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Lex DeVille's - Journey To Doctor

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With all the work that you've been doing, you probably have the work ethic of all the students in your class combined and then still some.
 
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Lex DeVille

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Next Course
School starts Monday. Ordered my book. Still waiting for its arrival. The course should be relatively easy. It's the first course of the doctoral program. I skipped it while doing the Executive Certificate because it wasn't required at the time.

Multiple Courses
I'm scheduled for dual courses later this semester. If I can somehow pull off two courses at a time, I'll be Doctor DeVille in a little over a year.

Free Money
Now that I'm a Fed., Uncle Sam is dishing out Tuition Assistance for my college to the tune of $4500 per year. It's not the deal I wanted, but there are multiple ways to get the Government to pay for college if I stick around for a bit. Don't know how long I'll last, so for now, I'll enjoy the cash.

Multi-Lingual Doctor Goal
Becoming a doctor is cool. It would be more cool to be a multi-lingual doctor. So I'm adding a goal of learning three languages and I'll document some of that progress in this thread from time to time. The languages I intend to learn are:

1. German
2. Spanish
3. Russian

I'm 20 days into the German course on Duolingo. In addition, I just finished an entry-level 6-hour course in German through the Department of Defense's Joint Knowledge Online (JKO) portal, and just started their longer 80-hour course.

Here's what I learned today:

Halt oder ich schießen! means "Stop or I'll shoot!"

And if you screw it up like I did and say it like this:

Halt oder ich scheißen!

The translation becomes, "Stop or I'll shit!"

It's a difference of one letter, but what a difference it makes!
 

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There's always a way. :cool:

Reading your previous few posts, I think you'd enjoy the book The Third Door.

It's about doing things different than the 99% and hacking your way into things.

Quick engaging read, highly recommend it.
 

Lex DeVille

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A few updates...

Personality Theories
Finished with a 99.3%. Can't get much better than that. Pretty pleased. Enjoyed the work.

All Aboard!
More and more leeches try to board the gravy train. I put extensive research, reading and critical thought into discussion posts and I'm the first to post every week. Then these asshats wait until the last minute and rip off my writing. They don't try to hide it.

Three people quoted the same sentence from an academic textbook I bought that is completely unrelated to the course. There is zero chance in hell that all three of them are reading this book, and even less chance that they came upon the exact same line to quote.

What's worse is the instructor doesn't seem to notice. He asked us to be kind and respond to the posters who didn't have any responses yet. I was trying to help out by doing that when I realized how similar all of the other posts were to mine. To make matters even worse, he actually congratulated one of the posters for the level of detail and thought that went into their post!

Dealing With Insects
I was going to let it go. Probably should. It's not like any of them will go off and do great things. They'll graduate, get their degree and struggle to find and maintain lower middle-class incomes. At the same time, I'm not one to let people steal my hard work and take credit for it. Plus I'm pretty good at written intimidation that doesn't cross the line, so I sent them all messages of warning. Hopefully they get the picture.

Opinions?
How do you feel about this situation? If I would let it go, I'd enable the behavior not only by those students, but by others. However, reporting it is likely to cause extra work and potentially frustration for the instructor which could have negative side-effects for me. For now I only contacted the offenders directly. Nobody else is involved.
 

Lex DeVille

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I reported the plagiarism and confronted the people who did it. Haven't had any problems with plagiarism since. I'm not interested in bridges with weak foundations or letting others step on me for personal gain. It's not in my nature.

What I gained was relief from students piggy-backing off my time and effort, and learned how the system works so I can more effectively deal with them in the future.

It's not the approach everyone would take, but it's the one I took and I'm satisfied with the outcome.
 

Lex DeVille

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Research & Design
I finished Research and Design and maintained an A. I reached out to the instructor with a thank you message after the course was over. She seemed to appreciate the thought and noted that most students send hate mail (due to failing the class).

