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astronat supports the strike

 Discussion between Buffy and Heinzi

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astronat
Mar 12, 2023 14:22
Maybe the non-British English speakers should not try to argue with the native British English speakers about whether a word is commonly used in British English... I'm with @JackAidley here: fortnight is on the same level of comprehension as "week". It is in no sense an obscure word. @Wrzlprmft "you rarely need to specify a period of two weeks": maybe you rarely specify this in German precisely because you don't have a word for it.
 

 Discussion on question by user131371:…

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astronat
Dec 1, 2022 19:26
This ABD thing is rather amusing to me. Where I'm from, ABD is what you start the PhD as.
 

 Discussion on question by user3037237…

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astronat
Feb 9, 2022 20:44
@user76284 I've never paid tax in the UK and yet I've received NHS care for 27 years... my point is that you can be unemployed, not paying tax, homeless, whatever, and still have access to healthcare without having to pay. It's not tied in any way to your employment. I would not want to live in a country that doesn't look after its occupants in the same way.
astronat
Feb 9, 2022 20:44
@user3037237 "exceptional and cheap"... but in the UK it's exceptional and free, for everyone, forever, no matter what job they do (or do not do). This, coupled with union power, being close to my family, cheap and widespread public transport and never having to worry about being shot at work (or elsewhere) is why I would always choose the UK over the US. But as everyone's been telling you, it's down to personal preference. These are the selling points for me, but they perhaps do not matter so much to you.
astronat
Feb 9, 2022 20:44
We have universal health care that does not depend on the whims of our employers, and a mostly unionised higher education workforce.
 

 Discussion on question by AlgebraicsA…

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astronat
Nov 14, 2021 09:54
The professor who said "you won't win a Fields medal" was perhaps not intending to be dismissive -- there are thousands of mathematicians who make valuable contributions to the subject without ever winning. Perhaps the professor was trying to manage your expectations, implicitly warning you that academia is competitive and you need to keep your future employment options open.
astronat
Nov 14, 2021 09:54
I don't know about maths, but in my corner of physics ResearchGate is seen as a bit crackpot-y, much like viXra. The only reputable preprint server is arXiv, but that is still no substitute for submitting to a journal and going through peer review.
 

 Discussion on question by Allure: If …

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astronat
Nov 3, 2021 22:59
I think the effects of Covid will wash out the effect of Brexit for another year or so. And as @avid correctly notes, the actual withdrawal only happened 11 months ago. It's far too early to tell.
 

 Discussion on question by Red bel: Ca…

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astronat
Oct 28, 2021 03:29
Based on this question, your written English is better than that in some papers I've reviewed.
 

 Discussion on question by Nadine: I f…

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astronat
Jun 15, 2021 10:00
I'm torn about voting to close because I think this is a completely valid problem faced by many (most?) female students and academics, but at the same time I don't think we are going to solve sexism, misogyny and the systemic oppression of women in a single SE Q&A. Then again, maybe I am just being pessimistic :)
 

 Discussion on question by sleepy: PhD…

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astronat
May 4, 2021 07:48
Also, doesn't a student working independently reflect well on the supervisor, indicating they have guided the student successfully to that point?
astronat
May 4, 2021 07:48
Surely the end goal for a supervisor is to get their student to the point where they can "fly the nest", i.e. be independent in their research from conception to publication. In some fields/countries/supervisor-student relationships this point is reached before the end of the PhD (perhaps well before). In some, it's not reached til after the PhD student has finished, and maybe never.
 

 Discussion on question by overfull hb…

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astronat
Apr 13, 2021 18:39
@sleepy No one wants to be part of a system they dislike, but that's not a reason to opt out of the system. It's a reason to change the system.
 

 Discussion on question by alexander: …

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astronat
Oct 23, 2020 20:08
You'll be 47 whether or not you get the degree.
 

 Discussion on question by Allure: How…

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astronat
Sep 3, 2020 17:52
@user111388 why would it be difficult? The conference budget could presumably expand to include hiring a sign language interpreter for all the talks.
 

