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dragon_thoughts at 11:10am on 05/05/2009
dragon_thoughts at 11:10am on 05/05/2009I am frustrated by awards for exceptional people.
Today I saw an award advertised, the "rising researcher award", which recognises excellent ongoing PhD work.
The people at the top will do well in their careers. So why should we give them more money? Why not motivate some of the middling researchers, who are struggling, and trying very hard? Why must we reward excellence, excellence will be excellence with or without the award.
I have a strong academic record, yet I believe myself to be a hard worker, rather than a genius or exceptionally bright. I plough through things, I keep going until the job gets done. My work is being pushed along by me, the heavy workhorse. I am not a sleek thoroughbred capable of achieving these excellent rewards. It frustrates me.
Also, I think some people can be very lucky with their PhD topics. If you can bleed through into someone else's work, who is well renown, it can boost you. I feel isolated in my topic, falling between gaps of genres. Am I psychology? Sports studies? Public Health? I feel my area does not have a great deal of "gold standard" research, as it is a relatively young field. (And the people who are well renown, are difficult to gain access to, esp as they're at different universities)
Why can't we have an award for "people who are struggling through"? Are us workhorses doomed to be ignored when the results come out? Meritocracy sucks! Lets have effortrocity! :)
Today I saw an award advertised, the "rising researcher award", which recognises excellent ongoing PhD work.
The people at the top will do well in their careers. So why should we give them more money? Why not motivate some of the middling researchers, who are struggling, and trying very hard? Why must we reward excellence, excellence will be excellence with or without the award.
I have a strong academic record, yet I believe myself to be a hard worker, rather than a genius or exceptionally bright. I plough through things, I keep going until the job gets done. My work is being pushed along by me, the heavy workhorse. I am not a sleek thoroughbred capable of achieving these excellent rewards. It frustrates me.
Also, I think some people can be very lucky with their PhD topics. If you can bleed through into someone else's work, who is well renown, it can boost you. I feel isolated in my topic, falling between gaps of genres. Am I psychology? Sports studies? Public Health? I feel my area does not have a great deal of "gold standard" research, as it is a relatively young field. (And the people who are well renown, are difficult to gain access to, esp as they're at different universities)
Why can't we have an award for "people who are struggling through"? Are us workhorses doomed to be ignored when the results come out? Meritocracy sucks! Lets have effortrocity! :)
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