Summer Musings

Hmm. . . it’s been quite some time since I wrote my last post.  I suppose I could say the ‘ole “I’ve been busy with studying, researching, reading and writing, and have not had a moment to post.” – technically, that would be true; on the other hand, that would just mean I didn’t take the moment to jot down a thought or two.  So, with that being said, I thought I would share something fun that I came across, if only, to demystify the fact that doctoral students are all work and no play and would not know fun if it hit them on the head!

Since we do a tremendous amount of reading in doctoral studies, sometimes, the brain needs a rest, though the student in me lately has wanted rest with purpose (that may be a little too doctoral student of me, but, oh well). In any case, I was given this great little book called Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar. . . Understanding Philosophy through Jokes” by Thomas Cathcart & Daniel Klein.

I found the book to be a great source of fun and learning.  After all, one of the things my doctoral partner and I promised ourselves was that we would have fun along the way towards becoming PhD’s. In the glossary of the book I found the meaning of Phenomenology.  A word we have begun to get ourselves acquainted with in our doctoral studies.  It states:

“Phenomenology: A method of inquiry that attempts to describe reality as it is perceived and understood by human consciousness, as opposed, for example, to scientific description. Phenomenology, for instance, described the phenomenon of “lived time,” or time as we experience it, as compared to “clocked time.”  In the movie Manhattan, when Woody Allen says, “We hardly ever make love – only twice a week,” he is expressing “lived time”; likewise when his screen wife declares, “He always wants to make love – like twice a week!”

Who ever said becoming a PhD is not fun?