From a current faculty member, this is very true: "Talk to your professors. Stay after class and go to their office hours. Ask them a question about their research and pitch an idea of your own. This will distinguish you from everyone else in your class."
Congratulations Max! I enjoyed the piece and your perspective, especially as I’m at the tail end of my own time in graduate school. Like Dr_Q, I think you made a good point about being proactive. Even with so many tools and so much information available today, taking initiative is still a differentiator!
Fantastic post. Especially useful as I am helping my children plot their futures.
I'm a professional writer (creative, not academic) who uses AI a lot. It's tremendously useful, but I'm not yet convinced that AI is very good at writing. And it doesn't seem to be getting better. But, if someone with taste uses it, it can save them a lot of time. Just like, if someone who knows how to type uses a word processor, it can save them a lot of time. Yes, AI grants a higher order of productivity, and the research capabilities are absurdly powerful, but without the attentional input of a human, nothing happens.
None of this precludes the possibility of some kind of breakthrough. But I feel the metaphoric thinking that underpins all great writing seems to elude these models. My suspicion is that it has something to do with the embodied nature of consciousness. Something like you need the physical concepts of grasp and under to truly understand something.
As you continue writing, any thoughts or insights you might have about this would be greatly appreciated.
You make good points succinctly. Some of your readers may also be interested in this paper I co-wrote, which is aimed at students who are not majoring in economics as undergraduates but who are considering whether to study it in graduate school. It also has some observations that apply to students who are majoring in economics:
Totally agree that AI is a complement to economists. Where I've found it most helpful is in learning new coding languages. If you're proficient in one language, you can learn new ones super fast!
From a current faculty member, this is very true: "Talk to your professors. Stay after class and go to their office hours. Ask them a question about their research and pitch an idea of your own. This will distinguish you from everyone else in your class."
Oh, I'm sure it's very true, but to an most outsider it seems very silly.
Congrats Max, hyped to see you in Cambridge some time
Congratulations Max! I enjoyed the piece and your perspective, especially as I’m at the tail end of my own time in graduate school. Like Dr_Q, I think you made a good point about being proactive. Even with so many tools and so much information available today, taking initiative is still a differentiator!
Congratulations!
Fantastic post. Especially useful as I am helping my children plot their futures.
I'm a professional writer (creative, not academic) who uses AI a lot. It's tremendously useful, but I'm not yet convinced that AI is very good at writing. And it doesn't seem to be getting better. But, if someone with taste uses it, it can save them a lot of time. Just like, if someone who knows how to type uses a word processor, it can save them a lot of time. Yes, AI grants a higher order of productivity, and the research capabilities are absurdly powerful, but without the attentional input of a human, nothing happens.
I feel that something must be wrong with this line of thinking, but I can't figure out what it is yet. My longer argument is here: https://patrickemclean.substack.com/p/ai-doesnt-write-very-well-and-isnt
None of this precludes the possibility of some kind of breakthrough. But I feel the metaphoric thinking that underpins all great writing seems to elude these models. My suspicion is that it has something to do with the embodied nature of consciousness. Something like you need the physical concepts of grasp and under to truly understand something.
As you continue writing, any thoughts or insights you might have about this would be greatly appreciated.
Congrats, Max! Looking forward to your scholarly output.
Good advice on testing. It's the same way I passed my CPA exam first try (10 months of study)
One of your future colleagues, William Arnesen, is very strange -- beware and be warned!
what's he guilty of?
You make good points succinctly. Some of your readers may also be interested in this paper I co-wrote, which is aimed at students who are not majoring in economics as undergraduates but who are considering whether to study it in graduate school. It also has some observations that apply to students who are majoring in economics:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/4bx011sr0qe3dqwvtp3yi/Schuler-Humphries-WP-297-1.pdf?rlkey=x9npexv0kxkzx1kjhzm7lgypz&e=1&st=ex9ergb6&dl=0
Totally agree that AI is a complement to economists. Where I've found it most helpful is in learning new coding languages. If you're proficient in one language, you can learn new ones super fast!