 Discussion on question by Norman: Obj…

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astronat
Aug 13, 2020 16:52
So big companies dominate AI research, meaning there's no incentive for PhD students to work on that same research for much less money. Doesn't this mean PhD salaries will rise, to remain competitive when attracting candidates? Eventually the opportunity cost will even out.
 

 Discussion on question by carros: Pos…

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astronat
Aug 10, 2020 18:25
@carros unfortunately the stack exchange format is better suited to questions with a specific answer rather than gathering opinions. You could visit the chat room to have a more informal discussion. Five votes are needed to close a question so yours will stay open unless four others agree that it's off topic. You may get some other useful comments before that happens (if it does), so don't worry!
astronat
Aug 10, 2020 18:25
Personally I would not take that position but there is no definitive answer to this question so I am voting to close as depends on individual factors.
 

 Discussion on question by BurnAllBook…

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astronat
Jul 1, 2020 01:37
From a UK perspective, this is very surprising. To participate in the shut down at my uni, academic staff had to effectively go on strike and were docked a day's wages, i.e. were punished for participating, rather than not participating. (However, the university did put the docked wages into a new scholarship fund for BAME students.)
 

 TeX, LaTeX and Friends

\begin{chat}
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astronat
Feb 24, 2020 17:58
as in the image
astronat
Feb 24, 2020 17:58
user image
astronat
Feb 24, 2020 17:58
hi all, anyone know of a package that creates a wrapped bibliography? as in each entry follows on the same line from the last, perhaps separated by some kind of dot or large point. I don't have any MWE so am hesitant to post as a question on the main site
 

 Discussion on answer by Allure: Shoul…

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astronat
Nov 13, 2018 03:57
The person you are referring to doesn't need to be trans for you to use "they" instead of "he/she". You can use it as a direct replacement of "he/she" in every instance.
 

 Discussion on question by JezusIsWatf…

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astronat
Aug 2, 2018 11:57
Because academic culture differs from country to country. Next question.
 

 Discussion on question by Allure: Why…

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astronat
Jul 24, 2018 21:36
"Five years in the future they should be resolved"... haha, no. We are supposed to leave in March next year. Two years after the referendum and there is still no plan. At all. The fallout from Brexit (if it happens) will take far longer than five years to resolve. If we leave wih no trade deal it'll be WW2 style rationing before long. Science funding is not a priority.
 

 Discussion on question by why: Why do…

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astronat
Apr 17, 2018 20:18
@why in fact, I am living proof that someone with an alcoholic parent can get a PhD. However, I see that trying to have a reasonable discussion with you is not working. I will leave you to grind your axe in peace.
astronat
Apr 17, 2018 20:18
@why if I were evaluating a candidate I would rather trust their long term performance over the course of an entire degree than the result of one random test on which they may get a fluke good (or bad) result that is not reflective of their overall skills, knowledge and research potential.
astronat
Apr 17, 2018 20:18
@why "UK programs offer disadvantages to students with mediocre grades" yes, because they have standards to maintain. Also, an MEng is typically 5 years here and is an integrated Master's degree (i.e. an undergraduate Master's), so again not comparable to an MPhil or MS.
astronat
Apr 17, 2018 20:18
@why You can't compare apples and oranges. I would interpret that as the UK MPhil having higher entry requirements than its US counterpart, probably due to the fact that UK bachelor's degrees have a much narrower and deeper focus than those in the US.
astronat
Apr 17, 2018 20:18
please clarify then.
astronat
Apr 17, 2018 20:18
In the UK at least, PhD applicants generally have a Master's degree already, whereas in the USA PhD applicants are more likely to come straight from undergrad. It would make no sense for UK and other similar non-US students to take the GRE as it would not test their more advanced knowledge.
 

 Discussion on question by ZacHammer: …

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astronat
Apr 5, 2018 16:25
@DetlevCM it stands for Grade Point Average I believe.
 

 Discussion on question by New_User: W…

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astronat
Feb 13, 2018 17:42
The subject of the PhD is almost irrelevant; it's the skills you learn during the process that are valuable in industry.
 

 Discussion on question by therxv: Dep…

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astronat
Feb 1, 2018 16:48
It's not normal academic behaviour but unfortunately there are nasty, vindictive people in all walks of life.
 

