Comments on: it's all been done

By: thisfieldisrequired

thisfieldisrequired — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:19:02 +0000

thanks so much for the helpful thoughts & encouragement, Kristie!!

By: Kristie F.

Kristie F. — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:14:53 +0000

sorry, one more thing. there’s no way around being overwhelmed with literature, and that will never change. you just have to get over it. there’s a reason why grad school is supposed to be a challenge, only accomplished by the ‘elite’, right?

and talking as much as you can with other people in the field is a good way to help ease the burden a bit–everyone’s read a slightly different set of things, so you get a good “big picture” when you hear a lot of different perspectives. that’s why research conferences rock.

By: Kristie F.

Kristie F. — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:11:57 +0000

i'm not sure what year of grad school you're in, and i'm not sure how the domain of philosophy works compared to science... but a wise saying i once heard is that when you're just getting started in your field, you first come up with all the ideas that are the "seminal" ideas/experiments or early replications/extensions, then as you learn more directly from your professors & advisors who are mentoring you, you get to the stage of thinking of ideas that are only 10 years old... then when you're really becoming an expert, you're thinking of original stuff. for the lucky few that surpass the "expert" stage, you get to think of the "revolutionary" ideas. i think i'm finally becoming an expert, and i've definitely felt the transition in terms of my thinking... beginning to doubt i'll ever get close to "revolutionary." good luck and hang in there!!! :-)

By: thisfieldisrequired

thisfieldisrequired — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:06:32 +0000

That seems like good advice. Although of course one needs to read the seminal works in one’s area, too. Then I guess the stuff in between can be disregarded to some extent unless it keeps getting cited by the newest stuff.

By: Angel P.

Angel P. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:38:51 +0000

(got here from your fb update) If you read the latest top books and top journals, then if you get an idea that is connected to the reading, then it is likely that it will be cited by the author. If it is not, then it might be new. So basically, you *have* to read the newest stuff.