All entries for September 2005

As sure as eggs is eggs

The colloquial expression as sure as eggs is eggs, meaning absolutely certain, probably comes from the mathematical expression x = x.

It's hard to argue against such an expression. If I were to take place in a debate I wouldn't fancy fighting the corner for eggs ain't eggs.

But then I am not a child. When some researchers asked a 12 year old girl to explain what was meant by '3 = 3' she told them it was incomplete and suggested that perhaps it means '3 minus 0 = 3'.

So eggs ain't eggs after all – eggs with no eggs taken away is eggs.

And that's as sure as eggs is eggs.

: 28 Sep 2005 21:25 |  Tags: PhD |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Another 3 years of voluntary poverty

Yesterday I enrolled as a full-time PhD student and I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy it very much. Friends tell me that doing a doctorate suits me down to the ground. I certainly hope so considering the financial hardship that will come with it. It seems I am putting my faith in the adage that if you enjoy what you do, you'll never work another day in your life.

When I tell people what my PhD proposal is about they often laugh.

My PhD is about the equals sign. I guess it's the apparent lack of scope that is funny. Someone suggested yesterday I could spend the first 18 months on the top line and the final 18 months on the bottom line. (Obviously that's ridiculous – I'll also need time to consider the space between the lines.)

But what I love about spending 3 years intensely studying = is the limited scope. Where other students worry how on earth they will slim their proposal down, I have the luxury of deciding how I will broaden mine. And no doubt somewhere along the road I will discover that those harmless looking parallel lines are a can of worms unto themselves.

: 27 Sep 2005 23:17 |  Tags: PhD |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem