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Stanford NLP 79

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfrunvp

hfrkj89

Because it's run by a majority of people that are fundamentally insecure and desperate for confirmation of their brilliance and their achievements. All of whom have to fight each other for the crumbs of money that have fallen off of the government's table for university research (hence many universities try to work with companies in order to plug the gap but have to on occasion sacrifice some scientific integrity to do so). More significantly though, the university model is so outdated and conservative that oftentimes psychopaths that make it to professorship will get away with truly heinous behaviour as many universities don't have any system for accountability.

Some people are, in all fields. Academia is no exception.

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfrqoho

hfrunvp

lack of accountability and lack of external oversight

Because it's run by a majority of people that are fundamentally insecure and desperate for confirmation of their brilliance and their achievements. All of whom have to fight each other for the crumbs of money that have fallen off of the government's table for university research (hence many universities try to work with companies in order to plug the gap but have to on occasion sacrifice some scientific integrity to do so). More significantly though, the university model is so outdated and conservative that oftentimes psychopaths that make it to professorship will get away with truly heinous behaviour as many universities don't have any system for accountability.

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfr891m

hfsbyuf

invincibility from tenure, ego, entitlement, ego, celebrity status

The system of grants, publish or perish and the amount of time and effort it takes to succeed can attract a certain type of personality. Unfortunately, that personality is more likely to have the side effect of being an asshole. Not all researchers are toxic some of them are lovely and driven by a desire to make the world a better place. But the unique and insular environment of academia does attract toxic people. It sucks and is an unpleasant shock when you see it for the first time.

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfsbyuf

hfs6qpl

The system of grants, publish or perish and the amount of time and effort it takes to succeed can attract a certain type of personality. Unfortunately, that personality is more likely to have the side effect of being an asshole. Not all researchers are toxic some of them are lovely and driven by a desire to make the world a better place. But the unique and insular environment of academia does attract toxic people. It sucks and is an unpleasant shock when you see it for the first time.

Success is very individualized - (success of PI within the field, individual grad students within the field, and sometimes even individual students within a single lab). And individual success becomes even more pronounced when others fail. Teamwork and collective success are rarely emphasized or genuinely celebrated.

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfsbyuf

hfs224b

The system of grants, publish or perish and the amount of time and effort it takes to succeed can attract a certain type of personality. Unfortunately, that personality is more likely to have the side effect of being an asshole. Not all researchers are toxic some of them are lovely and driven by a desire to make the world a better place. But the unique and insular environment of academia does attract toxic people. It sucks and is an unpleasant shock when you see it for the first time.

I really think it's, at heart, about the funding agencies; the other problems tend to flow from them not being fit for purpose (as far as I can tell for my field). We have a tiny percentage of winners, selected by funding agencies, who become PIs and hire people whose work is effectively credited to the PIs, who are the only people with a chance of getting more and more and more of the scarce funding. That kind of feudalism isn't a \*necessary\* state of affairs at all in my broad line of research - we could have ten times the number of independent researchers \*free\* to collaborate, rather than the academic oligarchy. And who gets to be a winner is based on the funders' perceptions and politicking - they can't know who's a good scientist based on a proposal that we all know is written by other people and a shiny presentation that's one big halo effect fallacy. Everywhere has some kind of hierarchy and corruption, sure, but academia has that \*very\* weird system and there's almost no corrective mechanism, since there's definitely no real competition once the new ruling class members have been selected (since how can anyone else compete?). It's tailor-made to create bad research, bullying and intimidation, and overwork as people are forced to join a rat-race - even if it's highly questionable it'll do them any good. The idealism of a lot of people who love science and will put up with far too much sacrifice for far too long feeds that machine with cannon fodder losers who don't know better. I think it's very good people are looking elsewhere, for them but it also seems to be driving some change. I read something about Germany looking at a grants-by-lottery system which cuts off the power brokers at the knees and that's the kind of thing that might shift the whole toxic system (https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/german-funder-sees-early-success-grant-lottery-trial).

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfrkj89

hfsbyuf

Some people are, in all fields. Academia is no exception.

The system of grants, publish or perish and the amount of time and effort it takes to succeed can attract a certain type of personality. Unfortunately, that personality is more likely to have the side effect of being an asshole. Not all researchers are toxic some of them are lovely and driven by a desire to make the world a better place. But the unique and insular environment of academia does attract toxic people. It sucks and is an unpleasant shock when you see it for the first time.

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfsbyuf

hfrqoho

The system of grants, publish or perish and the amount of time and effort it takes to succeed can attract a certain type of personality. Unfortunately, that personality is more likely to have the side effect of being an asshole. Not all researchers are toxic some of them are lovely and driven by a desire to make the world a better place. But the unique and insular environment of academia does attract toxic people. It sucks and is an unpleasant shock when you see it for the first time.

lack of accountability and lack of external oversight

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfrycsk

hfsbyuf

To get a PhD, you generally have to be low on the personality factors agreeableness and extroversion. Add in one more negative trait, like neuroticism or a personality disorder, and you have someone who is toxic to work with. Coupled with an employment environment that tolerates incivility under the banners of academic freedom and tenure, and you have a grade A shitshow.

The system of grants, publish or perish and the amount of time and effort it takes to succeed can attract a certain type of personality. Unfortunately, that personality is more likely to have the side effect of being an asshole. Not all researchers are toxic some of them are lovely and driven by a desire to make the world a better place. But the unique and insular environment of academia does attract toxic people. It sucks and is an unpleasant shock when you see it for the first time.

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfs56hb

hfsbyuf

Because the stakes are so small.

The system of grants, publish or perish and the amount of time and effort it takes to succeed can attract a certain type of personality. Unfortunately, that personality is more likely to have the side effect of being an asshole. Not all researchers are toxic some of them are lovely and driven by a desire to make the world a better place. But the unique and insular environment of academia does attract toxic people. It sucks and is an unpleasant shock when you see it for the first time.

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfr891m

hfrt0ty

invincibility from tenure, ego, entitlement, ego, celebrity status

Because it involves people, money and power—in other words it’s political and made of humans.

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfrt0ty

hfrkj89

Because it involves people, money and power—in other words it’s political and made of humans.

Some people are, in all fields. Academia is no exception.

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfrqoho

hfrt0ty

lack of accountability and lack of external oversight

Because it involves people, money and power—in other words it’s political and made of humans.

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfs0th5

hfr891m

Because the stakes are so low. Seriously: Sayre's law.

invincibility from tenure, ego, entitlement, ego, celebrity status

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfrkj89

hfs0th5

Some people are, in all fields. Academia is no exception.

Because the stakes are so low. Seriously: Sayre's law.

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfrqoho

hfs0th5

lack of accountability and lack of external oversight

Because the stakes are so low. Seriously: Sayre's law.

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfrycsk

hfs0th5

To get a PhD, you generally have to be low on the personality factors agreeableness and extroversion. Add in one more negative trait, like neuroticism or a personality disorder, and you have someone who is toxic to work with. Coupled with an employment environment that tolerates incivility under the banners of academic freedom and tenure, and you have a grade A shitshow.

Because the stakes are so low. Seriously: Sayre's law.

