Well, I've been getting progressively more and more excited about work over the last few weeks - It all began sometime 2 weeks ago, when I started reading Dixmier's book on continuous fields of C* algebras. Something about the cohesiveness of that theory excited me - especially the facts about the ideal structure being recoverable from the fibers. Reading Nilsen's paper seemed to fix those ideas, and then getting to Dadarlat's paper was just like seeing daylight again! So beautiful, this idea of asymptotic morphisms, and the way they tie up with continuous fields!
Anyway, I could wax eloquent about this for hours - but the point is that I find myself actually doing some minimal "research" for the first time. I am reading papers and books interchangeably, and wondering about the grander perspective so that I don't get lost in the trees and miss the forest.
Trouble is, and this just might be me torturing myself for no rhyme or reason, I find it hard to communicate this to others. Maybe I am not trying hard enough, but it seems like everytime I start talking about this people shut off and go all bleary-eyed on me. This, of course, led me to consider the value of such communication - it seems like one of the most important aspects of research : to be able to exchange ideas freely and to get excited about what other people are working on. Maybe I am an idealist, but I feel like I should put more effort into this.
Add to this: the rather disturbing conversation I had with my advisor today - about misdealings and dishonesty in the profession. He's a nice guy, and the events we discussed obviously left him feeling very annoyed and offended, and I could totally see it from his point of view. So the question is: at what point do you stop this idealistic free exchange of thoughts, and begin to work towards publishing your own papers without running the risk of someone stealing your ideas?!
I am in two minds about this, and it will require some careful thought - but in the meantime - onwards with semi-projectivity! :)
Anyway, I could wax eloquent about this for hours - but the point is that I find myself actually doing some minimal "research" for the first time. I am reading papers and books interchangeably, and wondering about the grander perspective so that I don't get lost in the trees and miss the forest.
Trouble is, and this just might be me torturing myself for no rhyme or reason, I find it hard to communicate this to others. Maybe I am not trying hard enough, but it seems like everytime I start talking about this people shut off and go all bleary-eyed on me. This, of course, led me to consider the value of such communication - it seems like one of the most important aspects of research : to be able to exchange ideas freely and to get excited about what other people are working on. Maybe I am an idealist, but I feel like I should put more effort into this.
Add to this: the rather disturbing conversation I had with my advisor today - about misdealings and dishonesty in the profession. He's a nice guy, and the events we discussed obviously left him feeling very annoyed and offended, and I could totally see it from his point of view. So the question is: at what point do you stop this idealistic free exchange of thoughts, and begin to work towards publishing your own papers without running the risk of someone stealing your ideas?!
I am in two minds about this, and it will require some careful thought - but in the meantime - onwards with semi-projectivity! :)
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