I'm not sure if things like colour blindness give an advantage, I've often though my dyslexia may have helped me along the way. I've always had to work harder to limit its effect and double check everything. Perhaps that diligence will apply in your case also?

The head of school at the institue I teach at is colour blind and he has a PhD. His feild was signal processing he went into it after failing all the aplitude tests as an electrical engineer because of his colour blindness. Strangly enough the head of school at the institute I'm currently studying for my phd at (their not the same place) who retired last year was also colour blind, he did alot of research into autonomous systems, compiler theory and parralell systems.

Tiggs

Tiggs

I've had to make big changes to my literature review since my mock viva. I had the interlectual equivelent of a beating with big stick. I think the idea was to make sure I wasn't complacent going into the actual viva, but I think its just taken all my confidence and made me paranoid.

Look on it as a good thing, you have alot of time to dedicate to making that part of your thesis as bomb proof as possible. Much better than being very close to the end going into your mock viva and getting ripped appart and finding out there's a load of stuff you still have to do!!

Tiggs

I was really down about the PhD when I first started, I felt I had a mountain to climb and that I wasn't really up to the task. I think my big mistake was to try and read as many papers as possible alot of which I didn't understand. I should also have looked into recuring areas where I knew my knowlage was weak rather than relying on explainations I didn't really understand from the papes. My supervisor spent the first year of his PhD working on his maths to understand the papers in his feild.

Tiggs

You can't really go wrong with trousers and a shirt, you can always take a tie with you incase you feel really akward without one. I lectuer full time (and do a phd by night) but I always quite enjoy putting on a suit.

Tiggs

A friend of mine entered her PhD viva heavily pregnant, when she got a difficult line of questioning she winced and held her stomach and the examiners backed off.

She got her phd and had the baby a few months later.

Hi Phder,

I've got about a week left to finish up the thesis then 2 weeks to prepare for the viva. I cry sometimes and the only time I get a good night sleep is when I'm holding my fiance like a teddy. Worse still I'm working full time as a lectuer, I've spent the entire holiday working to complete my PhD thesis and bought a house. I've always had doubts about my capabilities, my supervisor says its a lack of confidence. I had a viva a few weeks ago and it went really badly, I was basically a nervous wreck after it and even know talking to my supervisor about the viva makes me shake.

I'm haunted by the terrible feeling that I'm not really good enough and that there are areas of mathmatics which my PhD utalizes which I don't fully understand.

I have found something which does help, they are called "Rescue Remerdies" its a herbal concoction which calms you down or at least takes an edge of the rising panic. If you need further details let me know.

Regards,

Tiggs