The Kon Tikiand the PhD - Athens University of Economics ... · The Kon‐Tikiand the PhD Panos...
Transcript of The Kon Tikiand the PhD - Athens University of Economics ... · The Kon‐Tikiand the PhD Panos...
The Kon‐Tiki and the PhDPanos Louridas
[email protected]@aueb.gr
Kon‐Tiki: the story
in the 1930s, in Fatu Hiva…
Thor Heyerdahl, 1914 – 2002
in the 1970s, in the West…
the route
getting the raw materials: balsa logs
transporting the logs
assembling the raft at the naval dockyards
the Kon‐Tiki left Callao, Peru on April 28, 1948
eating, not like Incas
taking measurements
in the cabin
approaching land
land fall on Raroia after 101 days
afterwards
lessons
challenge perceived wisdom
prepare for the unexpected
don’t do what is fashionable to do
a PhD can be an exercise in specialisation – but generalisation
can be more fun
be wary of anybody challenging research because the researcher is
from another field
“The guild structure of the professions concerned with public affairs also helps to preserve doctrinal purity. In fact, it is guarded with much diligence. My own personal experience is perhaps relevant. As I mentioned earlier, I do not have the usual professional credentials in any field, and my own work has ranged fairly widely. Some years ago, for example, I did some work in mathematical linguistics and automata theory, and occasionally gave invited lectures at mathematics or engineering colloquia. No one would have dreamed of challenging my credentials to speak on these topics ‐‐ which were zero, as everyone knew; that would have been laughable. The participants were concerned with what I had to say, not my right to say it. But when I speak, say, about international affairs, I'm constantly challenged to present the credentials that authorize me to enter this august arena, in the United States, at least ‐‐ elsewhere not. It's a fair generalization, I think, that the more a discipline has intellectual substance, the less it has to protect itself from scrutiny, by means of a guild structure.”
Noam Chomsky
precise research problem
ingenuity in overcoming unexpected problems
study carefully prior art
be brave
carefully select your research companions
interact with people
get the equipment you need
check your finance…… but if you are worth it, people
will come to you
be a good communicator
last but not least, success is dangerous
Linus Pauling (1901 – 1994)
If you get a Nobel prize, decline it(Stuart Sutherland)
bibliography
Thor Heyerdahl. The Kon‐Tiki Expedition, 2nd ed., Flamingo, 1996.