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfs6qpl

hfr891m

Success is very individualized - (success of PI within the field, individual grad students within the field, and sometimes even individual students within a single lab). And individual success becomes even more pronounced when others fail. Teamwork and collective success are rarely emphasized or genuinely celebrated.

invincibility from tenure, ego, entitlement, ego, celebrity status

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfs224b

hfs6qpl

I really think it's, at heart, about the funding agencies; the other problems tend to flow from them not being fit for purpose (as far as I can tell for my field). We have a tiny percentage of winners, selected by funding agencies, who become PIs and hire people whose work is effectively credited to the PIs, who are the only people with a chance of getting more and more and more of the scarce funding. That kind of feudalism isn't a \*necessary\* state of affairs at all in my broad line of research - we could have ten times the number of independent researchers \*free\* to collaborate, rather than the academic oligarchy. And who gets to be a winner is based on the funders' perceptions and politicking - they can't know who's a good scientist based on a proposal that we all know is written by other people and a shiny presentation that's one big halo effect fallacy. Everywhere has some kind of hierarchy and corruption, sure, but academia has that \*very\* weird system and there's almost no corrective mechanism, since there's definitely no real competition once the new ruling class members have been selected (since how can anyone else compete?). It's tailor-made to create bad research, bullying and intimidation, and overwork as people are forced to join a rat-race - even if it's highly questionable it'll do them any good. The idealism of a lot of people who love science and will put up with far too much sacrifice for far too long feeds that machine with cannon fodder losers who don't know better. I think it's very good people are looking elsewhere, for them but it also seems to be driving some change. I read something about Germany looking at a grants-by-lottery system which cuts off the power brokers at the knees and that's the kind of thing that might shift the whole toxic system (https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/german-funder-sees-early-success-grant-lottery-trial).

Success is very individualized - (success of PI within the field, individual grad students within the field, and sometimes even individual students within a single lab). And individual success becomes even more pronounced when others fail. Teamwork and collective success are rarely emphasized or genuinely celebrated.

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfrkj89

hfs6qpl

Some people are, in all fields. Academia is no exception.

Success is very individualized - (success of PI within the field, individual grad students within the field, and sometimes even individual students within a single lab). And individual success becomes even more pronounced when others fail. Teamwork and collective success are rarely emphasized or genuinely celebrated.

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfs6qpl

hfrqoho

Success is very individualized - (success of PI within the field, individual grad students within the field, and sometimes even individual students within a single lab). And individual success becomes even more pronounced when others fail. Teamwork and collective success are rarely emphasized or genuinely celebrated.

lack of accountability and lack of external oversight

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfrycsk

hfs6qpl

To get a PhD, you generally have to be low on the personality factors agreeableness and extroversion. Add in one more negative trait, like neuroticism or a personality disorder, and you have someone who is toxic to work with. Coupled with an employment environment that tolerates incivility under the banners of academic freedom and tenure, and you have a grade A shitshow.

Success is very individualized - (success of PI within the field, individual grad students within the field, and sometimes even individual students within a single lab). And individual success becomes even more pronounced when others fail. Teamwork and collective success are rarely emphasized or genuinely celebrated.

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfs56hb

hfs6qpl

Because the stakes are so small.

Success is very individualized - (success of PI within the field, individual grad students within the field, and sometimes even individual students within a single lab). And individual success becomes even more pronounced when others fail. Teamwork and collective success are rarely emphasized or genuinely celebrated.

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfs224b

hfrkj89

I really think it's, at heart, about the funding agencies; the other problems tend to flow from them not being fit for purpose (as far as I can tell for my field). We have a tiny percentage of winners, selected by funding agencies, who become PIs and hire people whose work is effectively credited to the PIs, who are the only people with a chance of getting more and more and more of the scarce funding. That kind of feudalism isn't a \*necessary\* state of affairs at all in my broad line of research - we could have ten times the number of independent researchers \*free\* to collaborate, rather than the academic oligarchy. And who gets to be a winner is based on the funders' perceptions and politicking - they can't know who's a good scientist based on a proposal that we all know is written by other people and a shiny presentation that's one big halo effect fallacy. Everywhere has some kind of hierarchy and corruption, sure, but academia has that \*very\* weird system and there's almost no corrective mechanism, since there's definitely no real competition once the new ruling class members have been selected (since how can anyone else compete?). It's tailor-made to create bad research, bullying and intimidation, and overwork as people are forced to join a rat-race - even if it's highly questionable it'll do them any good. The idealism of a lot of people who love science and will put up with far too much sacrifice for far too long feeds that machine with cannon fodder losers who don't know better. I think it's very good people are looking elsewhere, for them but it also seems to be driving some change. I read something about Germany looking at a grants-by-lottery system which cuts off the power brokers at the knees and that's the kind of thing that might shift the whole toxic system (https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/german-funder-sees-early-success-grant-lottery-trial).

Some people are, in all fields. Academia is no exception.

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfrqoho

hfs224b

lack of accountability and lack of external oversight

I really think it's, at heart, about the funding agencies; the other problems tend to flow from them not being fit for purpose (as far as I can tell for my field). We have a tiny percentage of winners, selected by funding agencies, who become PIs and hire people whose work is effectively credited to the PIs, who are the only people with a chance of getting more and more and more of the scarce funding. That kind of feudalism isn't a \*necessary\* state of affairs at all in my broad line of research - we could have ten times the number of independent researchers \*free\* to collaborate, rather than the academic oligarchy. And who gets to be a winner is based on the funders' perceptions and politicking - they can't know who's a good scientist based on a proposal that we all know is written by other people and a shiny presentation that's one big halo effect fallacy. Everywhere has some kind of hierarchy and corruption, sure, but academia has that \*very\* weird system and there's almost no corrective mechanism, since there's definitely no real competition once the new ruling class members have been selected (since how can anyone else compete?). It's tailor-made to create bad research, bullying and intimidation, and overwork as people are forced to join a rat-race - even if it's highly questionable it'll do them any good. The idealism of a lot of people who love science and will put up with far too much sacrifice for far too long feeds that machine with cannon fodder losers who don't know better. I think it's very good people are looking elsewhere, for them but it also seems to be driving some change. I read something about Germany looking at a grants-by-lottery system which cuts off the power brokers at the knees and that's the kind of thing that might shift the whole toxic system (https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/german-funder-sees-early-success-grant-lottery-trial).

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfs224b

hfrycsk

I really think it's, at heart, about the funding agencies; the other problems tend to flow from them not being fit for purpose (as far as I can tell for my field). We have a tiny percentage of winners, selected by funding agencies, who become PIs and hire people whose work is effectively credited to the PIs, who are the only people with a chance of getting more and more and more of the scarce funding. That kind of feudalism isn't a \*necessary\* state of affairs at all in my broad line of research - we could have ten times the number of independent researchers \*free\* to collaborate, rather than the academic oligarchy. And who gets to be a winner is based on the funders' perceptions and politicking - they can't know who's a good scientist based on a proposal that we all know is written by other people and a shiny presentation that's one big halo effect fallacy. Everywhere has some kind of hierarchy and corruption, sure, but academia has that \*very\* weird system and there's almost no corrective mechanism, since there's definitely no real competition once the new ruling class members have been selected (since how can anyone else compete?). It's tailor-made to create bad research, bullying and intimidation, and overwork as people are forced to join a rat-race - even if it's highly questionable it'll do them any good. The idealism of a lot of people who love science and will put up with far too much sacrifice for far too long feeds that machine with cannon fodder losers who don't know better. I think it's very good people are looking elsewhere, for them but it also seems to be driving some change. I read something about Germany looking at a grants-by-lottery system which cuts off the power brokers at the knees and that's the kind of thing that might shift the whole toxic system (https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/german-funder-sees-early-success-grant-lottery-trial).

