tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post3640735313105068407..comments2024-03-28T06:07:03.667-04:00Comments on The Philosopher's Stone: PERSONAL BESTRobert Paul Wolffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-57475685832800412932014-07-26T11:02:26.937-04:002014-07-26T11:02:26.937-04:00James, you will indeed get the doctorate, and the ...James, you will indeed get the doctorate, and the world will think it is a big deal even if you do not, but I know what you mean. The woman I have been playing violin-viola duets with complimented me on my doublestop playing, and it meant a great deal, even though any halfway competent violist could do it.Robert Paul Wolffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-2881422568766585902014-07-26T06:18:21.779-04:002014-07-26T06:18:21.779-04:00I was never proud of getting my Master's degre...I was never proud of getting my Master's degree, and I won't be proud of my Ph.D. You spend enough time doing philosophy as a day job, and you will eventually get these markers, it seems. (There'll be egg on my face if I don't get the degree now.) It's no more a cause for celebration than is someone sticking competently to a career that doesn't give you these lovely letters.<br /><br />But when someone compliments my cooking, or - especially - compliments my music, that means the world to me. I wrote a piece for a large guitar ensemble in 2010, and a friend told me that it was good work, that he was "convinced" by it. And that's stuck with me. (And interestingly, looking back on it now, I think it's a damn sight better than any philosophy I was writing in 2010.)James Camien McGuigganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08323424421768387480noreply@blogger.com