Psychological Testing & Assessment
I'm entering the third week of Psychological Testing and Assessment. So far the class is going well. The subject matter is interesting and complex, but I'm doing fine. Last week we had to create a children's picture book as an assignment. Oddly enough, I have experience in that area which came in handy.

University Conversion
Apparently Ashford was purchased by the University of Arizona and is in the process of being converted from a for-profit to a non-profit school. This news came out of nowhere, but it's welcome. I would much rather have a degree from the University of Arizona than Ashford. It adds a great deal of credibility.

GRE Back On
I don't know if I'll switch schools for the doctoral program, but I decided to take the GRE anyway. At least that will open my options. I purchased Magoosh membership and will study over 3 months before testing. That way it's not too far out, and also will be done before it's time to apply for PhD programs in December-January. Probably the biggest complaint with Ashford is the no-GRE entrance. Without a GRE requirement, the quality of the average student is low.

Clinical Psychology
Since I'm taking the GRE, I will probably apply to a few clinical psychology programs. I'm still not sure that's the path I want to take, but I'd like to keep options open there as well. Several sources have stated that Clinical Psychology is the most competitive degree path in existence, more so than medical or law school. I think I can get in.

3 Courses to Go.
 
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A good read Lex, and congrats on taking this on with the intentions of being number 1. Good on you for doing exactly what the F*ck you want to do even if some on here don't agree with it. Go forth and prosper!
 

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Congrats, man. It's rewarding academically, and since you don't want to make this your career, good for you.

Economically, the only benefits I got out of my PhD so far are:

- people of the older generation look at you in a completely different light, to them, being a "doctor" means something.

- Need a doctor's appointment or are in the hospital? They automatically assume you are a medical doctor, you have no waiting time, and they'll double check your case because they don't want to get sued.

- Ran into the police again? There's one thing cops understand, and that's rank. It's really interesting to see them treating you as a common peasant and the different way they treat you after they checked your ID. Probably also because they know that it is actually a misdemeanor in Germany to not address someone with a PhD as "Doctor". To their defense: Given my appearance in non-professional contexts, I, as a cop, would probably assume worse things about me, too.

- And, of course, I now have the right to apply for all public research funds. But when you're not employed at the university, there isn't much chance they'll be granted.
 

Lex DeVille

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I've noticed a strange change across the last two classes. In previous classes, I was the first to post my discussions and assignments every week. Everyone else waited for the last possible minute. Now that we're nearing the finish line, I see people posting discussions much earlier in the week, almost as though they're competing to be the first one done. Their work is as shoddy as always, but it's like they're trying to get their names and faces recognized either by the class or by the instructor.

To test this theory of competition, I researched the previous class to see what day the earliest discussion posts were posted. They were always posted by the first day of the week (that's four days earlier than their due date).

Next, I posted my discussion well in advance to ensure I would be the first to finish. Shortly after posting it, other posts flooded in behind me.

To go a step beyond, I posted the second week's discussion a week in advance. If classmates are trying to compete, then there should be discussion posts showing up in Week Two prior to Monday. To my surprise, at least one classmate has already posted their Week Two discussion shortly after I posted mine.

So it seems now that the finish line is near, my peers' motivation to "try" has increased. What's strange is that their posts still lack substance. Despite competing to post early in the week, their posts show clear evidence that they did not read the required texts, nor did they read the assignment prompt. It's like they're posting a shell of the assignment.

What's unfortunate is that these are the people you can expect to treat you or your parents or your children at various mental health agencies around the country. They won't be found in private practice because they haven't attended an APA accredited program, and therefore, won't be eligible for licensure in most states. But they are already working in mental health clinics in various capacities.
 

Lex DeVille

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I'm opening this thread back up. It only took 5 months to get the itch again... The itch to be called "Dr. Lex DeVille" muahahahahahaha!