To get a PhD, you generally have to be low on the personality factors agreeableness and extroversion. Add in one more negative trait, like neuroticism or a personality disorder, and you have someone who is toxic to work with. Coupled with an employment environment that tolerates incivility under the banners of academic freedom and tenure, and you have a grade A shitshow.

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hft6m6j

hfrkj89

Still a high school popularity competition.

Some people are, in all fields. Academia is no exception.

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfrqoho

hft6m6j

lack of accountability and lack of external oversight

Still a high school popularity competition.

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfrycsk

hft6m6j

To get a PhD, you generally have to be low on the personality factors agreeableness and extroversion. Add in one more negative trait, like neuroticism or a personality disorder, and you have someone who is toxic to work with. Coupled with an employment environment that tolerates incivility under the banners of academic freedom and tenure, and you have a grade A shitshow.

Still a high school popularity competition.

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hfs56hb

hft6m6j

Because the stakes are so small.

Still a high school popularity competition.

q3do6k

askacademia_train

Why is academia so TOXIC? As title.

hft6m6j

hfsef7k

Still a high school popularity competition.

People on the autistic spectrum are more likely to enrol in STEM, and I've read that at the graduate level it can be more than half the student body in some places (source on that last part: my dodgy memory. I can't find the article atm so take it with a block of salt). Don't take that as a critique of people on the spectrum, because frankly most of the people I know in that situation are really cool and frankly seem to have better social lives than I do. But it does mean a larger pool of individuals in general who just might not do well with empathy or social interaction overall. I'm not in STEM, so not facing the same degree of toxicity that I read about in this sub. But what I do encounter from time to time are cartoonish snobs of the nose-snort-laugh variety who've never really been off the high school-> undergrad -> grad conveyer belt. They're nerds who were bullied growing up, and as is too often the case became bullies themselves. Once they got to university it was a consistent state of being rewarded, and they never really had to hit the "serious self reflection" point. Others are just children of privilege, insecure people who handle it poorly, or yes, narcissists (though I've largely been spared them). I was actually pretty surprised when I originally got to graduate school that it seemed to be a step *back* in maturity compared to what I was used to. More sniping, gossip, moral panics after someone said \[oblivious thing\], it felt like high school al over again. Fortunately most of those people seemed to get weeded out after masters.

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fv9e2gq

fv9evmo

I don’t know if this would help but my postdoc creates PowerPoint documents (themed by topic) of papers with important notes/figures relevant to the claims in the paper. Alternatively, I make sure to write notes on each figure of a paper. It helps me think critically and slow down. Or you could try to read some really fun/unique (not necessarily relevant) papers. Might pique your interest in reading again :).

I also lost my ability to read for pleasure after grad school, now I’m about a year and a half out and I’ve only slogged through a handful of books since finished whereas in the past I’d have finished maybe a dozen or so in that same time period. I think it’s maybe something to do with the joylessness of reading academic articles. I’ve never felt satisfied reading an academic article, the feeling I get after finishing one is a combination of drained and skeptical.

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fv9ry45

fv9jtoe

Exact same boat. Didn't ever read your post tbh.

I feel the same, I still find myself skimming novels to this day. I think it's important to designate some time to yourself, think of reading kind of like pampering. Make sure you've got a relaxing space, you're not likely to be interrupted and you're reading something you know you want to read, especially as you're getting back into it. Maybe something you've read before or if you don't like re-reading then a favourite author or comfortable genre. If you're starting to feel yourself skim, start reading aloud, like you're telling the story/text to someone else. This may seem strange but it's the best way to slow yourself down and it makes you pay attention to the words and the image they're painting.

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fv9ry45

fv9e2gq

Exact same boat. Didn't ever read your post tbh.

I don’t know if this would help but my postdoc creates PowerPoint documents (themed by topic) of papers with important notes/figures relevant to the claims in the paper. Alternatively, I make sure to write notes on each figure of a paper. It helps me think critically and slow down. Or you could try to read some really fun/unique (not necessarily relevant) papers. Might pique your interest in reading again :).

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fv9tdbt

fv9jtoe

I still work in research 11 years after grad school and find that I can't read anymore. I do too much of it for work. Instead, I've had to switch to audiobooks. Hopefully it will get better for you, but for me it has only gotten worse with time...

I feel the same, I still find myself skimming novels to this day. I think it's important to designate some time to yourself, think of reading kind of like pampering. Make sure you've got a relaxing space, you're not likely to be interrupted and you're reading something you know you want to read, especially as you're getting back into it. Maybe something you've read before or if you don't like re-reading then a favourite author or comfortable genre. If you're starting to feel yourself skim, start reading aloud, like you're telling the story/text to someone else. This may seem strange but it's the best way to slow yourself down and it makes you pay attention to the words and the image they're painting.

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fv9jtoe

fv9e2gq

I feel the same, I still find myself skimming novels to this day. I think it's important to designate some time to yourself, think of reading kind of like pampering. Make sure you've got a relaxing space, you're not likely to be interrupted and you're reading something you know you want to read, especially as you're getting back into it. Maybe something you've read before or if you don't like re-reading then a favourite author or comfortable genre. If you're starting to feel yourself skim, start reading aloud, like you're telling the story/text to someone else. This may seem strange but it's the best way to slow yourself down and it makes you pay attention to the words and the image they're painting.

I don’t know if this would help but my postdoc creates PowerPoint documents (themed by topic) of papers with important notes/figures relevant to the claims in the paper. Alternatively, I make sure to write notes on each figure of a paper. It helps me think critically and slow down. Or you could try to read some really fun/unique (not necessarily relevant) papers. Might pique your interest in reading again :).

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fv9t9nm

fv9tdbt

Audiobooks!!! They are, for some reason different. Until I get out of this mess, and my brain has dome time to recover, I'm sticking to the . Podcasts and audiobooks work very well, both for my often tired eyes, and for what I can only describe as attention deficit. It gives me the opportunity to walk or fiddle with something in my hands, which makes me calmer and more focused. Hope that this helps!

I still work in research 11 years after grad school and find that I can't read anymore. I do too much of it for work. Instead, I've had to switch to audiobooks. Hopefully it will get better for you, but for me it has only gotten worse with time...

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fv9tdbt

fv9e2gq

I still work in research 11 years after grad school and find that I can't read anymore. I do too much of it for work. Instead, I've had to switch to audiobooks. Hopefully it will get better for you, but for me it has only gotten worse with time...

I don’t know if this would help but my postdoc creates PowerPoint documents (themed by topic) of papers with important notes/figures relevant to the claims in the paper. Alternatively, I make sure to write notes on each figure of a paper. It helps me think critically and slow down. Or you could try to read some really fun/unique (not necessarily relevant) papers. Might pique your interest in reading again :).

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fv9s160

fv9tdbt

Grad school brought my childhood/adolescent ADHD back in full force after (at least I thought) I had squashed it during early undergrad. The pace of research is just so unrelenting that if I relied on all my concentration tricks, I'd end up failing. Turns out I mastered out anyway, and now I still can't concentrate

I still work in research 11 years after grad school and find that I can't read anymore. I do too much of it for work. Instead, I've had to switch to audiobooks. Hopefully it will get better for you, but for me it has only gotten worse with time...

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fvakclb

fv9t9nm

It's incredible how Academia can ruin our abilities to do things. I'm still in process of learning how to relax. The dissertation made me feel guilty over every "unproductive" minute. Even weekends and evenings. That feeling is still there hanging on. I know I shouldn't feel guilty doing things I enjoy, but even if my rational mind knows this, my affective mind can't shake it.

