Fox: "What are you working on?"
Rabbit: "My thesis2."
Fox: "Hmmm. What's it about?"
Rabbit: "Oh, I'm writing about how rabbits eat foxes."
Fox: "That's ridiculous! Any fool knows that rabbits don't eat foxes."
Rabbit: "Sure they do, and I can prove it. Come with me."
They both disappear into the rabbit's burrow. After a few minutes, the rabbit returns, alone, to his typewriter and resumes3 typing.
Soon, a wolf comes along and stops to watch the hardworking rabbit.
Wolf: "What's that you're writing?"
Rabbit: "I'm doing a thesis on how rabbits eat wolves."
Wolf: "You don't expect to get such rubbish published, do you?"
Rabbit: "No problem. Do you want to see why?"
The rabbit and the wolf go into the burrow, and again the rabbit returns by himself, after a few minutes, and goes back to typing.
Inside the rabbit's burrow: In one corner, there is a pile of fox bones. In another corner, a pile of wolf bones. On the other side of the room, a huge lion is belching4 and picking his teeth.
It doesn't matter what you choose for a thesis subject.
It doesn't matter what you use for data.
What does matter is who you have for a thesis advisor5.
這是一個陽光燦爛的晴朗日子,森林里一只小兔子坐在洞穴外,在打字機上敲敲打打。這時一只散步的狐貍走了過來。
狐貍:“你在做什么呢?”
兔子:“寫我的論文。”
狐貍:“唔,是關(guān)于什么的?”
兔子:“噢,我在寫兔子是怎樣吃掉狐貍的。”
狐貍:“你太搞笑了吧!誰都知道兔子不吃狐貍。”
兔子:“兔子當然吃,我能證明的。跟我來。”
它們一起消失在兔子的洞穴里,幾分鐘后只有兔子獨自出來了。它回到打字機前繼續(xù)敲打。
很快,一只狼走了過來,停下看著兔子奮力工作。
狼:“你在寫什么呢?”
兔子:“我在寫論文,關(guān)于兔子如何吃掉狼。”
狼:“你不會指望這種垃圾論文被發(fā)表吧!”
兔子:“能發(fā)表,你想知道為什么嗎?”
兔子和狼一起進了洞穴,而兔子又一次獨自走了出來。幾分鐘后它繼續(xù)打字。
兔子洞穴里:一個角落里是一堆狐貍骨頭,另一角落里是一堆狼骨頭。而另一側(cè)是一只獅子,它邊打著飽嗝,邊剔著牙齒。
論文的題目選什么無關(guān)緊要。
你用什么作為例證數(shù)據(jù)也無關(guān)緊要。
真正重要的是:你的論文導師是誰!