I also have the itch to own a castle like this one:

With rooms styled like a crossover between Victor Newman's office and Dr. Frasier Crane's home. That's an unrelated topic (except my Discord has decided I could then upgrade my title to "The Evil Tyrant, Dr. King Lex DeVille").

What Is Different This Time?
I'm not going back to the same school or ANY school based in California. I'm not going to a progressive school. This time, I'm going to a conservative school - a Christian school even.

I don't hold any delusions that the school isn't controlled by some establishment and won't have its flaws. But my hope is that it will be more tolerable overall. The prices are better than my previous choices too. Around $75k less than one option, and about $20k less than the other.

How Has Having a Master's in Psychology Affected Me?
I haven't had to leverage it that much. That said, I believe it holds more weight when dealing with freelance copywriting clients than copywriters who do not hold psych degrees.

Some of you know I started freelancing again back in July. I leveraged the power of dual psychology degrees in my profile. By August, I landed a chief copywriter position where I earn between $7k-$13k per month. Immediately after, I took on another chief copywriter position in a similar range, and now I'm working with both for a total of around 12-15 hours per week.

Do I Really Need a PhD?
Not really, no. But I want one. I barely graduated high school. I was an alcoholic at 18 and I wrote off school forever when I left. No one in my family, extended family, or even my partner's family has a graduate degree except for me. I don't need a PhD, but I crave it all the same.

More importantly, when my daughter is older, I want her to know that anything she desires is possible with the right mindset and hard work. I think that's what this really comes down to. Another small part of our legacy, and undeniable proof that MORE can be accomplished than what others believe is possible.

Other Goals
  • Get accepted into PSI CHI - The honor society that B.F. Skinner, Robert Cialdini, and other prominent names in psychology belong to.
  • Turn my latest business idea (see my insider thread) into a multi-million-dollar company.

That's it for now. School starts either in December or in January.
 

Lex DeVille

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First Impressions
Today is the first day of class. I didn't want to be the first person to post a discussion response because it kind of makes you look like an over-achieving douche...but I got tired of waiting for other students to respond.

Wokeness?
No. So far I haven't experienced any wokeness. It is a Christian college and seems to lean conservative. My professor ended her initial instructions with a Bible verse. I find that a good sign. Also, I think it is a good sign that the first two courses in the program are Research & Statistics I & II. Even if a student drops out afterward, they will come away with additional new knowledge to help decipher the bullshit propaganda studies taking place in society these days.

Students
The initial discussions are likely a sign of what to expect from other students. The first student posts are too short in word count. It means they didn't carefully read the instructions. Their posts also contain several grammar errors (although I'd say the writing quality is higher than at my previous college so far). Our professor is clearly Enneagram Type One. I'm confident she will crack down on small matters like this. Attention to detail will be particularly important in this course.

Summary
Overall, I find it tolerable. If the initial student posts are any indication of what to expect, then I should do fine.
 

Lex DeVille

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Just added up all of my training time across Duolingo and the JKO courses for January. So far I've spent just over 62 hours on Duolingo. In JKO, I finished a six hour German beginner course and 38 hours of the Headstart2 course which brings me to 100 hours of language training across my first month!

1706390392580.png
Chat GPT says A1 level is approximately 160 - 200 hours.

I have one unit left in Duolingo Section Two. Then I'll have 14 units to complete in Section Three. After that, I'll enter the A2 level courses for Duolingo, so it seems like the training time will sync up nicely.

In addition to the above, I started listening to a podcast called CoffeeBreak German where the speakers record conversations in German, and then break down the exchange. These are around 20 minutes, and I think I've listened to three episodes so far.

If by some wild chance I'm able to maintain this level of training, (and probably if I work with a tutor) I should be pretty damn good speaking German by next year.
 

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I reported the plagiarism and confronted the people who did it. Haven't had any problems with plagiarism since. I'm not interested in bridges with weak foundations or letting others step on me for personal gain. It's not in my nature.

