The Ph.D grind-博士磨难-读后感

最近准备博士开题，对于博士阶段要完成的研究，有些焦虑，有些困惑。每每看到别人的研究方向、研究成果总是心生羡慕，对自己的研究倒是不怎么自信。是兴趣不足？是了解不够？还是眼界太窄？

在刚读博的时候就知道这本书了，但由于种种原因没有读。最近在迷茫时期，重新找到这本书，向前辈取取经，寻找些继续坚持下去的力量。先梳理一些阅读心得：

1.科研中学会与他人合作、交流，在合作中学习 / Ally with insiders

I had an easy time publishing papers whenallied with expert insiders such as Scott and Joel during my secondyear, Tom during my MSR internship, and Je↵ during my fifthyear.

I didn’t have time to present all five projects during my oral defensetalk, so I chose to present three projects, one that I did with each memberof my thesis committee: IncPy with Dawson, ProWrangler withJe↵, and Burrito with Margo. Most Ph.D. students publish paperswith only their advisor, so it was a rare honor to get to talk aboutresearch that I did with all three of my committee members.

Guo的很多研究是跟本学院或者其他学校、研究院的老师、学生、研究员合作完成的。因此，合作交流对象不要局限于自己的博士生导师。

2.带着目标做事更容易有产出 / Outputs trump inputs

In contrast, related work literature searches for my dissertationprojects were much more effective because my reading was tightlydirected towards clear goals: identifying competitors and adaptinggood ideas into my own projects.

My Ph.D. training has taught mehow to effectively find the most relevant information for what Ineed to accomplish at each moment.

在博一的时候，Guo有一段自己随意阅读大量文献的经历。后期他对于这个阶段的反思，认为阅读的内容并没有转化为生产力，产出成果。相反：其他时候有目标的输入，更能够带来有效的输出。

3.要学会推销自己，多认识些领域的大牛

This final grad school adventure would not have been possible withoutme actively seizing opportunities that I was fortunate enough tohave been given. If Robert hadn’t told me about the San Jose workshoptwo years ago, if I hadn’t submitted and presented my IncPypaper there, if Margo hadn’t liked my paper and introduced me to Elaine, if I hadn’t kept in touch with Elaine, if I hadn’t spontaneously said hello to Margo again at last summer’s conference where I presentedCDE, if she didn’t send me a gracious follow-up email, andif I didn’t take a risk with my unusual counterproposal to her, thenI would have still been back at Stanford struggling to find one lastproject and thesis committee member.

Guo后期的一些机遇，正是由于前期积极与领域的前辈交流而获得的。要学会推销自己，多认识些领域内的大牛，在之后自己的学术生涯中会有意外的收获。

4.寻找自己的研究兴趣和导师研究兴趣重合的部分

I took a pragmaticapproach to my brainstorming since I wanted her to be excited aboutmy project and to strongly support its inclusion in my dissertation. Thus, I read some of her recent papers and grant applications to get a sense of her research philosophy so that I could cater my ideas towards her tastes. By now, I understood the importance of aligning with thesubjective preferences of senior collaborators (and paper reviewers),even when doing research in supposedly objective technical fields.

作为一名博士生，课题方向总是受限于导师的研究方向。如果自己对导师布置的课题不感兴趣，很难持续保持热情，投入精力。因此，在选择课题方面，要选择自己的兴趣和导师兴趣相重合的方向。这样，在提出自己的对课题想法时，更容易得到导师的支持。

5.知道何时该放弃 / Know when to quit

Quitting Klee at the end of my third yearwas my most pivotal decision of grad school. If I hadn’t quit Klee,then there would be no IncPy, no SlopPy, no CDE, no ProWrangler,and no Burrito; there would just be three or more years of painfulincremental progress followed by a possible “pity graduation.”

在博士前三年，Guo深陷于一个较难的项目，在这个项目上的迟迟没有突破。Guo由于有自己的基金资助，不受导师的资助，可以选择不再跟进该项目。这一选择，后期来看，是很明智的。因此，对于导师布置的课题，要融入自己的思考，是否适合自己？

6.迷茫的时候要更加努力，更加聪明的努力 / Grind hard and smart

Every time Ireflected back on the inefficiencies, failures, and frustrations that I hadendured during my first three years of grad school, I would grow moreenraged and push myself to grind even harder; I was motivated by anobsessive urge to make up for supposedly lost time. Of course, thoseearly years weren’t actually lost; without those struggles, I wouldn’thave gained the inspiration or abilities to create the five projects thatcomprised my dissertation.

Guo在前三年没有做出能够纳入毕业论文的成果。在博士第四年开始的压力之大，可想而知。我最敬佩Guo的正是他不放弃的勇气和持续付出的决心。正是如此，在博士第四年、第五年有大量的收获，在博士第六年顺利的毕业。

7.（科研/实习/论文等方面）有想法或需求，多和导师交流

I talked to Dawson about my conflicting feelings, and he was quite supportive, soI accepted the internship offer.

Guo在想向Workshop投论文以及纠结接受Google实习邀请与否时，与导师进行了有效的沟通，说出了自己的想法与困惑，同时导师对Guo表示了很大的支持。很多时候，我们在做抉择的时候，会纠结导师怎么看，导师是不是不会支持。其实，大多数情况下，导师是很支持的。关键是需要勇敢地、主动地提出相关的请求。

8.论文的写作要尽量考虑审稿人的偏好

In theory, technicalpapers should be judged on their merit alone, but in reality, reviewerseach have their own unique subjective tastes and philosophical biases.So I drastically rewrote my introductory pitch with the aim of gettingmore amicable reviewers and then resubmitted to a second-tier conferenceto further improve its chances of acceptance. My plan worked,and the IncPy conference paper was accepted—albeit with lukewarmreviews—on my second submission attempt in early 2011.

9.科研中的成就感很重要

After the initialsuccess of CDE, I no longer cared if my graduation was delayed bya year or more due to lack of additional publications; I got so muchsatisfaction from knowing that a piece of software I had invented couldimprove many people’s computing experiences.

It was fun at times, but moreimportantly, it was fulfilling. Fun is often frivolous, ephemeral, andeasy to obtain, but true fulfillment comes only after overcoming significantand meaningful challenges. Pursuing a Ph.D. has been one ofthe most fulfilling experiences of my life, and I feel extremely lucky tohave been given the opportunity to be creative during this time.

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大概就总结这些，很佩服Guo的勇气和坚定意志。最后，希望自己也能不被挫折和失败打倒，愈挫愈勇，在自己的研究领域有些收获和成就。