Re: Fwd: grad school fable

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On Wed, 3 May 1995 11:31:53 -0400 John A. Van Couvering wrote:

> From: John A. Van Couvering <vanc@amnh.org>
> Date: Wed, 3 May 1995 11:31:53 -0400
> Subject: Fwd: grad school fable 
> To: paleonet@nhm.ac.uk
> 
> 
> This fable was forwarded to me from Judith Harris, passed on to her from
> Eric Dewar at University of Colorado Museum. If you haven't seen it yet --
> enjoy 
> 
> THE RABBIT, THE FOX AND THE WOLF  - A GRADUATE STUDENT FABLE
> 
> One sunny day a rabbit came out of her hole in the ground to enjoy the
> weather.  The day was so nice that the rabbit became careless, and a
> fox sneaked up and caught her.
> 
> "I am going to eat you for lunch!"  said the fox.
> 
> "Wait!" replied the rabbit, "you should at least wait a few days."
> 
> "Oh yeah?  Why should I wait?"
> 
> "I am almost finished writing my Ph.D. thesis."
> 
> "Hah!  That's a stupid excuse.  What is the title of your thesis, anyway?"
> 
> "I am writing a thesis on `The superiority of Rabbits over Foxes and
> Wolves.'"
> 
> "Are you crazy? I should eat you up right now!  Everybody knows that
> a fox will always win over a rabbit."
> 
> "Not really, not according to my research.  If you'd like, you can
> come to my hole and I'll prove it to your satisfaction.  If you are not
> convinced you can go ahead and have me for lunch."
> 
> "You're really crazy."  But since the fox was curious and had nothing to
> lose, it went with the rabbit into its hole.  The fox never came back out.
> 
> A few days later the rabbit was again taking a break from writing,
> and, sure enough, a wolf came out of the bushes and pounced on her.
> 
> "Wait!"  yelled the rabbit, "you cannot eat me right now."
> 
> "And why might that be, you fuzzy appetizer?"
> 
> "I am almost finished writing my Ph.D. thesis on 'The superiority of
> Rabbits over Foxes and Wolves.'"
> 
> The wolf laughed so hard it almost lost its hold on the rabbit.
> "Maybe I shouldn't eat you, you sound really sick in the head. Who knows 
> if it's something contagious," the wolf wheezed when it got its voice back.
> 
> "Come over to my place and I'll show you my verification. You can eat me 
> after that if you disagree with my conclusions."  So the wolf, still chuckling,
> went into the rabbit's hole and never came out.
> 
> The rabbit finished writing her thesis and was out celebrating in the
> lettuce fields.  Another rabbit came by and asked, "What's up? You seem to be
> very happy."
> 
> "Yup, I just finished writing my dissertation."
> 
> "Congratulations!  What's it about?"
> 
> "It's titled `The superiority of Rabbits over Foxes and Wolves.'"
> 
> "That's amazing! I really can't imagine how you could propose such a
> revolutionary idea. The foxes and wolves will never let you get away with that."
> 
> "Well, it seems to work. You should come over and see for yourself."
> 
> So they went together to the rabbit's hole.  As they went in, the friend 
> saw the typical graduate student abode, albeit a rather messy one after 
> writing a thesis.  The computer with the controversial dissertation was 
> in one corner. Next to it there was a pile of fox bones, and then a pile
> of wolf bones. Lounging in an easy chair sat a very satisfied looking lion.
> 
> MORAL:  It doesn't matter what you write in your dissertation if you pick 
> the right thesis advisor.
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> John A. Van Couvering, PhD            Voice: USA 212 769 5657 
> Editor in Chief                         Fax: USA 212 769 5653 
> Micropaleontology Press               email: vanc@amnh.org
> American Museum of Natural History
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