What I gained was relief from students piggy-backing off my time and effort, and learned how the system works so I can more effectively deal with them in the future.

It's not the approach everyone would take, but it's the one I took and I'm satisfied with the outcome.

You made the right choice.

When I was in grad school I had to do some grading for a very basic intro to astronomy class. 120+ students with regular homework.

It was often the case that as I was grading, I would notice patterns in the answers. If the suspect assignments were far enough apart in the stack, I didn't waste my energy hunting them down. The exams were in class, and I figured the idiots would get sorted out in the meat grinder.

In one particular instance, two students turned in completely identical assignments - both printed from a computer.... right next to each other. The first time I saw this, I gave both students 0s on the assignment and indicated that they were not to do it again. I figured that was punishment enough, mostly for being stupid (or brazen, perhaps?) to turn them in together. I suppose they didn't attend class much, because the next assignment I saw the same exact thing. I had no choice but to turn it in, at that point. The prof was new to the university, and I don't think he wanted to have to deal with it, but did. No love lost between us, and things went smoothly after that.

Just a heads up, something else I experienced that may be in your future, is when you have to crush students' dreams.

I'm a generally lenient grader, but one student's work was so subpar I had to give her a B in the lab, which tipped her from getting an A in the course overall. She was hoping to go to med school, and of course having a B in physics isn't going to cut it. She came begging and pleading, trying to find any way to squeeze out the extra points to get the grade. I told her I couldn't budge, and she was free to take it up with the lab manager, which she did. He straight told her that he would have given her a C at best, and he had to come tell me to stop being so soft.
 

Andy Black

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Research design is rough. I'm hanging in there thanks to an F-ton of reading. A couple days ago the instructor sent an email:

View attachment 33972

Pretty cool getting a note like that. This is one of the harder classes I've taken and the instructor has high standards. I also got invited to another honor society. That email came through this morning.

View attachment 33973

There's another honor society, the Sigma Nu Tau entrepreneur society, which I'm not eligible for because I'm not enrolled in a business program haha.

One benefit of joining honor societies is the potential for scholarship access. Although, I may not be eligible for scholarships based on the color of my skin these days.

In total, I have four classes left before I finish the Master's (or whatever woke term we're using).

I'm starting to think about how I'll use the M.A. in business. An M.A. isn't the end goal, but it's still a valuable credibility marker. Looking forward to entering the doctoral program.

Sadly, I fear I'll earn that PhD only to be stripped of it at some future point due to perceived inequality between people who earn degrees and society's dredges. This will likely be the catalyst that propels me fully into a supervillain identity where the only path left is to carry out plans for world domination.
Well done @Lex DeVille. It’s easy getting on the radar of the powers to be: help them help their audience/market/customers/etc. Better yet, be *seen* to help them. Super easy. I don’t know why more people don’t do it.

Meh to academia. You can’t join an entrepreneur society because you’re not taking a business class? What kind of weird thinking is that? Seriously, their loss, and they don’t even know how much they’re missing out.

I say go for super villainy world domination at the same time.
 
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Lex DeVille

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Thank you for sharing your experience of how it works behind the scenes. Sounds like it's not about helping people but indoctrinating them.

What's the extra commentary about?

The extra commentary is between Goggins himself and the narrator (I'm not sure what their relationship is outside of the book but they seem to know one another well).

During the book, the narrator pauses from time to time to ask Goggins questions and to let him expand on topics within the chapter. So you don't just get the written version read aloud, but you get additional thoughts from Goggins about how he came to certain conclusions or formed ideas. It's done throughout the entirety of the book.

It's kind of like combining a podcast episode with an audiobook.
 

Lex DeVille

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Good you've figured that out so soon. My best friend is currently in training as a psychotherapist. Funnily enough, we both agree that psychotherapy is bullshit to a large degree. For him, it's just the most comfortable option after studying psychology.

