Hmmm, I am not convinced about the charm bit ;-)

======= Date Modified 19 Nov 2009 17:14:29 =======
Well that isn't the probability of us having 'low' IQs- I assume you're meaning that is the probability of us having 'lower' IQs than you, which obviously isn't the same thing at all, or what I was asking you. And given that this is a forum for PhD students, then you are not dealing with a population with an average IQ of 100 anyway, so you would be wrong to assume that the same percentages etc would apply to the PhD population, hence this probability would not be applicable in this context. And just to really upset you, I happen to know that you do not have the highest IQ out of everyone on this forum anyway! Unlucky :)

Anyway, I can feel myself being dragged into a very petty argument with you, which I am not going to allow myself to do, it is detracting from the main debate on this thread. KB

======= Date Modified 19 Nov 2009 15:47:35 =======
On what basis are you assuming that we have low IQs Cleverclogs?! Actually, the last time I had my IQ measured, I had a very good IQ score. Now that was a very long time ago, and I don't attach any importance to it whatsoever, because having studied a whole module on intelligence, I realise how limited these tests are. I have never mentioned this IQ test to anyone as it is irrelevant to me, but you have now provoked me into it! So no, I (and I'm sure many others here) don't happen to have a low IQ and are certainly not trying to discredit your apparently high IQ to feel better about our own! As I said, I don't believe that I am amazingly clever (PhD or no PhD)- I certainly know people in our department who I think are much smarter than me. Anyway, I doubt that most people on this forum happen to know of the top of their head what their IQ score is. And if IQ was genuinely considered to be the hallmark of a good researcher, then exam marks, experience, and good references wouldn't mean a thing- we would simply sit an IQ test and the person with the highest IQ would get the post. Anyway, the original post was just about the assumptions people make when you say you are doing a PhD, irrespective of one's actual ability. I didn't expect it to turn into quite such a debate! KB.

Hey there! I have had time off with depression (I had to drop out of my year at uni a few years back) and they asked for a doctor's note before I returned, just to say that the doctor was happy that I was fit to return. It doesn't sound like you are going to need a note from when you first went off ill, just one to say you are okay to go back. I would go to your doc, explain that you have had time off but that you feel well enough to return, and ask for a note to back that up...I don't think it will be a problem. If they do kick up a fuss about the original (non-existent!) appointment, I would come clean and explain, I wouldn't risk faking a note- being done for that is the last thing you need. I've been quite honest with my supervisors and workmates about my health issues (bipolar) and they have been nothing but understanding and supportive- they're only human! Hope it works out okay for you, KB.

Hey! I'm with the others on this- I was only allowed to respond to specific queries from the editor and wasn't allowed to make any other changes at the proof stage! KB

Haha Nadia, I think you are right...except this guy is not really the source of jealousy, his reputation is just one of an arrogant and self-important idiot! We were sitting in the pub one day and he announced (in a very serious tone) that he must easily be the most intelligent person in the pub because he has an IQ of 180...normally I would not be so bold as to argue the toss with him but he was really annoying me so I did that time! He is constantly putting other people's research down and arguing about how useless it is, or how boring it must be to do that research, or whatever. He just makes himself look like a prize idiot to be honest! If that's what genius is then I can't be bothered with it lol! KB

======= Date Modified 18 Nov 2009 15:24:42 =======
Hmmm, well a member of our department is very fond of telling people that he has an IQ of 180 but he doesn't have the best degree results out of us all by any means (I have better GCSE, A-level, BSC and MSc grades than him!) and he is having every paper he submits rejected (which, I concede, might just be down to bad luck and tough reviewers)...so I think whilst you do need to be fairly smart to do a PhD, it really isn't everything, and high IQ scores don't necessarily equate to success unless you have the other necessary qualities as well. I guess one would imagine that the vast majority, if not all, of PhD students would have a higher than average IQ, although there is of course a lot of debate about how useful IQ is as a measure of how well one can perform on 'real-life' tasks. But I do know quite a few people doing PhDs who only got very modest A-level and degree results, but who have been extremely successful and sailed through their PhD with numerous publications in high quality journals, so there is clearly more to it than being able to get good exam/coursework grades and doing well on IQ tests. Well, from what I can see anyway! KB

Awww, poor you! The last thing you need on top of all the pressure of writing up. Well, firstly, not many people finish in three years anyway regardless of how hard they work. Some projects just take longer than that, some projects have extra bits added in along the way, some people like to publish as they go along and therefore take a bit longer, some are relying on participants with particular characteristics volunteering to take part....there are a million reasons why people take more than three years. So you shouldn't feel bad about that. Secondly, most people don't really know what it's like to do a PhD and have no idea what is involved or why it is such a long piece of work, so they don't necessarily understand the pressures involved- perhaps your mum just genuinely doesn't realise what a big job it is. But I bet she'll be damn proud when you finish and they have a dr.jojo in the family! And that's the main point really- you are so near finishing, which is a huge achievement in itself! Try not to take it to heart and just bear in mind how close you are to finishing, and show them all the work you have done so they realise just what a huge job it is and how hard you have been working! And also....maybe she's just having a shit day and took it out on you- it's easy done! Good luck with it all! KB

When I have seen adverts for post-doc positions in my department they are all at about £29k...the research assistants are all on £24k here so you would kind of expect the post-docs to be more than this really...I thought this was the general rate across the country really, I didn't realise there was so much variation!