Audiobooks!!! They are, for some reason different. Until I get out of this mess, and my brain has dome time to recover, I'm sticking to the . Podcasts and audiobooks work very well, both for my often tired eyes, and for what I can only describe as attention deficit. It gives me the opportunity to walk or fiddle with something in my hands, which makes me calmer and more focused. Hope that this helps!

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fvakclb

fv9yz4m

It's incredible how Academia can ruin our abilities to do things. I'm still in process of learning how to relax. The dissertation made me feel guilty over every "unproductive" minute. Even weekends and evenings. That feeling is still there hanging on. I know I shouldn't feel guilty doing things I enjoy, but even if my rational mind knows this, my affective mind can't shake it.

This is addressed in Nicholas Carr’s book “The Shallows: what the internet is doing to our brains”. As I recall, he says that deep reading came with the invention of the printing press, and was unnatural for us at the time. We had to learn to read large amounts of material in depth. Now we have material presented to us in small portions, so we have to relearn deep reading. In short, it’s practice. Skim reading comes to us more naturally, but you can recover deep reading skills through practice and persistence. I also find it difficult and am working on improving.

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fvakclb

fv9e2gq

It's incredible how Academia can ruin our abilities to do things. I'm still in process of learning how to relax. The dissertation made me feel guilty over every "unproductive" minute. Even weekends and evenings. That feeling is still there hanging on. I know I shouldn't feel guilty doing things I enjoy, but even if my rational mind knows this, my affective mind can't shake it.

I don’t know if this would help but my postdoc creates PowerPoint documents (themed by topic) of papers with important notes/figures relevant to the claims in the paper. Alternatively, I make sure to write notes on each figure of a paper. It helps me think critically and slow down. Or you could try to read some really fun/unique (not necessarily relevant) papers. Might pique your interest in reading again :).

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fvafzaq

fvakclb

Read out loud to your SO or dog or even the wall.

It's incredible how Academia can ruin our abilities to do things. I'm still in process of learning how to relax. The dissertation made me feel guilty over every "unproductive" minute. Even weekends and evenings. That feeling is still there hanging on. I know I shouldn't feel guilty doing things I enjoy, but even if my rational mind knows this, my affective mind can't shake it.

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fvac2lf

fvakclb

This was me during grad school. I found listening to audio books while I went for long walks were a good way to easy back into it. A couple years out of academia and I’m reading like I used to!

It's incredible how Academia can ruin our abilities to do things. I'm still in process of learning how to relax. The dissertation made me feel guilty over every "unproductive" minute. Even weekends and evenings. That feeling is still there hanging on. I know I shouldn't feel guilty doing things I enjoy, but even if my rational mind knows this, my affective mind can't shake it.

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fvakclb

fv9s160

It's incredible how Academia can ruin our abilities to do things. I'm still in process of learning how to relax. The dissertation made me feel guilty over every "unproductive" minute. Even weekends and evenings. That feeling is still there hanging on. I know I shouldn't feel guilty doing things I enjoy, but even if my rational mind knows this, my affective mind can't shake it.

Grad school brought my childhood/adolescent ADHD back in full force after (at least I thought) I had squashed it during early undergrad. The pace of research is just so unrelenting that if I relied on all my concentration tricks, I'd end up failing. Turns out I mastered out anyway, and now I still can't concentrate

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fv9v1hc

fvakclb

Losing the ability to concentrate and feel pleasure with things you used to find enjoyable are signs of depression, and goodness knows, academia is often like a depression/anxiety factory. You may want to look into more signs of depression or anxiety and see if they match up.

It's incredible how Academia can ruin our abilities to do things. I'm still in process of learning how to relax. The dissertation made me feel guilty over every "unproductive" minute. Even weekends and evenings. That feeling is still there hanging on. I know I shouldn't feel guilty doing things I enjoy, but even if my rational mind knows this, my affective mind can't shake it.

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fvaclpn

fvakclb

I know how it feels. Wanting to read as many papers as possible and then reading becomes a chore. I now go outside or when inside disable my phone so I don't have internet access. I then try to read uninterrupted and try to read slowly to grasp the whole text and not skim. It is really hard work and I think form our FOMO. who knows what the next papers or social media post will bring for the next job? I feel that if I would have stability in my life jobwise, I will be able to refocus my thoughts.

It's incredible how Academia can ruin our abilities to do things. I'm still in process of learning how to relax. The dissertation made me feel guilty over every "unproductive" minute. Even weekends and evenings. That feeling is still there hanging on. I know I shouldn't feel guilty doing things I enjoy, but even if my rational mind knows this, my affective mind can't shake it.

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fv9t9nm

fv9yz4m

Audiobooks!!! They are, for some reason different. Until I get out of this mess, and my brain has dome time to recover, I'm sticking to the . Podcasts and audiobooks work very well, both for my often tired eyes, and for what I can only describe as attention deficit. It gives me the opportunity to walk or fiddle with something in my hands, which makes me calmer and more focused. Hope that this helps!

This is addressed in Nicholas Carr’s book “The Shallows: what the internet is doing to our brains”. As I recall, he says that deep reading came with the invention of the printing press, and was unnatural for us at the time. We had to learn to read large amounts of material in depth. Now we have material presented to us in small portions, so we have to relearn deep reading. In short, it’s practice. Skim reading comes to us more naturally, but you can recover deep reading skills through practice and persistence. I also find it difficult and am working on improving.

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fv9e2gq

fv9t9nm

I don’t know if this would help but my postdoc creates PowerPoint documents (themed by topic) of papers with important notes/figures relevant to the claims in the paper. Alternatively, I make sure to write notes on each figure of a paper. It helps me think critically and slow down. Or you could try to read some really fun/unique (not necessarily relevant) papers. Might pique your interest in reading again :).

Audiobooks!!! They are, for some reason different. Until I get out of this mess, and my brain has dome time to recover, I'm sticking to the . Podcasts and audiobooks work very well, both for my often tired eyes, and for what I can only describe as attention deficit. It gives me the opportunity to walk or fiddle with something in my hands, which makes me calmer and more focused. Hope that this helps!

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fv9t9nm

fv9s160

Audiobooks!!! They are, for some reason different. Until I get out of this mess, and my brain has dome time to recover, I'm sticking to the . Podcasts and audiobooks work very well, both for my often tired eyes, and for what I can only describe as attention deficit. It gives me the opportunity to walk or fiddle with something in my hands, which makes me calmer and more focused. Hope that this helps!

Grad school brought my childhood/adolescent ADHD back in full force after (at least I thought) I had squashed it during early undergrad. The pace of research is just so unrelenting that if I relied on all my concentration tricks, I'd end up failing. Turns out I mastered out anyway, and now I still can't concentrate

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fv9yz4m

fv9e2gq

This is addressed in Nicholas Carr’s book “The Shallows: what the internet is doing to our brains”. As I recall, he says that deep reading came with the invention of the printing press, and was unnatural for us at the time. We had to learn to read large amounts of material in depth. Now we have material presented to us in small portions, so we have to relearn deep reading. In short, it’s practice. Skim reading comes to us more naturally, but you can recover deep reading skills through practice and persistence. I also find it difficult and am working on improving.

