Bit of an upset - I was placed in M2. However, the captain and coaches explained that it wasn't for lack of athleticism or skill that kept me out of the M1 boat. Of the three guys competing for the last seat in M1 my times were the best. Since I'm only here for another two months and the team needs to think ahead toward summer eights and beyond, they want to get a team together for M1 that will be experienced rowing together from now on into the future. Though this was a disappointment to me I understand their reasoning and am happy to take a place in the M2 boat. In fact the M2 roster has been steadily getting more and more dangerous as the weeks have gone by. We have an incredible array of oarsmen for this boat and I am proud to be a member of the group. I have been floating back and forth between the four and six seats depending on where the coaches want me on a given day and I like both spots. The engine section is where I flourish.
The thesis is coming together quite nicely. I have refined the project and have begun the writing intensive task of just producing a complete first draft. As it stands now I am examining the metaphysical underpinnings, if any, that inform cosmological theories from Ptolemy to Hubble. Got about 15 pages done so far, hoping to have 25 more done by the end of February. The project is interesting and exciting and I am liking the work if not the workload.
Classes are going well also. My tutorial with Hsueh Qu, a grad student at Hertford, has been the most challenging and intellectually rewarding experience of my academic life. We have been studying the works of David Hume on various topics including: induction, liberty, necessity, free will, skepticism, the origins of ideas, modality, probability, meta meta physics and more. Qu is an incredible student and teacher, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, able to quote Hume from memory and he has a wonderful disposition. We meet once a week for an hour and it is the craziest 60 minutes of my week. We launch into astonishingly fast paced discussions that don't let up until the last minute is spent. It feels like all of my philosophical training up to this point has been in preparation for a class just like this. This is the true way to learn - one on one with an expert, talking furiously fast and throwing ideas back and forth with rapidity and surgical proficiency born from close study of a text. I love this stuff.
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Bob, I love your attitude about M2, very pragmatic and positive. Good luck with your thesis work. I well recall the feeling of invigoration and satisfaction from researching a subject I felt passionate about. Your topic will make for good conversation when you're home! -Dad
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