Hi Ishi! I am in my 2nd year of a PhD in Clinical Psychology, doing research with people with Alzheimer's disease. Where are you up at the moment- are you doing your undergrad or MSc? For me, I got interested in dementia through a final year module for my BSc. I then decided to stay on at the same uni so that I could do my MSc research project in dementia, and very early on in my MSc I approached my supervisor and told her that I wanted to do a PhD in something dementia-related, but that I wasn't sure exactly what. I was lucky in that my sup already had a few ideas about new research that needed to be done which would be suitable for a PhD project, so we talked about various ideas and then I was able to select more specifically what it was I wanted to research, and we designed the project together from there and applied for funding. It is hard- I can think of loads of things in Psychology that I would love to do, and it's such a broad subject. I guess it is important to think first about which field you want to be in- clinical, developmental, cognitive, neuroscience etc, and also think about what you want to spend your time doing. Do you want to work with patients? If you do, then what kind of patients? Do you want to do quantitative or qualitative work? What sort of methodology interests you- do you want to be doing interviews, using neuropsychological tests, using fMRI? There are lots of things to think about but go for something that really fascinates you- for me, that is the most powerful motivator! Then when you have narrowed it down to a specific field or population, have a look at what is being done at the moment, and whether there are any researchers whose work really catches your eye and interests you. There will of course be advertised PhDs, so if you can find one that you fancy then that makes life a bit easier, and might well save you having to apply for funding because many of these are already funded. But if you have your own idea, or want more freedom and flexibility with which way to take your research then it might be worth looking for a supervisor first and then applying for funding. Sometimes with advertised and already funded PhDs you will have to stick exactly to what has been specified in the proposal so won't be able to use your own ideas or thinking to develop the research that you're doing. Good luck with it! KB

I agree- some topics will be more complex than others and require different strengths and abilities. I look at the some of the neuroscience people in our department and think that they must be pretty damn smart! It just amuses me how people assume utter genius the minute you mention a PhD...I know there are some very very clever folk doing PhDs, I just think it's not always a pre-requisite! KB

Since I started my PhD my friends and family seem to think I am a complete genius, as does anyone else I mention the PhD thing to. But I don't actually think you need to be amazingly smart to do a PhD....hardworking and dedicated with a thirst for knowledge, yes, but not necessarily amazingly intelligent. I'm not saying that most people who do PhDs are not clever of course, I just don't think that it's highest up on the list of requirements for a PhD student. What do you think? KB

I think there is a little snobbery around this...I have heard people with attitudes to the effect that if a person is a good enough candidate, and their project is worthwhile, then they would have got it funded. Thus those who are self-funding seem to have to put up with ignorant people who think that they, or their project, must be inferior in some way. I think that once the PhD had been gained then it probably doesn't matter- a PhD is a PhD however it was funded. My flatmate self-funded her way through a PhD then walked into a 4.5 year post-doc, so I think this attitude fortunately just belongs to the ignorant few, rather than everyone else in academia. I would certainly hope so. KB

I just had a look at the daily mail article and responses- I think you need to remember that the research is so watered down for articles like this that the general public don't have a chance of understanding all the complexities of this sort of research, or the implications of it. I am doing research on Alzheimer's disease and virtually everyone I speak to believes that this is worthwhile, mainly because it is in the news a lot at the moment and public awareness of what a horrible disease it is has increased, and most people know someone who has some sort of dementia. But yet when I read articles on dementia research in the Daily Mail a lot of the comments are 'why are they doing this research when they should be finding a cure' or 'this is rubbish, my nanna didn't smoke and she still got dementia' etc. People are clueless as to the scientific basis and the background for most research, and how to interpret the findings or what it actually means in the real world. I wouldn't spend a lot of time worrying about it- so long as you can justify the research and are aware of the implications then I think you just have to ignore the rantings of people who simply have no clue about what you are doing! I should also stop reading daily mail articles I think, they do tend to piss me off! KB

Hi! I agree with the others- you should be free to work wherever you work best. So long as the work is getting done then there is no reason why anyone should be worried about where it is getting done. I always work in the office but I am in a small office with just 3 of us and a lot of the time the other 2 are out testing so I have it to myself, but I don't think I would be able to work in a big noisy office either. Just ignore them, in the end they will see that you are obviously working as you get through your exams and upgrade etc, so they will probably let it drop eventually. Good luck with it! KB