I don’t know if this would help but my postdoc creates PowerPoint documents (themed by topic) of papers with important notes/figures relevant to the claims in the paper. Alternatively, I make sure to write notes on each figure of a paper. It helps me think critically and slow down. Or you could try to read some really fun/unique (not necessarily relevant) papers. Might pique your interest in reading again :).

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fv9yz4m

fv9s160

This is addressed in Nicholas Carr’s book “The Shallows: what the internet is doing to our brains”. As I recall, he says that deep reading came with the invention of the printing press, and was unnatural for us at the time. We had to learn to read large amounts of material in depth. Now we have material presented to us in small portions, so we have to relearn deep reading. In short, it’s practice. Skim reading comes to us more naturally, but you can recover deep reading skills through practice and persistence. I also find it difficult and am working on improving.

Grad school brought my childhood/adolescent ADHD back in full force after (at least I thought) I had squashed it during early undergrad. The pace of research is just so unrelenting that if I relied on all my concentration tricks, I'd end up failing. Turns out I mastered out anyway, and now I still can't concentrate

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fv9yz4m

fv9v1hc

This is addressed in Nicholas Carr’s book “The Shallows: what the internet is doing to our brains”. As I recall, he says that deep reading came with the invention of the printing press, and was unnatural for us at the time. We had to learn to read large amounts of material in depth. Now we have material presented to us in small portions, so we have to relearn deep reading. In short, it’s practice. Skim reading comes to us more naturally, but you can recover deep reading skills through practice and persistence. I also find it difficult and am working on improving.

Losing the ability to concentrate and feel pleasure with things you used to find enjoyable are signs of depression, and goodness knows, academia is often like a depression/anxiety factory. You may want to look into more signs of depression or anxiety and see if they match up.

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fvafzaq

fv9e2gq

Read out loud to your SO or dog or even the wall.

I don’t know if this would help but my postdoc creates PowerPoint documents (themed by topic) of papers with important notes/figures relevant to the claims in the paper. Alternatively, I make sure to write notes on each figure of a paper. It helps me think critically and slow down. Or you could try to read some really fun/unique (not necessarily relevant) papers. Might pique your interest in reading again :).

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fvafzaq

fvac2lf

Read out loud to your SO or dog or even the wall.

This was me during grad school. I found listening to audio books while I went for long walks were a good way to easy back into it. A couple years out of academia and I’m reading like I used to!

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fvafzaq

fv9s160

Read out loud to your SO or dog or even the wall.

Grad school brought my childhood/adolescent ADHD back in full force after (at least I thought) I had squashed it during early undergrad. The pace of research is just so unrelenting that if I relied on all my concentration tricks, I'd end up failing. Turns out I mastered out anyway, and now I still can't concentrate

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fvafzaq

fv9v1hc

Read out loud to your SO or dog or even the wall.

Losing the ability to concentrate and feel pleasure with things you used to find enjoyable are signs of depression, and goodness knows, academia is often like a depression/anxiety factory. You may want to look into more signs of depression or anxiety and see if they match up.

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fvafzaq

fvaclpn

Read out loud to your SO or dog or even the wall.

I know how it feels. Wanting to read as many papers as possible and then reading becomes a chore. I now go outside or when inside disable my phone so I don't have internet access. I then try to read uninterrupted and try to read slowly to grasp the whole text and not skim. It is really hard work and I think form our FOMO. who knows what the next papers or social media post will bring for the next job? I feel that if I would have stability in my life jobwise, I will be able to refocus my thoughts.

hbkrzh

askacademia_train

Academia made me forget how to read, need advice This is my 3rd year working in a research lab (am STEM grad student). I've downloaded and read/skimmed at least 200 papers on my research topic (or related topics) at this point. But I think there's something seriously wrong with me - I can't seem to be able to read more than two paragraphs at a time nowadays. Skimming papers at a rapid rate to finish my literature reviews and satisfy my PI has conditioned me to skim, and I think I've forgotten how to actually read a piece of text. I literally have to force myself to resist the temptation of skimming to actually get through a paragraph. I've also pretty much stopped reading anything that isn't social media or research papers. This sucks. I used to be someone who read widely and for pleasure, going through an average of like 5-10 novels or paperbacks a month. Now, it's a pain to even get through one. Any advice?

fvac2lf

fv9v1hc

This was me during grad school. I found listening to audio books while I went for long walks were a good way to easy back into it. A couple years out of academia and I’m reading like I used to!

Losing the ability to concentrate and feel pleasure with things you used to find enjoyable are signs of depression, and goodness knows, academia is often like a depression/anxiety factory. You may want to look into more signs of depression or anxiety and see if they match up.

jo43ip

askacademia_train

Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant

gb5l6p5

gb5knnx

Slight modification: > Serious question - do admins really think people ~~are excited to~~ read their regular 20 paragraph emails?

What do you expect the Executive Vice President for Corporate Communications to do in exchange for 40x your salary, nothing?

jo43ip

askacademia_train

Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant

gb5l6p5

gb5kqwm

Slight modification: > Serious question - do admins really think people ~~are excited to~~ read their regular 20 paragraph emails?

Yours have paragraphs? Sometimes I just get a wall of text.

jo43ip

askacademia_train

Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant

gb5kqwm

gb5mjd0

Yours have paragraphs? Sometimes I just get a wall of text.

As someone who has been involved in sending emails like this, a decent number of the items in any given email are a CYA so that no one comes yelling that you're not doing anything about X or yelling that you did something without telling people about it or without asking for community input.

jo43ip

askacademia_train

Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant

gb5kqwm

gb5vto4

Yours have paragraphs? Sometimes I just get a wall of text.

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff, Platitude platitude platitude platitude. Patting self on back patting self on back patting self on back. Attempt at hopeful platitude in face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Trying to sound empathetic by using my nickname, Dan

jo43ip

askacademia_train

Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant

gb5vto4

gb5qben

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff, Platitude platitude platitude platitude. Patting self on back patting self on back patting self on back. Attempt at hopeful platitude in face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Trying to sound empathetic by using my nickname, Dan

I’m not kidding, at least half of the emails I get from my grad program (students’) mailing list are from 60-70 years old tenured professors congratulating each other for some new award they got.

jo43ip

askacademia_train

Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant

gb5nrv2

gb5vto4

Somehow ours have a formatting that just doesn’t work well with the university email and Outlook. They try to included staggered indents and bullet points, but they wind up shoved over to the far right of the page, making the emails even more obnoxious to read. You’d think that since every person on campus has to use the same email client and thus (I assume) see the same garbage formatting every time, that they would fix it. But nope.

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff, Platitude platitude platitude platitude. Patting self on back patting self on back patting self on back. Attempt at hopeful platitude in face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Trying to sound empathetic by using my nickname, Dan

jo43ip

askacademia_train

Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant

gb5qben

gb5nrv2

I’m not kidding, at least half of the emails I get from my grad program (students’) mailing list are from 60-70 years old tenured professors congratulating each other for some new award they got.

Somehow ours have a formatting that just doesn’t work well with the university email and Outlook. They try to included staggered indents and bullet points, but they wind up shoved over to the far right of the page, making the emails even more obnoxious to read. You’d think that since every person on campus has to use the same email client and thus (I assume) see the same garbage formatting every time, that they would fix it. But nope.

jo43ip

askacademia_train

Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant

gb5nrv2

gb67wg3

Somehow ours have a formatting that just doesn’t work well with the university email and Outlook. They try to included staggered indents and bullet points, but they wind up shoved over to the far right of the page, making the emails even more obnoxious to read. You’d think that since every person on campus has to use the same email client and thus (I assume) see the same garbage formatting every time, that they would fix it. But nope.

