh yeah sure that’s a leather burnisher, you use it to close the pores of leather and work oil into the hide to make it waterproof. Mine looks just the same.”
“Wait you’re still using the exact same fucking thing 50,000 years later???”
“Well, yeah. We’ve tried other things. Metal scratches up and damages the hide. Wood splinters and wears out. Bone lasts forever and gives the best polish. There are new, cheaper plastic ones, but they crack and break after a couple years. A bone polisher is nearly indestructible, and only gets better with age. The more you use a bone polisher the better it works.”
It’s just.
50,000 years. 50,000. And over that huge arc of time, we’ve been quietly using the exact same thing, unchanged, because we simply haven’t found anything better to do the job.
How to Finish
I drew this poster for Jon Acuff and his FINISH book tour. Big thanks to Jon for this collaboration, his book has some great ideas about how to complete creative and life goals.
I'm still very much on break (basically just eating, sleeping, reading and swimming, it's delightful), but I want to sum up this year. It's been a fucking rollercoaster of a year and I still can't believe like half of the things that happened, both good and bad. Nevertheless, I want to focus on the positive ones to kickstart the new year in the most uplifting manner I'm able to pull off. Which is not very optimistic nor uplifting, but I can be at least not full of doom, haha.
I want to do this chronologically, just because I tend to forget the good stuff that happened more than two months ago.
Let's wrap this up!
presented at my first international conference (February)
prepped two PhD dissertation projects (April) and successfully defended them during the PhD programs interview (June)
wrote my diploma thesis while cooperating with the best mentor ever (January till June)
got accepted to two PhD programs and currently doing both of them! (June)
co-written three papers over the summer - two already published, one under a promising peer review (June-September)
defended my thesis and passed my state exams with straight As, meaning I got my master's degree! (September)
wrote a book chapter that got accepted (November)
quit the job I hated (January)
got rid off so much stuff I didn't need (mostly July, August)
read 130 books, yaaay
stopped saying yes to meetings with acquaintances just because I felt like I should see them (big one!)
found a functioning skincare routine (September)
started swimming again (and loving it) (September)
A lot of this year has been mostly about surviving, to be honest. I was battling a lot of anxiety and depression, I was extremely stressed at times and couldn't sleep. Swimming and taking proper days off helps, close friends help. I'm gonna do a post with some goals for 2022, so I won't spoil here that, haha.
It was a good year after all.
Take care!
M.
Fantasy Sociology (what would it do to agriculture if there was dragons)
Fantasy Psychology (the mental effects of having certain patterns of thoughts that generate fireballs)
Fantasy Biology (what if u had lighting sacks in yr cheeks)
Fantasy Chemistry (these r the elements and what u can do with them)
Fantasy Physics (orbital mechanics and magical floating rocks: a guide)
Fantasy Mathematics (its just normal mathematics)
january 12, 2020
for the past 2ish weeks ive been in the protoproto stages of starting physics research with a professor :') the first steps of course are understanding special relativity and finding a suitable journal to put it all in 🌌
Spectacular 🤩
I don’t think there are words or pictures adequate enough to describe how absolutely spectacular Møre og Romsdal is. This is Trollstigen, my favourite viewpoint of the entire trip :)
History student falls in love with astrophysics student by Keaton St. James
(patreon)
[poem text: listen, nine hundred and fifty years before jesus was a child shaking willow leaves out of his tangled curls, the author of the song of solomon wrote: behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves.
what i’m trying to say is that, in this universe which sculpted itself from a baptism of fire, i am the moon swept up by your tenderness. you’ve got me dreaming foreign words: gravity, ellipsis, perigee, until all i can think about is becoming anchored into orbit around the saltwater-green landscape of your laughter.
listen, plato of ancient greece wrote that the souls we each have now are only halves. that in a frenzy of blood zeus severed us from each other, so we rely on the blind tugging of our hearts. you say my name and i want to knit my bones into your bones, smooth away the boundaries of our heartbeats.
