Thursday, October 25, 2012  Planning Ahead and Writing As You Go
So even though I'm probably 2-ish years from graduating (plus
some very large error bars on that number), I've started writing
bits and pieces of my thesis. Not just in the sense that I'm
writing manuscripts, which I'm also working on, but in that I'm
trying to plot out the larger story I'm trying to tell. I also
want to right everything down while I still remember why I did
it in a particular way.  My advisor seems confused whenever I
mention this approach. He's very strongly in the camp of write
the papers, and copy-paste to make a thesis. Given his reading
habits, it does mean fewer things he has to read, which is good
for getting anything out the door. However, at this point, many
of my results are of the "and this approach didn't work"
variety. Not necessarily paper material, but things I feel
should be documented for future students in the group. A quick
poll of Twitter seems to indicate that the thesis is a good
place to include this sor