There are many things I've learned during my PhD so far. Some will help me later in my career if I choose to be an earth scientist (i.e. python, GIS, LaTeX), while others are transferable skills I can take with me in any career path (problem-solving, time management, independence). And all these are very important things, indeed. But if I had to choose just one thing, the most important thing I gained while doing a PhD is the knowledge that I know nothing.
Obviously I have some knowledge. I'm in grad school, duh, there's things I must know! Well, obviously. But I have found that the more things I learn, the deeper is my understanding of my ignorance. Every EUREKA moment comes with the realization that there are plenty of things I do not know. And if there's one thing you must know about me is that I strongly believe that knowledge is power. Ignorance isn't bliss. I want to know things and use that knowledge accordingly. I love learning new things, about the world, about me; it's why I read in a variety of disciplines. Unlike many academics I've come across, my research topic doesn't define my research interest. In my spare time I study anatomy, nutrition, interior design, finance, and lately I've been into the humanities, too. I try to learn as much as I can, from textbooks, from papers, from the so-called experts, because I have come to the conclusion that life is pointless without it, without learning. The best way to spend my ephemeral life is to gain as much knowledge as I can and perhaps spread it.
But that's just me.
The only way to understand the world is to know it. But knowing doesn't make us experts. The more I know, the more I realize that nobody can be a true expert, because there's vast knowledge out there that isn't accessible to us (yet).
Of course, my PhD made me a critical reader, showing me how to spot bias in a research paper, check the citations for credibility and always listen to opposing views (if they're credible and unbiased that is); I don't know everything, neither do experts. This is something perhaps everyone should learn how to do: read critically. We might be biased ourselves when reading, but it's important to understand that facts should shape our beliefs instead of the other way around. I learn something new everyday and yet there are many things I will never grasp. My knowledge is a teeny tiny portion of all the known things to humans, nevertheless all the unknowns. Practically, in a scale of knowing, I know nothing.
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