I've worked in psychiatry as an art therapist for a while. Actually, I nearly became a psychoanalyst. I shared a flat with two psychologists while working at uni. My father was a psychiatrist. My ex was a psychiatrist. The ex before that a psychologist and psychiatrist. So I know a little about the field.

Psychotherapy can't prove any great effects, anyway, and if we take away publication bias, the result would probably even be more bitter.

The only thing psychotherapy leads to far too often, if you ask me, is that people are even encouraged to identify with their problems, which gives them something to attach to, then they can put it in their Twitter bio or post stupid WhatsApp status updates to keep everyone informed that they're soooo special and need "treatment", which, of course, is "special treatment".

And psychology, as a discipline at the moment, is heavily biased against men. I guess there are two reasons for this: You need good grades to get into it, and females do better in school (which is again because of gender bias, because most teachers are women), and the idiotic third-wave feminism ruining universities, freedom of research and teaching, and a whole generation for more than a decade, now.

Over the last years, I've also noticed a lot more pathologizing when it came to ex-boyfriends, for example. No woman's ex-boyfriend was an "a**hole" anymore, or there were just "problems that couldn't be overcome". Nonono! Every woman insists that she has suffered at the hands of a malignant narcissist (just use YouTube search for "my relationship with a narcissist"), psychopath or gaslighter.

On the other hand, far too willing female psychotherapists tell their clients that their own issues are harmless or even just symptoms of their great traits. I used to date a girl that was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. She just switched psychotherapists, and the next therapist told her that she was just "hypersensible". Oh, she had BPD, and really a tough one. But it didn't really take long until I learned through Facebook that declaring women with BPD "hypersensible" had become a trend. Now everyone and her mother was "hypersensible".

That's not funny. BPD is hard on the people who have it, yes. But do you have any idea how hard it is for the people around them? If you want to kiss your own mental health goodbye, that's your perfect dating option to end up with clinical depression and deeply hurt, after manipulated in ways you've never thought possible.

This mimics my reflections. It's nice to see I'm not the only one thinking about this. The part about people identifying seems like a real problem, and I would agree that it is encouraged. The first time I saw a therapist, she flat out told me that if I didn't go on SSRIs I was going to kill myself. I left that session feeling more miserable than when I showed up. I wasn't suicidal and hadn't discussed being suicidal with her, yet I felt very much that way when I stepped out of that office.

Anyway, I think a large part of my disappointment with this experience comes from my expectations. I expected (or maybe just wanted) the field of psychology to be like I've always imagined it. Classy, dignified, intellectual, and full of practical insights that could be applied in the real world. A Freudian (or maybe Frasier) fantasy haha. But the best takeaways weren't found in the classroom. They came from my private studies through the school's online library where I could pick and choose texts I wanted to read.

I'm not sure a school exists that trains the practical aspects of psychology. It seems like there are basically two options. Become a researcher or become a clinician/counselor. If you want to do something else with your career, you're on your own.
 
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Lex DeVille

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Things turned around nicely this week. Got my grade on the latest assignment. Missed 1 point. That brings my overall class score back up and confirms I didn't break my brain for nothing.

I have less reading this week, but it's more complicated. I'll have to move my reading to the mornings when I have the mind power to process the concepts.

According to internet stats, 50 to 60% of Ph.D. students quit. That's pretty high attrition.

My daughter says I just need to focus on one thing at a time. Ironically, that's also what my therapist says.
 

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Things turned around nicely this week. Got my grade on the latest assignment. Missed 1 point. That brings my overall class score back up and confirms I didn't break my brain for nothing.

I have less reading this week, but it's more complicated. I'll have to move my reading to the mornings when I have the mind power to process the concepts.

According to internet stats, 50 to 60% of Ph.D. students quit. That's pretty high attrition.

My daughter says I just need to focus on one thing at a time. Ironically, that's also what my therapist says.
Kids are wicked smart. I get my kids to watch my videos and give me advice. I should pay them really. (Hope they don't read this.)
 
