The Three Academics: A Joke

Tue, 30 Jul 2019 09:15:00 -0700

Mathematicians really care about correctness. We believe unspoken assumptions are dangerous. We think vague language is confusing, and saying more or less than we mean is grounds for misunderstanding. We want terms to be clearly defined, and for points to follow logically, like links in an unbreakable chain of truth. But sometimes people say things that are completely reasonable and yet we still feel the need to set them straight:

This is my first contribution to the world of webcomics, a medium I’ve long admired for being able to deliver witty, weird reflections on life in simple packages. Giving credit where it’s due, this “joke” is adapted from The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon and the art style takes after poorlydrawnlines by Reza Farazmand. In living out generous making, this comic is available as a high resolution PNG or PDF for you to use as you’d like. (Just keep my authorship in the corner intact, please!)

And hey, to the economists out there: if you’ve got any good roasts of mathematicians, I’m all ears.

Mapping Your Academic Career

Fri, 29 Sep 2017 12:00:00 -0700

I had set myself on the path of a PhD when I picked this book up at Urbana 2015, and hoped to read up on some guidance. When finally getting a chance to read it a year later, however, I found myself flipping through the life of professor — not a discussion of how best to center my life around Jesus while navigating graduate studies! In a conversational but direct manner, Burge describes the life trajectory of a faculty member in three main stages, each with their own goals, challenges, and successes. Taking the position of an amateur developmental psychologist (himself a professor of New Testament theology), he divides the three main cohorts of professors not by age, but by maturity.

Cohort 1 is concerned with finding security, Cohort 2 with finding success, and Cohort 3 with finding significance. Burge fills out a structured outline for each in his short text, first discussing the marking characteristics of each group, then warning against a series of common failures and difficulties, and concluding with the moments that define the closing of a cohort. It’s a helpful collection of list-like information, which makes searching for information easier.

Coupled with conversations with my advisor on the academic life, Burge provides a good framework for understanding a faculty’s personal and professional progression. While not all of it is anywhere near relevant to me right now, it acts as a high-level road map for understanding what’s to come.

academia | Mohammad Moshtaghi

The Three Academics: A Joke

Mapping Your Academic Career