Our pro vice chancellor sends us a poem every week to motivate us all through the global pandemic 🙃

jo43ip

askacademia_train

Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant

gb5wdmv

gb67wg3

are you me?

Our pro vice chancellor sends us a poem every week to motivate us all through the global pandemic 🙃

jo43ip

askacademia_train

Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant

gb5zgq8

gb67wg3

Long all-hands emails are like reports - it's product.

Our pro vice chancellor sends us a poem every week to motivate us all through the global pandemic 🙃

jo43ip

askacademia_train

Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant

gb69a1d

gb5wdmv

I did time at one decent state university, and one very rich private university. One organizational aspect that still astonishes me is the rich place had easily 5x the number of admins per capita. As far as I could tell their primary jobs were to make more work for each other. Objectively it seemed clear to me that these people had jobs that legitimately did not need to be done, since other departments managed to not have them.

are you me?

jo43ip

askacademia_train

Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant

gb5zgq8

gb69a1d

Long all-hands emails are like reports - it's product.

I did time at one decent state university, and one very rich private university. One organizational aspect that still astonishes me is the rich place had easily 5x the number of admins per capita. As far as I could tell their primary jobs were to make more work for each other. Objectively it seemed clear to me that these people had jobs that legitimately did not need to be done, since other departments managed to not have them.

jo43ip

askacademia_train

Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant

gb6ddqf

gb5wdmv

I've transitioned from an underpaid professor to an overpaid email reader and writer.

are you me?

jo43ip

askacademia_train

Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant

gb5zgq8

gb6ddqf

Long all-hands emails are like reports - it's product.

I've transitioned from an underpaid professor to an overpaid email reader and writer.

jo43ip

askacademia_train

Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant

gb88fbw

gb5wdmv

So, my institution has been struggling with this. Currently, we’ve been bending over backwards to support our students in the quarantine hall. I’m talking about doing daily phone call check ins with each individual student, providing 3 customized hot meals from the normal dining hall menu that they can order exactly to their liking each day plus a snack order form that allows them to order any snacks they want each day, having ResLife staff drop off deliveries for them that their friends can bring to the front desk to have dropped off, we’re even talking about giving them something special and unique that only students who “survived” quarantine will get like a branded stress ball or deck of cards or t shirt (were still figuring out what students will like/ what’s doable in the budget). Now I’m not saying we’re perfect, we’re definitely still learning and tweaking as we go, but I know a lot of schools are basically dropping off a loaf of bread to their quarantined students and telling them to deal with it for 14 days. But the general student body is complaining that we don’t have enough transparency about what’s being done for quarantined students. We’re not hiding anything at all, and whenever we get questions, we answer them transparently (other than giving out the names of the students in quarantine obviously). So we’re not really sure what to do because we know if we send an email about quarantine protocols, no one will read it or they’ll respond negatively. The info is all on the website but none of the students check the website. I genuinely would love recommendations of how to be more transparent without having to send another email or come off as inauthentic.

are you me?

jo43ip

askacademia_train

Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant

gb88fbw

gb5zgq8

So, my institution has been struggling with this. Currently, we’ve been bending over backwards to support our students in the quarantine hall. I’m talking about doing daily phone call check ins with each individual student, providing 3 customized hot meals from the normal dining hall menu that they can order exactly to their liking each day plus a snack order form that allows them to order any snacks they want each day, having ResLife staff drop off deliveries for them that their friends can bring to the front desk to have dropped off, we’re even talking about giving them something special and unique that only students who “survived” quarantine will get like a branded stress ball or deck of cards or t shirt (were still figuring out what students will like/ what’s doable in the budget). Now I’m not saying we’re perfect, we’re definitely still learning and tweaking as we go, but I know a lot of schools are basically dropping off a loaf of bread to their quarantined students and telling them to deal with it for 14 days. But the general student body is complaining that we don’t have enough transparency about what’s being done for quarantined students. We’re not hiding anything at all, and whenever we get questions, we answer them transparently (other than giving out the names of the students in quarantine obviously). So we’re not really sure what to do because we know if we send an email about quarantine protocols, no one will read it or they’ll respond negatively. The info is all on the website but none of the students check the website. I genuinely would love recommendations of how to be more transparent without having to send another email or come off as inauthentic.

Long all-hands emails are like reports - it's product.

jo43ip

askacademia_train

Serious question - do admins really think people are excited to read their regular 20 paragraph emails? Because I rarely get one that has useful info. Why is this a thing? No, I don't care what you think about "mental health awareness" when you provide nothing to support it. No, I don't care what you think about race relations unless you mean it and make meaningful changes. These almost always read like a self pat on the back. /endrant

gb88fbw

gb73urj

So, my institution has been struggling with this. Currently, we’ve been bending over backwards to support our students in the quarantine hall. I’m talking about doing daily phone call check ins with each individual student, providing 3 customized hot meals from the normal dining hall menu that they can order exactly to their liking each day plus a snack order form that allows them to order any snacks they want each day, having ResLife staff drop off deliveries for them that their friends can bring to the front desk to have dropped off, we’re even talking about giving them something special and unique that only students who “survived” quarantine will get like a branded stress ball or deck of cards or t shirt (were still figuring out what students will like/ what’s doable in the budget). Now I’m not saying we’re perfect, we’re definitely still learning and tweaking as we go, but I know a lot of schools are basically dropping off a loaf of bread to their quarantined students and telling them to deal with it for 14 days. But the general student body is complaining that we don’t have enough transparency about what’s being done for quarantined students. We’re not hiding anything at all, and whenever we get questions, we answer them transparently (other than giving out the names of the students in quarantine obviously). So we’re not really sure what to do because we know if we send an email about quarantine protocols, no one will read it or they’ll respond negatively. The info is all on the website but none of the students check the website. I genuinely would love recommendations of how to be more transparent without having to send another email or come off as inauthentic.

Oh my god, I feel so much relief knowing I am not alone in this. I work for a university and today just about had a meltdown over the hypocrisy of the neoliberal institution. I constantly get so much pushback from admin on what I believe are decent, reasonable things to do to improve my department and rarely get an explanation. I've been trying to get long overdue raises for my subordinates for three months now and am still getting the run-around for no clear reason--at least no one can give me a reason. Plus, it's financially doable and it's the right thing to do. The shameless hypocrisy and institutional apathy, inaction, and selfishness almost had me in tears today.

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghkb2zg

ghkgxkc

Nope. Not in my experience

The thing that has gone away for me is that panicky grad school feeling that I missed something. I was always convinced that a reviewer or colleague would point out that I had missed an important and basic theory. Now if I have several papers in an area I'm not concerned about that. So now the things I don't know are interesting questions to explore, rather than possible pitfalls for exposing my stupidity.

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghkgxkc

ghkg26y

The thing that has gone away for me is that panicky grad school feeling that I missed something. I was always convinced that a reviewer or colleague would point out that I had missed an important and basic theory. Now if I have several papers in an area I'm not concerned about that. So now the things I don't know are interesting questions to explore, rather than possible pitfalls for exposing my stupidity.