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Lex DeVille

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This week presents a unique opportunity to test a fear topic within the context of my university.

We were given an assignment that involves discussing recent research in one of X provided areas OR an area of our choosing (my favorite words).

Not only will this assignment be a good test, but any takeaways can become an article for my site.

Currently, I'm looking into research on how pain-related fear influences movement and sound perception. I'll also look into various methods of fear conditioning.

This is going to be fun, buahahahaha!

:innocent: :halo:
 
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Lex DeVille

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The diversity of your drive is extremely impressive, I salute you.

Is this full time or are you still grinding your other stuff?
The course workload is full-time and I also do other stuff. I launched a business idea a week or so ago in the INSIDERS area.


So far, it has generated around $500, and I'm aiming for my first $1,000 in the first month.

I'm working with 2 copywriting clients on the side. Everything else is mostly on autopilot at this point with the exception of the occasional freelance coaching client and making some YouTube videos.
 
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Lex DeVille

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Christ on a bike! What time do you go to sleep?

I'm usually in bed by 8 - 8:30. I try not to wake up before 3 am, but the time change is screwing that up. 7 hours is my sweet spot for sleep.
 

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The latest course is gonna be a rough one for me. Not because the work is difficult, but because I find it hard to interpret Christian ideology into practical meaning.

A quote from my latest text:



The text is full of fluff words and vague language. If I were reading this out of context, it would sound like cult indoctrination. Actually, even in context it kind of sounds that way.

It is cult indoctrination.

How to create a religion:

✅ Tell tall tales of the boogeyman and the sacrificial hero
✅ Stifle independent thought
✅ Promote obedience in the masses by instilling feelings of shame and fear
✅ ???
✅ Profit

Religion and war. They never change.

P.S. Notice I only talk of religion, not "God". I can't know if there is or isn't a god because my puny Homo sapiens brain can't comprehend it — just like an ant can't comprehend the Internet. Though I'll certainly keep trying...
 

Lex DeVille

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Status Report
Currently on week six of eight of "Psychological Research & Biblical Worldview." The course material is pretty easy, *knock on wood.*

Assignments
They're almost entirely restricted to discussions and essays.

Grading
I don't believe the instructor is reading the discussion posts or essays, because I wrote a 7-page essay at the last minute and didn't lose a single point due to improper formatting or grammar. The only points I've missed over the last six weeks resulted from things I overlooked in my references section. As such, my approach to assignments is as follows:
  • Watch all of the class videos
  • Ask ChatGPT to summarize the chapters
  • Craft the title page, Introduction section, and References with care (that's what the instructor reads)
  • Outline the rest of the assignment so my thoughts are in logical order
  • Fill in the blanks with generally relevant text
  • Sprinkle in quotes from the Bible, and add words like "Christianity," "Biblical worldview," and "God"
  • End the discussion post or essay with a phrase like "psychology from a Christian perspective"
ChatGPT
ChatGPT is super helpful for getting an idea of what the text covers. The summaries are good, but you have to be careful about specifying which book edition ChatGPT should summarize from, or else it seems to default to the original.

ChatGPT is also useful for searching for information in ebooks that is otherwise hard to find. Even using the search function within the ebook isn't as helpful as asking ChatGPT "Which chapter covers X topic?"

I haven't tried this yet, but I'm guessing I could use ChatGPT to quote scholarly articles, cite the source, and put the reference in APA 7 format to save time scrolling through online libraries to find a relevant article.
 

Lex DeVille

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Current Course
I'm surviving advanced qualitative research. It hasn't heavily focused on statistical analysis. Most of the analysis is qualitative (as one might expect). Qualitative research is time-consuming, but some aspects, such as text analysis, are enjoyable.

Going Forward
A month has passed since my last update. I've had time to reflect on my direction. I've decided to continue the PhD program; however, I'm going to adjust course slightly. Rather than taking the social psychology path, I'll switch to developmental psychology for the remainder and for my dissertation.

