Paul Huff (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} phuff) wrote,@ 2008-01-30 18:46:00 |
|
Just had a classic Paul Huff moment.
I'm taking Phonology this semester. It's my only class. You'd think that would mean that I'd be able to spend all kinds of time on it and just do really well at it.
You'd be wrong.
Phonology, it turns out, is really dumb. At least, the parts of it that we're studying now are incredibly poorly thought out. We're studying generative phonology right now, which apparently has been, at least in some circles, superceded by optimality theory, for which I really am holding my breath. The guys that came up with the stuff we're reading right now make all these assumptions about the way that phonological processes must work in the brain that are basically completely unfounded. And then they base their whole life's work around those principles. It's kinda scary.
It's also intensely unmotivating. That's why it took me approximately six gazillion hours to get up the gumption to spend the 6ish hours that I spent all-told over the last couple of days on my weekly homework assignment that was due today at 4:00pm. In addition to tons of reading, we're essentially asked to write a short 4+ page paper each week. Which, honestly, under normal operating conditions for a linguistics class would even be kinda cool. The option to write a short paper on an aspect of the class, I mean. In this case, it's intensely unmotivating because you know that even the teacher doesn't believe the arguments that you're making in your 4 page paper, but you have to make them, because that's the way generative phonology works.
So, I spend all this time writing my paper, stay up late last night, get up this morning and spend a couple of more hours on it. I go to class today, and ask the professor about a couple of nitpicky, but semi-important details in the way that I wrote things out in the paper. Then I go home. As I walk in the door, I think to myself, "I'm going to e-mail that paper to the professor right now."
Do I actually e-mail the professor my paper? No. I spend all this time working on this paper that I then proceed to not turn in. I remember this at 6:30pm, while finishing the dishes and send an hurried e-mail to the professor with my paper attached. I have a timestamp on the paper showing that I haven't touched it since 9:45am this morning. Do I think the professor will actually accept my paper? I have no idea, but I'm leaning towards no, because I think he's one of those "show no mercy to the student" types. Which is fine. I can accept that. It's just kind of annoying to have put forth all this effort to do my tiny lame paper and then forget to actually turn it in.
It is, of course, all my fault. And there's the Paul Huff moment: doing a bunch of work to get something half-decent, and then, quite absent-mindedly, not caring enough to go the rest of the way.
Alas.
I'm taking Phonology this semester. It's my only class. You'd think that would mean that I'd be able to spend all kinds of time on it and just do really well at it.
You'd be wrong.
Phonology, it turns out, is really dumb. At least, the parts of it that we're studying now are incredibly poorly thought out. We're studying generative phonology right now, which apparently has been, at least in some circles, superceded by optimality theory, for which I really am holding my breath. The guys that came up with the stuff we're reading right now make all these assumptions about the way that phonological processes must work in the brain that are basically completely unfounded. And then they base their whole life's work around those principles. It's kinda scary.
It's also intensely unmotivating. That's why it took me approximately six gazillion hours to get up the gumption to spend the 6ish hours that I spent all-told over the last couple of days on my weekly homework assignment that was due today at 4:00pm. In addition to tons of reading, we're essentially asked to write a short 4+ page paper each week. Which, honestly, under normal operating conditions for a linguistics class would even be kinda cool. The option to write a short paper on an aspect of the class, I mean. In this case, it's intensely unmotivating because you know that even the teacher doesn't believe the arguments that you're making in your 4 page paper, but you have to make them, because that's the way generative phonology works.
So, I spend all this time writing my paper, stay up late last night, get up this morning and spend a couple of more hours on it. I go to class today, and ask the professor about a couple of nitpicky, but semi-important details in the way that I wrote things out in the paper. Then I go home. As I walk in the door, I think to myself, "I'm going to e-mail that paper to the professor right now."
Do I actually e-mail the professor my paper? No. I spend all this time working on this paper that I then proceed to not turn in. I remember this at 6:30pm, while finishing the dishes and send an hurried e-mail to the professor with my paper attached. I have a timestamp on the paper showing that I haven't touched it since 9:45am this morning. Do I think the professor will actually accept my paper? I have no idea, but I'm leaning towards no, because I think he's one of those "show no mercy to the student" types. Which is fine. I can accept that. It's just kind of annoying to have put forth all this effort to do my tiny lame paper and then forget to actually turn it in.
It is, of course, all my fault. And there's the Paul Huff moment: doing a bunch of work to get something half-decent, and then, quite absent-mindedly, not caring enough to go the rest of the way.
Alas.
