good medicine at exactly the right time 😯

Good morning! ☕️ It’s May 10th, 2024, and here’s a fun fact to start your day. The Simpsons is more academic than you think. Its writers have been sneaking in complex math problems and nods to famous equations since day one.

So, next time you're watching an episode, keep an eye out for Fermat's Last Theorem—you might just find Homer making a blunder over it!

Ah, another fun fact:

A scientific study by Maggie Simpson, Edna Krabappel, and Kim Jong Fun was accepted by two scientific journals.

Of course, none of these fictional characters actually wrote the paper, titled "Fuzzy, Homogeneous Configurations" 😂 

Spotlight on: 5 TED Talks every PhD student should watch

🎬 At et. al. we love TED Talks because they are inspiring and some deliver exactly the right “good medicine” at exactly the right time. This is the case for these five TED Talks, that seem to be chosen to be part of the starter-pack of any doctoral candidate!

• Walking the Curved Line to the PhD by Courtney Cain.

They say the quickest way from point A to point B is a straight line. However, a PhD is far from quick, and the journey from a bachelor’s degree (point A) to a Doctorate (point B) is anything but a straight line. This talk follows Courtney Cain’s journey to her PhD, including the obstacles that propelled her towards the finish line..

• Things About a PhD Nobody Told You About by Laura Valádez-Martínez.

This one is L-I-T 🔥. This talk guides postgraduate students and those thinking of doing a PhD through the events of the doctoral process. In a friendly and down-to-earth way, the speaker illustrates issues that many doctoral students face. The talk covers seven challenges that may emerge during a PhD: I’m stuck!, I have no motivation!, I am not sure this is relevant!, I feel lonely!..

• The Power of Vulnerability by Brené Brown.

In this talk, Brené Brown shares her journey as a doctoral student and her research into vulnerability, finding that it is the source of both shame and fear, as well as joy, creativity, belonging, and love. Brown emphasizes that experiencing our vulnerabilities allows us to reach the highest highs, despite enduring the lowest lows. Her key message for graduate students and others is the importance of believing in our self-worth, which fosters gentleness and kindness towards ourselves and others, leading to a more peaceful world.

• Questioning The Universe by Stephen Hawking.

Sixteen years have passed since this talk, but the strength of its message remains just as valid today. Hawking breaks down three of the biggest, keep-you-up-at-night questions into surprisingly simple explanations: how did the universe come into being, whether we’re alone in it, and what is the future of the human race?

• Why We Procrastinate by Vik Nithy.

Are you scared of your own procrastination? Do you think your life as a graduate student would be much better if you could just stop procrastinating? (Spoiler: Yep 🙂). This successful young entrepreneur insists that procrastination is a mind game. One he’s gone a few rounds with. This video is worth a couple of views.

👉🏼 Last but not least: Make sure you have a good supervisor. This does not come in any TED Talk, we can tell you that!

ISTE24 EdTech conference happening very soon!

“Venture into the Future of Learning” is this years’ message.

ISTE's in-person and virtual events bring together educators and changemakers from around the world to explore how EdTech can help revolutionize learning. You’ll discover what’s next in education – and your practice – as you participate in hundreds of sessions presented by experts from education and beyond. More than 17,500 people attended ISTE last year, both in person and virtually 😯

If you are a student and need help convincing your supervisor:

👉🏼 Here’s a sample email to make the case to attend in Denver.

👉🏼 Here’s a sample email to make the case to attend virtually.

👉🏼 Bonus: Top 5 things we learned from ISTE 2023 | Book Creator

AI did this for me
AI helped me with that

🔥 This wonderful column leaves us with 2 ways generative AI (ChatGPT in this particular case) may help you in my academic writing:

Polishing academic writing

Repeat with me: context is king.

You can’t expect generative AI — or anything or anyone, for that matter — to provide a meaningful response to a question without it. When you’re using a chatbot to refine a section of your paper for clarity, start by outlining the context. What is your paper about, and what is your main argument? Jot down your ideas in any format (even bullet points will work). Then, present this information to the generative AI of your choice. Dr. Gruda typically uses ChatGPT, but for tasks that demand a deep understanding of language nuances, such as analysing search queries or text, he finds Gemini, to be particularly effective.

