The “16 types of graduate student by JRR Tolkien” was
extremely easy to write, and the various characters Tolkien described very
nicely matched with various supervisor types. The present post on the “17 types
of graduate student by GRR Martin” was much harder to write - partly because characters
in Game of Thrones don’t match so cleanly onto student types, and also because
all the Game of Thrones characters seem fundamentally flawed. Stated another
way, most Tolkien characters are inherently good, with perhaps a few temporary
flaws; whereas most Martin characters are inherently bad, with perhaps a few
temporary redeeming qualities. Thus, please read the following not as an
attempt to describe actual graduate student types but rather to envision the
various GRR Martin characters as if they were graduate students. In truth,
graduate students have many more positive qualities than Game of Thrones characters.
The Khal Drogo
The Drogo is extremely capable in field situations,
including managing huge field crews with difficult logistics in uncompromising
environments for long periods of time. However, he isn’t very intelligent,
doesn’t publish much, and – it seems – would prefer to just stay out in the
field rather than having to deal with committees and reviewers and
administration.
The Ned Stark
This student is a zealous advocate of open science, data
sharing, pre-registration, systematic meta-analyses, data archiving, open
access, and all forms of transparency in science. He is much admired by other
students for these stances, even though they would never seek to emulate his puritanical
approach. Unfortunately, this warts-and-all approach to writing papers leads to
frequent rejections from major journals, which – curiously – only strengthens
his resolve.
The Viserys Targaryen
The Viserys is the son of a famous Professor – and he never
hesitates to remind everyone of it. He seems to think that his pedigree
entitles him to success without much effort – and he is extremely annoyed by
rejections from journals and, in fact, any form of criticism. Owing to his
obnoxious sense of entitlement, this student could well be kicked out of the
department if the Qualifying Exam or Defense committee are too irked by his
attitude.
The Jon Snow
Jon Snow’s current Professor agreed to supervise him at the
request of the Chair of the Graduate Training Committee when the Snow’s former
supervisor retired pre-maturely. His new supervisor accepted this role on
condition that the Jon Snow would fund himself and not take up space or
resources used by the other students. Despite all of these constraints, the Jon
Snow is very hard working, serious (perhaps overly so), and dedicated. He turns
out to be an exceptional, if understated, student who will start his academic
career at a tiny undergraduate college but will ultimately be recruited to an
Endowed Chair at Harvard.
The Daenerys Targaryen
For the first part of her graduate degree, she shared an
office with a Viserys and – as a result – suffered from a serious imposter
syndrome. Once the Viserys was kicked out of graduate school, however, she
really came into her own and, in fact, (re)discovered a new methodology (three
of them, in fact) that have made her one of the most influential and sought-after
graduate students for collaboration. She seems destined for a position at a
major research university, although she will face considerable challenges
imposed by jealous competitors.
The Walder Frey
This student worked for a long time in the lab of one Professor,
who advised and funded all of the research. Then, just before submission of the
paper, the Walder switched to the lab of a competitor, taking all of the data
with him and dropping his original supervisor from all the papers.
The Tyrion Lannister
Supremely intelligent, the Tyrion sometimes seems to
squander his abilities and talents in food, drink (lots of it), and various
social activities. This joie de vivre is somewhat understandable as his
previous supervisor was mean and condescending, never giving the Tyrion credit
for any of his discoveries. With a more understanding and appreciative
supervisor, however, the Tyrion will cut back on his socializing (if not his
drinking) and generate extremely novel and inspiring ideas.
The Littlefinger
From day one (and probably well before that), this student
has been relentlessly maneuvering everything and everyone in an effort to
maximize his career advancement. He is extremely effective at twisting any
given collaboration to his favor, such that he now has a very good publication
record. However, as time as gone on, his manipulative tendencies have become
more widely known and he runs the risk of being blacklisted by the academic
community.
The Cersei Lannister
Deceptively clever, the Cersei is rising quickly within her
field, collaborating with important people (although they don’t always seem
better off for it) and publishing many papers (although some say the work isn’t
really hers). Rumor has it that much of her success comes from stealing the ideas
of other students and undermining the success of her colleagues by providing
withering reviews of their papers and grant applications.
The Tywin Lannister
The Tywin has published many excellent papers and intends to
keep doing so. He is smarter than most (perhaps all) of the people around him –
and he knows it. He has a hard time concealing his contempt for others, even
his supervisors. He will go far in academia – but no one will like him.
The Brienne (of Tarth)
Highly skilled and loyal (almost to a fault), the Brienne
will do whatever her supervisor asks of her, quickly and efficiently, without
any complaint whatsoever. It isn’t clear that she has the independence to run
her own research program, but she is very good at improving the research of
those around her. At the same time, her intensity and dedication to principles
can sometimes off-put those around her.
The Brandon Stark
The Bran seems to think on another plane. It isn’t so much a
book-smart type of intelligence but rather a more intuitive, gut-feeling
approach to academic topics – or so it seems. When he asks questions in seminars,
no one can understand them – but it is nevertheless clear they are extremely
insightful. He sometimes seems to know the outcome of an experiment even before
it starts and he has an amazing recall for past details of scientific studies –
even unpublished ones in which he wasn’t involved. He will only publish once –
but it will likely win him the Nobel Prize.
The Jaime Lannister
When the Jaime was a senior graduate student, he blew the
whistle on misconduct by his supervisor, who was then censured by the university
and has disappeared from academia. Although some laud the Jaime’s action in
this case, other supervisors have been reluctant to take him on. As a result,
he is a quite jaded and often makes acerbic comments about the whole process of
graduate school. Deep down, however, he just wants to do good science –
although he has some pretty weird relationships with other students.
The Robert Baratheon
You have never met a person who enjoys living quite so much
as the Robert. He is the life of every party and this popularity has carried
forward to many collaborations and supporters, generating some outstanding
papers. It seems, however, that his hard-living ways might be getting the most
of him and he could flame out soon.
The Arya Stark
The Arya applied for a series of international fellowships and has been away for much of her degree. On her return, she is much more mature and experienced, having picked up a set of extremely rare and exceptional research skills, although it isn't clear she always uses them for the best purposes.
The Davos Seaworth
This student came from nowhere and, through simple hard work
and dedication, has risen to a place of influence within his field. He has
exceptionally good advice for other students in the lab and will – occasionally
– directly disobey the wishes of his supervisor. Yet, whenever, he does so, it
seems he made the right decision after all. He is extremely humble, almost
annoying so, and would probably turn down an academic position on the excuse
that he isn’t really worthy.
The Sandor Clegane
Another very capable student, he suffers one major flaw – he
is terrified of snakes, even though his research is conducted in tropical
environments abounding in them. Ok, perhaps he suffers several flaws, another
one being his taciturn and blunt criticism of ideas he deems uninteresting and
experimental designs he considers flawed. It seems clear that, deep down, he
would really like to be a Professor and has the skills to do so; yet his
difficult personality might preclude this.
I didn't think I was going to see myself in any of these profiles, but perhaps Arya Stark is not really so far off. ;->
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