I stopped caring a long time ago. I learn as much as I can and as much as I need to know. I'm just trying to contribute to the scientific literature that's all. I'm a small cog in a big machine

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghkgfnq

ghkgxkc

I think of this as being the opposite of Dunning-Kruger. Ultimately I rely on knowing that I have the skills to find information if I need to know something and remind myself that I do know plenty (think of explaining something you’re doing to a person wholly outside of the field/outside of academia for context, it helps).

The thing that has gone away for me is that panicky grad school feeling that I missed something. I was always convinced that a reviewer or colleague would point out that I had missed an important and basic theory. Now if I have several papers in an area I'm not concerned about that. So now the things I don't know are interesting questions to explore, rather than possible pitfalls for exposing my stupidity.

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghkg26y

ghkhbef

I stopped caring a long time ago. I learn as much as I can and as much as I need to know. I'm just trying to contribute to the scientific literature that's all. I'm a small cog in a big machine

No it just eventually turns into “*we* don’t know anything”. But sometimes you know that even if you know nothing it’s still more than almost anyone.

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghkgfnq

ghkhbef

I think of this as being the opposite of Dunning-Kruger. Ultimately I rely on knowing that I have the skills to find information if I need to know something and remind myself that I do know plenty (think of explaining something you’re doing to a person wholly outside of the field/outside of academia for context, it helps).

No it just eventually turns into “*we* don’t know anything”. But sometimes you know that even if you know nothing it’s still more than almost anyone.

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghkh4md

ghkhbef

On one hand, I realize how little I know, but on the other hand, I've learned to value things about myself besides the amount I know.

No it just eventually turns into “*we* don’t know anything”. But sometimes you know that even if you know nothing it’s still more than almost anyone.

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghkqfuv

ghkg26y

When I was in grad school, I stumbled up against a question I couldn't find an answer to. I googled, I pubmeded, and I was stumped. So I asked the senior postdoc in the lab. He knew EVERYTHING -- every technique, every paper, every important person. When I asked, he shrugged, and said, "Nobody knows. Do the experiment." So I did! And I think that's when I arrived at the place you're describing. I no longer felt like "the more you learn, the more you know you don't know." I had gotten to the bottom of the problem. Eventually, in academic science, you carve out a little niche of new knowledge that no one else knows. And inside your little niche of expertise, you are pretty comfortable in your knowledge -- or at least the knowledge that no one else knows any better than you do.

I stopped caring a long time ago. I learn as much as I can and as much as I need to know. I'm just trying to contribute to the scientific literature that's all. I'm a small cog in a big machine

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghkgfnq

ghkqfuv

I think of this as being the opposite of Dunning-Kruger. Ultimately I rely on knowing that I have the skills to find information if I need to know something and remind myself that I do know plenty (think of explaining something you’re doing to a person wholly outside of the field/outside of academia for context, it helps).

When I was in grad school, I stumbled up against a question I couldn't find an answer to. I googled, I pubmeded, and I was stumped. So I asked the senior postdoc in the lab. He knew EVERYTHING -- every technique, every paper, every important person. When I asked, he shrugged, and said, "Nobody knows. Do the experiment." So I did! And I think that's when I arrived at the place you're describing. I no longer felt like "the more you learn, the more you know you don't know." I had gotten to the bottom of the problem. Eventually, in academic science, you carve out a little niche of new knowledge that no one else knows. And inside your little niche of expertise, you are pretty comfortable in your knowledge -- or at least the knowledge that no one else knows any better than you do.

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghklrb1

ghkqfuv

I suspect it won't end. But the important distinction is that you know *why* you don't know anything.

When I was in grad school, I stumbled up against a question I couldn't find an answer to. I googled, I pubmeded, and I was stumped. So I asked the senior postdoc in the lab. He knew EVERYTHING -- every technique, every paper, every important person. When I asked, he shrugged, and said, "Nobody knows. Do the experiment." So I did! And I think that's when I arrived at the place you're describing. I no longer felt like "the more you learn, the more you know you don't know." I had gotten to the bottom of the problem. Eventually, in academic science, you carve out a little niche of new knowledge that no one else knows. And inside your little niche of expertise, you are pretty comfortable in your knowledge -- or at least the knowledge that no one else knows any better than you do.

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghkqfuv

ghkq4ub

When I was in grad school, I stumbled up against a question I couldn't find an answer to. I googled, I pubmeded, and I was stumped. So I asked the senior postdoc in the lab. He knew EVERYTHING -- every technique, every paper, every important person. When I asked, he shrugged, and said, "Nobody knows. Do the experiment." So I did! And I think that's when I arrived at the place you're describing. I no longer felt like "the more you learn, the more you know you don't know." I had gotten to the bottom of the problem. Eventually, in academic science, you carve out a little niche of new knowledge that no one else knows. And inside your little niche of expertise, you are pretty comfortable in your knowledge -- or at least the knowledge that no one else knows any better than you do.

As a former advisor of mine, who is one of the top in my field, says "those who succeed were just stupid enough to try it in the first place!"

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghkqfuv

ghkq6jw

When I was in grad school, I stumbled up against a question I couldn't find an answer to. I googled, I pubmeded, and I was stumped. So I asked the senior postdoc in the lab. He knew EVERYTHING -- every technique, every paper, every important person. When I asked, he shrugged, and said, "Nobody knows. Do the experiment." So I did! And I think that's when I arrived at the place you're describing. I no longer felt like "the more you learn, the more you know you don't know." I had gotten to the bottom of the problem. Eventually, in academic science, you carve out a little niche of new knowledge that no one else knows. And inside your little niche of expertise, you are pretty comfortable in your knowledge -- or at least the knowledge that no one else knows any better than you do.

Nope, but at some point you hopefully learn to admit to utter ignorance with grace, and to extend that same grace to your equally-ignorant colleagues when you know something they don't.

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghkh4md

ghkqfuv

On one hand, I realize how little I know, but on the other hand, I've learned to value things about myself besides the amount I know.

When I was in grad school, I stumbled up against a question I couldn't find an answer to. I googled, I pubmeded, and I was stumped. So I asked the senior postdoc in the lab. He knew EVERYTHING -- every technique, every paper, every important person. When I asked, he shrugged, and said, "Nobody knows. Do the experiment." So I did! And I think that's when I arrived at the place you're describing. I no longer felt like "the more you learn, the more you know you don't know." I had gotten to the bottom of the problem. Eventually, in academic science, you carve out a little niche of new knowledge that no one else knows. And inside your little niche of expertise, you are pretty comfortable in your knowledge -- or at least the knowledge that no one else knows any better than you do.

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghkp0xn

ghkqfuv

For what I know, it's a natural constant feeling and you should not be ashamed about it. In my experience, it took me a year and a half to learn stuff I didn't learn in my MsC and I learned during my PhD. Now I'm more accostumed to things like genomics and NGS, compared to when I started. I still feel behind, but now I have a decent grasp. I suggest you to exercise on the stuff you have troubles with until you feel you understand what you are doing and why you are doing it.

When I was in grad school, I stumbled up against a question I couldn't find an answer to. I googled, I pubmeded, and I was stumped. So I asked the senior postdoc in the lab. He knew EVERYTHING -- every technique, every paper, every important person. When I asked, he shrugged, and said, "Nobody knows. Do the experiment." So I did! And I think that's when I arrived at the place you're describing. I no longer felt like "the more you learn, the more you know you don't know." I had gotten to the bottom of the problem. Eventually, in academic science, you carve out a little niche of new knowledge that no one else knows. And inside your little niche of expertise, you are pretty comfortable in your knowledge -- or at least the knowledge that no one else knows any better than you do.

