John O. Field
Sid Verba’s Advice to a Dissertation Writer
When I was a graduate student at Stanford, Sid was my dissertation advisor (even though by the time I had written anything, he had moved to the University of Chicago). With an innocent sense of accomplishment, I sent him first drafts of several chapters about a month later. He responded with his usual encouragement and with an admonition in the form a story.
“CUT, CUT”
A matronly lady walked into a delicatessen in New York City and told the man behind the counter that she wished to buy lox.
He cut a few slices and looked up. “Cut, cut”, she said.
He cut several more slices before looking up again. “Cut, cut”, she repeated.
Back to work he went; but when he looked up a third time, her response was the same: “Cut, cut”.
At this point, the man behind the counter is convinced that the lady must be having a large party, so he cut many more pieces, thinking that this is his lucky day.
Well into his labors, the lady stops him. “I’ll take the next two slices.”
I suspect Sid has told this story on many similar occasions. It just might be the best advice anyone writing a doctoral dissertation can receive.