After watching my child go through pre-school, and now Kindergarten, I'm starting to notice many of the failures of early childhood learning in public (and potentially in private) institutions. Short of keeping my kid home and teaching her myself, there's not much I can do to affect change within the institutions without wasting a lot of my time.

Nonetheless, it is still my responsibility to shape this child's mind and position her for the best possible life outcomes. So I find myself asking, how do I do that?

I've answered the question. In answering it, I believe I've identified my next Fastlane opportunity. As such, a degree in developmental psychology will add credibility toward that direction (although the business should be operational long before I graduate lol).

That's it for now. Back to work.
 

MTF

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Multi-Lingual Doctor Goal
Becoming a doctor is cool. It would be more cool to be a multi-lingual doctor. So I'm adding a goal of learning three languages and I'll document some of that progress in this thread from time to time. The languages I intend to learn are:

1. German
2. Spanish
3. Russian

I'm 20 days into the German course on Duolingo. In addition, I just finished an entry-level 6-hour course in German through the Department of Defense's Joint Knowledge Online (JKO) portal, and just started their longer 80-hour course.

That's awesome. Hit me up if you need any Spanish resources though I speak European Spanish and mostly use European Spanish content. In your case, Mexican Spanish would be a better choice.

Here's what I learned today:

Halt oder ich schießen! means "Stop or I'll shoot!"

And if you screw it up like I did and say it like this:

Halt oder ich scheißen!

The translation becomes, "Stop or I'll shit!"

It's a difference of one letter, but what a difference it makes!

Well both are still clear, scary threats.
 

BizyDad

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When I decided to be the best, that meant more than just trying hard. I consistently get the highest grades on assignments and it isn't luck, it's by design.

With online school there appear to be four core components (in addition to delivering good work) to get the best grades:

1. Follow instructions
2. Deliver work on time
3. Appear to try very hard
4. Appeal to the instructor's personality

All four components build up to a high perceived-value, and since much of the grade is based on the subjective interpretations of the instructor, then grades can be influenced by strategically controlling for this factor.

1. Follow Instructions
This is the second easiest component to account for. You open the grading rubric and look at the requirements for each assignment. Attend to them one by one in every discussion and every assignment. This is like a blueprint for a perfect score even if the work itself isn't perfect. In my classes I've found instructors often scan assignments to quickly look for these key points. Sometimes it's how they grade the entire assignment. So even if the work is rubbish, you can still get a high grade if the structure of your paper is designed from the rubric.

2. Deliver Work on Time
Most instructors teach multiple classes in addition to their 9-5 job. They're busy. When students deliver work late, it bleeds over into other areas of their lives and causes frustration. When instructors get frustrated they're more likely to view you negatively which can negatively affect your grades. So the simple act of delivering work on time shows you care. By default, you are not as annoying as students who deliver work late.

3. Appear to Try Very Hard
Since the work has to be delivered on time, then the next step is to be the first to deliver the work every time. It creates the perception of enthusiasm and places your name and work at the top (this is valuable both in terms of direct perception and also the unconscious association of you being at the top AKA a leader). Additionally, I find twice as many sources to cite, and write discussion posts and essays that are two to three times longer than other students. As a writer, it's a marginal increase to the workload, and you do have to improve your searching process, but it pays off. Also, as the first to deliver work in the class, other students try to ride your coat tails. They copy the structure of your posts as an outline and deliver a watered down version. The result is it appears you try very hard while everybody else does not, and since their work is based on yours, it also leads to you having the highest grades in the class.

4. Appeal to the Instructor's Personality
The last piece of the puzzle is accounting for the instructor. When they make their initial class posts I pay attention to their introduction. What do they value? Are they proud of their credentials and accomplishments? Do they care more about seeing others succeed? Do they believe in hard work and effort over everything else? Are they funny? Are they critical? What are their core values? I try to think about how they approach the world, and then tailor all of my class work around that framework. So if an instructor values credentials, then my introductory post will list credibility markers...people I know, certificates, other big numbers etc. Then, throughout the course, all of my essays and discussion posts are designed around the central theme of their core values.

