Tag Archive for 'electronic publishing'

The causes of my depression, part 14: meditation and other Buddhist activities

My social circle during my undergraduate years consisted mostly of people who were connected in one way or another with my interest in religion. I converted to Buddhism and became the President of the Buddhist Student Association — a long and interesting story which I may tell in later posts. There are, however, a few items related to my depression, and to my efforts to overcome my parents’ attempts to destroy my scientific career, which I will relate here.

Because of my association with Buddhism, I began to meditate regularly. In fact, I took part in organising regular meditation sessions at the university. The practice gave me the strength to cope with my parents’ abuse. Naturally, as soon as they discovered what I was doing, they started to attack me for (what else?) “wasting my time”… » [Expand post] [Permalink]

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Writing my Ph.D. Research Proposal live

One of the requirements of the Ph.D. program in Computer Science at the University of Waterloo is the Comprehensive-II (Depth) requirement, which consists of a written research proposal and an accompanying oral presentation.

I have decided to write my research proposal live and online. Besides being a way to test out theories about electronic publishing as well as an excuse to experiment with the relevant technologies, I have a more personal reason for doing this.

Over the years, I have acquired a number of absolutely horrendous academic habits due to the necessity of hiding my studies from my parents, such as keeping a low profile and limiting my publishing. I would usually not even begin a project unless I believed that there was a chance I could complete it without being discovered, and would reveal it only after it was already a fait accompli… » [Expand post] [Permalink]

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