Discworld marathon blog...

[Jan Van Quirm]

Do reviews need to be scored at all? The star system's slightly less fussy in that you can see at a glance whether you liked it but where you're actually doing this as an exercise for yourself, as a blog I'm not interested in your rating so much as how you liked and assessed the book - the score is only relevent to you anyway as anyone else could look at it differently?

If we genuinely listened to critics reviewing(or scoring where they do that) then half of literature and a really high proportion of music and films (Verdi's operas in particular ) would never see the light of day or the stamping out desk of local libraries... If I'm interested in a book (and know I share your taste as we're both on here because of Pterry) then I'll read your opinion/review and discuss it with you if I'm drawn to anything, but your score isn't of the slightest interest to me whatsoever, so long as you're saying you enjoyed it as I know it's probably something I'll agree with in most respects or at least find interesting to bat back and forth quibbling...

 

[poohcarrot]

It's CMOT Quibbler!

This is certainly going to be a marathon blog as the title suggests as we are already on page 5 and Q's only done one real review.

 

[Jan Van Quirm]

Speak for yourself Gobsang!

 

[Quatermass]

It's CMOT Quibbler!

This is certainly going to be a marathon blog as the title suggests as we are already on page 5 and Q's only done one real review.

Plus two others from elsewhere.

I am currently reading The Light Fantastic.

 

[Dotsie]

Yeah, well, I lose my temper fairly easily when I am being criticised without (to me, anyway) due cause. I get touchy when people criticise my work

Don't do a PhD until you have managed to work this out. The while point of a PhD is that you can defend your work against criticism - if you get mad, you'll have wasted three years.

 

[Dotsie]

"YES! WE ARE ALL INDIVIDUALS!!"

I'm not.

 

[Quatermass]

Yeah, well, I lose my temper fairly easily when I am being criticised without (to me, anyway) due cause. I get touchy when people criticise my work

Don't do a PhD until you have managed to work this out. The while point of a PhD is that you can defend your work against criticism - if you get mad, you'll have wasted three years.

If you paid attention, I get antsy about criticism that is without due cause. If someone actually has a proper argument, I'll be sullen, but I will do my best to answer it. I was angry here because they attacked my scale rather than my actual arguments in the review.

 

[pip]

Yeah, well, I lose my temper fairly easily when I am being criticised without (to me, anyway) due cause. I get touchy when people criticise my work

Don't do a PhD until you have managed to work this out. The while point of a PhD is that you can defend your work against criticism - if you get mad, you'll have wasted three years.

Part of the reason i waited as i even found the interogation for the Masters painful enough.

 

[Dotsie]

Yeah, well, I lose my temper fairly easily when I am being criticised without (to me, anyway) due cause. I get touchy when people criticise my work

Don't do a PhD until you have managed to work this out. The while point of a PhD is that you can defend your work against criticism - if you get mad, you'll have wasted three years.

If you paid attention, I get antsy about criticism that is without due cause. If someone actually has a proper argument, I'll be sullen, but I will do my best to answer it. I was angry here because they attacked my scale rather than my actual arguments in the review.

Now you pay attention - your work will be criticised. Constantly. They might even think they're right to the point where you don't get your PhD. They will be smarter than you, so you will have no argument. How will you like that then?

Being pissy won't help.

 

[Quatermass]

Now you pay attention - your work will be criticised. Constantly. They might even think they're right to the point where you don't get your PhD. They will be smarter than you, so you will have no argument. How will you like that then?

Being pissy won't help.

Could you please stop trying to discourage me? If I have an intense interest in a subject, I can commit to it, and it will raise my game, and thus my ability to deal with that problem. That is why I will take my time choosing my PhD subject.

Besides which, I have an advantage. I have, at close hand, a person who has a PhD, who has gone through that, and who can psychologically prepare me for the inevitable trials and tribulations. They at least understand the experience, and they also understand me. So I have that advantage at least.

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

Yeah, well, I lose my temper fairly easily when I am being criticised without (to me, anyway) due cause. I get touchy when people criticise my work

Don't do a PhD until you have managed to work this out. The while point of a PhD is that you can defend your work against criticism - if you get mad, you'll have wasted three years.

Part of the reason i waited as i even found the interogation for the Masters painful enough.

Was it the Spanish Inquistion's fault pip, no one expects them.

 

[pip]

AHA

 

[poohcarrot]

Now you pay attention - your work will be criticised. Constantly. They might even think they're right to the point where you don't get your PhD. They will be smarter than you, so you will have no argument. How will you like that then?

Being pissy won't help.

Could you please stop trying to discourage me? If I have an intense interest in a subject, I can commit to it, and it will raise my game, and thus my ability to deal with that problem.

Anybody who likes Blake's 7 is shallow-minded. :twisted:

 

[Dotsie]

Could you please stop trying to discourage me?

I wasn't, I was trying to advise you. Do what you like.

 

[raisindot]

Yeah, well, I lose my temper fairly easily when I am being criticised without (to me, anyway) due cause. I get touchy when people criticise my work

Don't do a PhD until you have managed to work this out. The while point of a PhD is that you can defend your work against criticism - if you get mad, you'll have wasted three years.

I'd say the same argument applies to a job in general. You're going to criticised on your work you do your entire life, since there's always going to be someone above you who thinks they know more than you do. People who get defensive and lose tempers easily don't last long in any jobs other than those involving shoveling huge amounts of sh*t out of sewers and stables.

 

[Jan Van Quirm]

Where there's muck there's brass

 

[Quatermass]

Could you please stop trying to discourage me?

I wasn't, I was trying to advise you. Do what you like.

Thank you.

Given that you are speaking from personal experience, may I ask what subject yours was in?

 

[Dotsie]

Of course - environmental microbiology/biotechnology. They're bloody hard, but very rewarding. I wouldn't try to put anyone off, but you really don't want to go into it without knowing what you're in for. But it could be the best experience of your life.

 

[Quatermass]

Of course - environmental microbiology/biotechnology. They're bloody hard, but very rewarding. I wouldn't try to put anyone off, but you really don't want to go into it without knowing what you're in for. But it could be the best experience of your life.

I hope so. I intend to do mine in some kind of bioinformatics area. Using SPSS and doing stats is probably my strongest skillset.

Environmental microbiology, eh? Now THAT would require a lot of sample collection, right? Still, good on you.

Anyway, I'm off to the Supanova Expo today, and hopefully, I can finish The Light Fantastic on the train. Maybe even Equal Rites. That's why I'm up so early.

 

[Dotsie]

Environmental microbiology, eh? Now THAT would require a lot of sample collection, right? Still, good on you.

Luckily for me, I'm looking at specific microbial interactions, for which I don't need a bucket full of mud. Unlike most of my colleagues, who have spent many a happy hour in a soggy field with a shovel.