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghkqfuv

ghknud4

When I was in grad school, I stumbled up against a question I couldn't find an answer to. I googled, I pubmeded, and I was stumped. So I asked the senior postdoc in the lab. He knew EVERYTHING -- every technique, every paper, every important person. When I asked, he shrugged, and said, "Nobody knows. Do the experiment." So I did! And I think that's when I arrived at the place you're describing. I no longer felt like "the more you learn, the more you know you don't know." I had gotten to the bottom of the problem. Eventually, in academic science, you carve out a little niche of new knowledge that no one else knows. And inside your little niche of expertise, you are pretty comfortable in your knowledge -- or at least the knowledge that no one else knows any better than you do.

Nope! There is ALWAYS more detail to learn about every topic.

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghko7kx

ghkqfuv

Well eventually it becomes that we as humans don’t know anything. But in the same sense that’s why we are researchers. To get answers.

When I was in grad school, I stumbled up against a question I couldn't find an answer to. I googled, I pubmeded, and I was stumped. So I asked the senior postdoc in the lab. He knew EVERYTHING -- every technique, every paper, every important person. When I asked, he shrugged, and said, "Nobody knows. Do the experiment." So I did! And I think that's when I arrived at the place you're describing. I no longer felt like "the more you learn, the more you know you don't know." I had gotten to the bottom of the problem. Eventually, in academic science, you carve out a little niche of new knowledge that no one else knows. And inside your little niche of expertise, you are pretty comfortable in your knowledge -- or at least the knowledge that no one else knows any better than you do.

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghklrb1

ghldkd3

I suspect it won't end. But the important distinction is that you know *why* you don't know anything.

I think that Terry Pratchett said it best: > Universities are truly storehouses for knowledge: students arrive from school confident they know nearly everything, and they leave five years later certain that they know practically nothing. Where did the knowledge go in the meantime? In the university, of course, where it is dried and stored. From the Science of Discworld series, I believe. Like all Pratchett books brilliantly written, these ones are nice pop-science books about the universe and evolution. Highly recommended.

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghldkd3

ghkq4ub

I think that Terry Pratchett said it best: > Universities are truly storehouses for knowledge: students arrive from school confident they know nearly everything, and they leave five years later certain that they know practically nothing. Where did the knowledge go in the meantime? In the university, of course, where it is dried and stored. From the Science of Discworld series, I believe. Like all Pratchett books brilliantly written, these ones are nice pop-science books about the universe and evolution. Highly recommended.

As a former advisor of mine, who is one of the top in my field, says "those who succeed were just stupid enough to try it in the first place!"

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghldkd3

ghkq6jw

I think that Terry Pratchett said it best: > Universities are truly storehouses for knowledge: students arrive from school confident they know nearly everything, and they leave five years later certain that they know practically nothing. Where did the knowledge go in the meantime? In the university, of course, where it is dried and stored. From the Science of Discworld series, I believe. Like all Pratchett books brilliantly written, these ones are nice pop-science books about the universe and evolution. Highly recommended.

Nope, but at some point you hopefully learn to admit to utter ignorance with grace, and to extend that same grace to your equally-ignorant colleagues when you know something they don't.

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghkh4md

ghldkd3

On one hand, I realize how little I know, but on the other hand, I've learned to value things about myself besides the amount I know.

I think that Terry Pratchett said it best: > Universities are truly storehouses for knowledge: students arrive from school confident they know nearly everything, and they leave five years later certain that they know practically nothing. Where did the knowledge go in the meantime? In the university, of course, where it is dried and stored. From the Science of Discworld series, I believe. Like all Pratchett books brilliantly written, these ones are nice pop-science books about the universe and evolution. Highly recommended.

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghldkd3

ghkp0xn

I think that Terry Pratchett said it best: > Universities are truly storehouses for knowledge: students arrive from school confident they know nearly everything, and they leave five years later certain that they know practically nothing. Where did the knowledge go in the meantime? In the university, of course, where it is dried and stored. From the Science of Discworld series, I believe. Like all Pratchett books brilliantly written, these ones are nice pop-science books about the universe and evolution. Highly recommended.

For what I know, it's a natural constant feeling and you should not be ashamed about it. In my experience, it took me a year and a half to learn stuff I didn't learn in my MsC and I learned during my PhD. Now I'm more accostumed to things like genomics and NGS, compared to when I started. I still feel behind, but now I have a decent grasp. I suggest you to exercise on the stuff you have troubles with until you feel you understand what you are doing and why you are doing it.

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghkqxd2

ghldkd3

For me, that feeling is one of the finest fruits of learning.

I think that Terry Pratchett said it best: > Universities are truly storehouses for knowledge: students arrive from school confident they know nearly everything, and they leave five years later certain that they know practically nothing. Where did the knowledge go in the meantime? In the university, of course, where it is dried and stored. From the Science of Discworld series, I believe. Like all Pratchett books brilliantly written, these ones are nice pop-science books about the universe and evolution. Highly recommended.

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghkr431

ghldkd3

Not at all. The more you learn, the more you fuel your curiosity. The more curious you are, the more you seek new experience and new knowledge. With these come greater insights. And so on and so on.... enjoy the learning!

I think that Terry Pratchett said it best: > Universities are truly storehouses for knowledge: students arrive from school confident they know nearly everything, and they leave five years later certain that they know practically nothing. Where did the knowledge go in the meantime? In the university, of course, where it is dried and stored. From the Science of Discworld series, I believe. Like all Pratchett books brilliantly written, these ones are nice pop-science books about the universe and evolution. Highly recommended.

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghldkd3

ghkx3xr

I think that Terry Pratchett said it best: > Universities are truly storehouses for knowledge: students arrive from school confident they know nearly everything, and they leave five years later certain that they know practically nothing. Where did the knowledge go in the meantime? In the university, of course, where it is dried and stored. From the Science of Discworld series, I believe. Like all Pratchett books brilliantly written, these ones are nice pop-science books about the universe and evolution. Highly recommended.

In my late 40s, and I like to think of this in a really exciting way, like Mary Oliver said, "Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination." Getting to know folks in their 60s and older who are fascinated by how much there is still left to learn definitely keeps me going.

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghldkd3

ghl165x

I think that Terry Pratchett said it best: > Universities are truly storehouses for knowledge: students arrive from school confident they know nearly everything, and they leave five years later certain that they know practically nothing. Where did the knowledge go in the meantime? In the university, of course, where it is dried and stored. From the Science of Discworld series, I believe. Like all Pratchett books brilliantly written, these ones are nice pop-science books about the universe and evolution. Highly recommended.

Well seemingly you eventually learn so much that you know absolutely nothing. Thats when you become a dean.

kng3m1

askacademia_train

Does the feeling of “the more you learn the more you know you don’t know anything” ever end? Not sure if this has been asked before but it’s getting to my head, the more I study the more I feel behind or as an imposter..what are your stories/reflections on this

ghldkd3

ghknud4

I think that Terry Pratchett said it best: > Universities are truly storehouses for knowledge: students arrive from school confident they know nearly everything, and they leave five years later certain that they know practically nothing. Where did the knowledge go in the meantime? In the university, of course, where it is dried and stored. From the Science of Discworld series, I believe. Like all Pratchett books brilliantly written, these ones are nice pop-science books about the universe and evolution. Highly recommended.

Nope! There is ALWAYS more detail to learn about every topic.