Regardless of which generative-AI tool you choose, the key to success lies in providing precise instructions. The clearer you are, the better 💡 For example, you might write:

“I’m writing a paper on [topic] for a leading [discipline] academic journal. What I tried to say in the following section is [specific point]. Please rephrase it for clarity, coherence and conciseness, ensuring each paragraph flows into the next. Remove jargon. Use a professional tone.” 

Remember, the chatbot’s first reply might not be perfect — it’s a collaborative and iterative process. You might need to refine your instructions or add more information, much as you would when discussing a concept with a colleague 💡 If something doesn’t quite hit the mark, don’t hesitate to say:

“This isn’t quite what I meant. Let’s adjust this part.” Or you can commend its improvements: “This is much clearer, but let’s tweak the ending for a stronger transition to the next section.”

This approach can transform a challenging task into a manageable one, filling the page with insights you might not have fully gleaned on your own. It’s like having a conversation that opens new perspectives, making generative AI a collaborative partner in the creative process of developing and refining ideas. 👀 But more importantly, you are using the AI as a sounding board: it is not writing your document for you; nor is it reviewing manuscripts.

Optimizing editorial feedback

Providing constructive editorial feedback to authors can be challenging, especially when you oversee several manuscripts every week. Having personally received countless pieces of unhelpful, non-specific feedback, such as:

“After careful consideration, we have decided not to proceed with your manuscript” (Probably you: 😑)

The importance of clear and constructive communication is big. ChatGPT has become indispensable in this process, helping us to craft precise, empathetic and actionable feedback without replacing human editorial decisions.

For instance, after evaluating a paper and noting its pros and cons, I might feed these into ChatGPT and get it to draft a suitable letter:

“On the basis of these notes, draft a letter to the author. Highlight the manuscript’s key issues and clearly explain why the manuscript, despite its interesting topic, might not provide a substantial enough advancement to merit publication. Avoid jargon. Be direct. Maintain a professional and respectful tone throughout.”

There is no doubt that generative AI presents challenges to the scientific community. But it can also enhance the quality of our work. These tools can bolster our capabilities in writing, reviewing and editing. They preserve the essence of scientific inquiry — curiosity, critical thinking and innovation — while improving how we communicate our research.

Should you join Mastodon? A scientists' guide to Twitter's rival

🐘 To go from Tweet to Toot.

Should scientists join Mastodon? Should scientists make the leap? Is there a ‘Science Mastodon’?..

Mastodon is a decentralised, open-source social network that has been gaining popularity among scientists as a platform for academic networking and the effective dissemination of science. Unlike Twitter, Mastodon is decentralised, meaning that anyone can set up and run their own server, or ‘instance’ and then connect with other instances.

One thing is for sure – if you’re a researcher interested in open science, meta-research, replication, reproducibility, open educational resources, open access, and open data, then you’ll definitely find like-minded individuals on Mastodon.

There are those who argue that the exodus from Elon Musk's platform has only just begun and that Mastodon is the destination of most of these “disgruntled” people, and there are those who think the opposite, arguing that Mastodon hasn't built upon its initial hype, and it faces an uphill battle to compete with X.

🤨 But, what are the pros and cons of this platform? Read the full article here.

Kudos of the Day

🎉🎉🎉 Today we’re giving kudos to Lindsay (@neuro_melody on Instagram)! She is a PhD candidate in Neuroscience and we are impressed with the enthusiasm she transmits when she tells us all about her latest research findings. Ladies and gentlemen, science communication at its best. Congratulations, Lindsay! 🔥

🥹 Other papers recently published by our readers

🐟 Crude Oil Exposure Disrupts Polar Cod's Spawning Time
👏🏼 Kudos to Leah C. Strople | Read or 🎧 listen to the full paper

🌳 Yucatec Mayans: Adapting Forest Practices to Preserve Heritageand Community Forestry among Yucatec Mayans in Mexico
👏🏼 Kudos to Noé Manuel Mendoza Fuente | Read or 🎧 listen to the full paper

🧫 Innovative Enzyme Inhibitors Show Promise Against Cryptosporidium Parvum
👏🏼 Kudos to Muhammad Rashid Bajwa | Read or 🎧 listen to the full paper

Have you recently published your work and want us to echo it? Reply directly to this email and we look forward to including you in our next digest!

Together with @PHDcomics