There is an insightful saying in the ever-exciting world of PhD students, which might disgust those who are not in it. But it is very deep and philosophical. Roughly translated, after shedding some fundamentals of communication etiquette, it reads “thesis is like feces - try to get rid of it now than later”. You might think that someone who was ambitious and competitive enough to get into a PhD program should know what a new-born smart ass baby does without thinking or much effort. But hey, don’t be judgmental. We are artists and need the time and freedom to express our thoughts. We will let you know when the painting is done.
A PhD is not just a search for scientific facts that can be corroborated with experimental design and results extrapolated into coherent and valuable information. It is also a soul-searching journey of personal faith and conviction towards life-changing perspectives. It teaches you to respect this grandeur creation and turns a staunch egghead to be modest at the limited awareness of the universe. At the same time it allows you to derive happiness in the expanse of knowledge that greater people before you have deciphered. It makes you think global with the implications of your microscopic dabble at the unknown. It expects you to appreciate the opportunities that are both made and lost. Most of all it teaches you to be persistent with your belief and principles but not to the extent of being fool-hardy. It is in effect a crash course in life!
We learn a lot of things as we grow up and grow old. The information has to be stored somehow to prevent each of us from re-inventing the wheel of experience every single time. What are the factors involved in memorizing and storing the wealth of information in the brain? After carefully analyzing thousands of DNA-profiled subjects who were humanely decapitated and their brains respectfully studied, this thesis concludes that a signaling molecule, brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), can be attributed to store this information in small compartments of a neuron called “dendritic spines”. A thesis to this effect was written over a period of one year in three different continents and finally submitted a few weeks ago. It might be a very small piece in the enigmatic functioning of the brain puzzle, but it’s a start. The fact that we are far from decoding this puzzle should not keep us from trying. That’s what these 6 years have taught me.
It all began on a cold winter day in Amsterdam a few years ago and the culmination of this long journey will take place on the 22nd of April in Amsterdam, when I will defend my thesis. Thanks to all of you for being part of this journey either directly as fellow-passengers or as by-standing well-wishers.
The strips are from PhD Comics that almost every grad-student can relate to and find solace in at the ups and downs of this fraternity.