what i’m trying to say is that if the temperature inside those wild pockets of interstellar dust hits right near absolute zero, carbon monoxide and dihydrogen molecules condense together in the dark nebula to form stars. if you’re ready, i want to make you shiver like that. /end poem text.]
please check it before you send me a question about graduate school :) :) i hope it’s useful! xo // updated 02.2020
basic info
what is the PhD and what can you do with it? (+)
what does a literature PhD entail?
should i do a PhD if i have to pay tuition?
is the degree worth it?
does it look bad to take time off between degrees?
what was your timeline like?
what’s the difference between a terminal MA and a PhD? (+)
does getting an MA first help you get into a PhD program?
is it okay to just try grad school out?
application process
how can i prepare for applying early in my undergrad career? (+) (+)
where should i start looking for programs?
should i choose a program based on rank or fit? (+)
how can i find lower-profile programs doing cool stuff?
how many programs should i apply to?
parts of the application
advice on the writing sample
advice on the GRE (+)
how should i ask for letters of recommendation?
how should i write a statement of purpose? (+)
how do i demonstrate my “ability to excel”?
how should i address mental health/family/personal issues that impacted my grades?
should i send in extra materials?
grad school application spreadsheet
how should i email potential advisors? (+) (+)
how can i survive the waiting period? (+)
how should i prepare for an interview or phone call? (+)
what should i ask at open house?
what should i do if i don’t think i can afford my grad school tuition?
what should i do the summer before i start my program?
seminars/coursework
how should i plan for grad seminar presentations? (+)
what should i bring with me to seminars?
what are grad seminars like?
how can i get better at speaking during seminars?
what do you mean grades don’t matter
reading
what should i have read before i start my lit grad program?
how much reading should i expect?
how can i read a lot without getting overwhelmed? (+)
how can i read efficiently? (+) (+)
quals-specific reading advice
how should i take notes on critical articles?
writing
how do i write a lit review?
how do i write an indicative bibliography?
how do i choose a dissertation topic? (+)
how do i plan for a long research paper?
how do i balance all the different kinds of writing i have to do?
money & living
how can i find housing before i move?
how do finances work in grad school?
what is adjuncting and why does it suck?
how can i budget while on a stipend?
should i work while in grad school? (+)
what’s important to a research assistant application?
i’m running out of funding / i’m off normative time
fellowship, postdocs, & job stuff
which websites post US fellowship/postdoc/job ads?
CV writing tips
how do dissertation fellowships work? (+)
tips for grant, award, & fellowship applications
should i share my materials with others?
how does the academic hiring process work?
how do i keep track of all my applications?
how do i think up a second project when i’m not even done with my dissertation?
job materials masterpost
skype interview-specific tips
job talks
negotiating (+)
general tips (+)
what’s up with the professor is in?
how do i stay motivated while getting buried in rejection letters?
misc
will grad school make my mental health issues worse? (+)
how do i survive conferences (abroad)?
how should i deal with burnout? (+)
secret labor
i think i want to quit
my advisor is ghosting me
how do i work with no structured schedule?
how do i get enough sleep?
how do i balance my work & my teaching?
how can i beat imposter syndrome? (+) (+)
how can i excel in grad school?
spring journal prompts
things to get rid of, things to gain
something you want to learn
go out and press some spring flowers, write how each makes you feel
write what each colour of the rainbow means to you
what does birdsong make you think of?
do some mental spring cleaning; dump old thought patterns that no longer serve you
set a "spring goal" for yourself
watch the sun rise, write about it
design your ideal ecosystem
what are you looking forward to?
go outside. what do you hear? how does that make you feel?
perfect resume for someone with no experience
A+ advice on writing cv’s
a guide to writing your resume
how to get a job fast as hell
resume writing tips
jobs and careers masterpost
how to answer interview questions
career and employment masterpost
resume template
strong words to use on a resume
34 crucial tips for your next job interview
how to write a cv
resume cheat sheet
how to write a cover letter
job hunting resources
Find a job in your field
7 questions you should ask at the end of every interview
how to get a job before you graduate
how to be good at interviews
other cheat sheets