None of this is to circumvent doing the work..

I believe I try harder than everyone else in the class, try to present unique thoughts and ideas and to do good work. But there's more to being the best than just doing the work just like there's more to growing a business than doing busywork. So keep that in mind. The points above aren't meant as a shortcut around putting in the effort. They're in addition to the effort and this applies beyond the classroom as well.

First off, I think this is awesome. Congrats on taking the steps to live a more fulfilling life for yourself, and not letting others define what that is for you. That's about as unscripted as it gets.

Secondly I think these four points really can apply to more than just professors. I know they served as a nice timely reminder. I've been letting myself slack in a couple of areas.

Lastly, I'm enjoying the little irony that you have this generally free wheeling entrepreneurial forum really into this thread about you getting an classic education.
 
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Lex DeVille

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A few updates...

Personality Theories
Finished with a 99.3%. Can't get much better than that. Pretty pleased. Enjoyed the work.

All Aboard!
More and more leeches try to board the gravy train. I put extensive research, reading and critical thought into discussion posts and I'm the first to post every week. Then these asshats wait until the last minute and rip off my writing. They don't try to hide it.

Three people quoted the same sentence from an academic textbook I bought that is completely unrelated to the course. There is zero chance in hell that all three of them are reading this book, and even less chance that they came upon the exact same line to quote.

What's worse is the instructor doesn't seem to notice. He asked us to be kind and respond to the posters who didn't have any responses yet. I was trying to help out by doing that when I realized how similar all of the other posts were to mine. To make matters even worse, he actually congratulated one of the posters for the level of detail and thought that went into their post!

Dealing With Insects
I was going to let it go. Probably should. It's not like any of them will go off and do great things. They'll graduate, get their degree and struggle to find and maintain lower middle-class incomes. At the same time, I'm not one to let people steal my hard work and take credit for it. Plus I'm pretty good at written intimidation that doesn't cross the line, so I sent them all messages of warning. Hopefully they get the picture.

Opinions?
How do you feel about this situation? If I would let it go, I'd enable the behavior not only by those students, but by others. However, reporting it is likely to cause extra work and potentially frustration for the instructor which could have negative side-effects for me. For now I only contacted the offenders directly. Nobody else is involved.

Follow up from this.. One student responded. Claims she didn't know she ripped off my work and never intended to plagiarize and will make sure not to do it again. While I'd prefer she didn't lie, I'll accept this response and allow her to save face as long as it doesn't happen again.
 

lewj24

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If you want to build a network of cheats and thieves, go for it.

I wouldn't call students in a College Masters Program, who used a few of your sentences in a discussion post, "Cheats and thieves."

It sounds like you think it is wrong to do things any way but your way. It sounds like you think there's only one bridge in the world and if you burn it you won't be able to cross the river. Maybe that's true for you.

This isn't even close to what I am saying. I share one viewpoint that you disagree with and you think I have a 'my way or the highway' mentality? I've never said I'm always right. I've also never said there is only one bridge. Now you're just making things up.

If you've grown so much, then it shouldn't bother you when my ego says F*ck your way. F*ck your passive-aggressive attacks. And F*ck your shortcut bridges. :cool:

It doesn't bother me. You missed the point. Instead of just saying, "Interesting viewpoint. I'll have to consider it." You defended yourself and insulted others.

A lot of the things I write on this website aren't to change your mind. It's to change the minds of others who come by and read them. I'm not dumb enough to think I can change you. But a bystander reading this who had no opinion on the matter might be better off through this discussion.

Although, you do seem to have a knack for burning bridges... Who am I to tell you to throw away one of your strengths?
 

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