 The Ivory Tower

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astronat
Dec 19, 2017 22:35
@D.Hutchinson home for me is near Oxford, UK. And yes, one group is friends from primary school, one group is friends from secondary school and the other is friends from undergraduate. I don't think I have withdrawn socially from non-academic friends, quite the opposite in fact; we generally talk about non-academia related things, which is nice.
astronat
Dec 17, 2017 11:09
@D.Hutchinson no, I just meant what are people doing over the Christmas break. Your plans sound interesting! I am catching up with 3 different groups of friends that I haven't seen since the summer. And I'm looking forward to going home and seeing my family again :)
astronat
Dec 16, 2017 21:58
yay, hats are back :) happy winter bash everyone. what's everyone doing this Christmas (if you celebrate)?
astronat
Oct 8, 2017 19:43
@MassimoOrtolano thanks! I really enjoyed the schools and surprisingly (for me) the best part was meeting other students, postdocs etc :)
astronat
Oct 8, 2017 16:33
hellooo everybody :) hope you're all having a nice weekend. I finally started my PhD last week. it's so exciting!
 

 Discussion on question by Gary Moore:…

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astronat
Oct 15, 2017 16:16
@GaryMoore N.B. for nota bene would be a more common abbreviation in this context.
 

 Discussion on question by Donald: Is …

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astronat
Oct 15, 2017 16:16
"All he has done as a "neuroscientist" is get a PhD in it." Getting a PhD in any subject is pretty damn impressive in my opinion, regardless of what you do with it.
 

 Discussion on answer by Wolfgang Bang…

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astronat
Aug 25, 2017 19:29
It may affect individuals in the majority (like a lot of the butt-hurt men in this thread), but the power of the majority is not threatened or changed by this prejudice. This is contrasted by any prejudice the majority has against the minority, in which case they have the power to make the lives of those in the minority a living hell (i.e. systematic oppression of the minority due to class, gender, sexuality, skin colour, religion etc).
astronat
Aug 25, 2017 19:29
@PieterB I never said that only white men can be racist, I actually said that minorities (be that a minority skin colour, gender or religion in the given situation) don't hold power over the majority. So, they can be prejudiced (racist, sexist, anti-Christian, whatever), but that prejudice will not affect the majority because the minority does not have power or influence in that situation.
astronat
Aug 25, 2017 14:59
@PieterB please, go ahead and show me an example of black people's racism causing white people to be systematically excluded from education.
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astronat
Aug 24, 2017 22:01
@Dibbs I appreciate the honesty of your question, and ff524 has already given a better answer than I ever could. However, it's late and I'm tired, so I am going to refrain from writing the first (and rather blunt) answer of my own that came to mind. If you have any more questions, I'll happily answer them in the morning.
astronat
Aug 24, 2017 21:48
@FranciscoHernandez yes, that is what I believe. Simply because those in the majority hold positions of power over the minorities. Minorities can be prejudiced against majorities, but they cannot be systematically oppressive (i.e. racist, sexist etc).
 

 Discussion on question by FranciscoHe…

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astronat
Aug 24, 2017 23:47
@Džuris if a man doing an art PhD is laughed at, it's more likely due to the fact that art is perceived as feminine and therefore demeaning for a man to be doing it. So again, the root is sexism against women, even if the result is mocking the man. (Which I do not agree with of course; people should be able to do what they want without ridicule or prejudice.)
astronat
Aug 24, 2017 22:08
@Džuris well, you know what they say: fake it 'til you make it. Even if they're hiring women to appear more diverse, hey presto! More women are hired and then they actually are more diverse!
 

 Discussion on answer by Justus: Is it…

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astronat
Aug 24, 2017 23:18
"I see hordes of female secretaries strolling around and watering cactuses and other green plants." Please take a minute to consider what this sentence adds to a discussion about discrimination and sexism.
astronat
Aug 24, 2017 23:18
-1. "In practice, during the choice process, a specially trained administrator woman might attend the hiring committee meeting, protest against "egalitarian" male candidates, and push the women candidates." Citation please??? The sentences don't say "male candidates need not apply". They don't say "we will give preferential treatment to women". They merely encourage applications from underrepresented groups in academia (i.e. women and BAME people). This is not discrimination.