(Obviously this is a joke. We did once survey a 10-phd bbq party, and marriage was the most statistically significant positive correlator. But that’s a story for another time.)
Richard Hamming’s inspiring and influential talk You and Your Research is what convinced me to do a phd. I wanted to work on important problems and aspired to contribute to the advancement of human knowledge. Oh, to be a scientist! 3 years in I felt like there was no hope; I’ve toiled away all my time and the only way out is to quit.
So I sought advice from my parents. They asked me to think about the least accomplished PhD graduate I know – Can I do as much as they did? What would a minimum effort phd look like? I answered that would result in a pretty bad thesis. And they said, that’s fine, bad is ok, go do what you can. Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.
And here we are.