Books I wish I had read when I was a graduate student

Having graduated with my PhD, I have compiled a few books that I regret not reading while I was in the lab.

0. Introduction

Hello. I am T.

This is sudden, but do you have a reading habit?

When I was in the lab, I read about 10 books a year, but my reading volume increased from my third year of doctoral studies, and I think I read about 30 books a year now (though that's not a high number).

The types of books I read are basically major ones, like "Books every working professional should read!" or "Recommended book lists." Because they are so popular, there were several that made me regret not reading them from the moment I entered the lab, so I am recording them for the juniors who will follow in my footsteps.

I set the price to 0 yen because I just wanted to compile them.
※The criteria are from here

1. Issue Driven

This is a well-known masterpiece. It is a book that explains that "high-quality problem setting is important" to "produce high-quality answers." It is written in detail about "what conditions" and "from what angle" one should set a problem? I included it because it had a huge impact when I first read it, and it is still a book from which I learn something new every time I read it.

2-a. Data Utilization as a Weapon

Since "data" is the final output for papers and progress reports, when you are doing research, you tend to seek "data." At such times, the phrase in this book,

is an eye-opener. It doesn't contain anything very extraordinary, but I felt it was a book that could be used to carefully articulate things I took for granted or to review my own attitude toward research.

2-b. Hypothesis Thinking

(Added on 2022/04/17)

As the book argues,

If you were to examine all options from 1 to 100 that can be thought of theoretically, you would never have enough time. Therefore, you narrow down the number and the direction with limited information.

After all, knowledge only becomes effective when it is "used," not just "acquired." This book is written about how to use it.

Since both 2-a and 2-b share a similar fundamental philosophy of "hypothesis first," I added them here because I believe reading them together is highly effective.

3. The Complete Guide to Output

When we think of studying, we tend to have a strong image of input, but

This is the flow of this book. So, what kinds of output are there? This book introduces many such methods. There are many things that seem "immediately usable" or "useful," and it is a book that seems capable of raising the level of your future study methods by one or two notches.

4-a. Concreteness and Abstraction

※Personally, I thought it would be more effective to read these two books, 4-a and 4-b, as a set.

This is a book that discusses "What is abstraction?" As stated in this book,

This is a convincing statement, and I also felt that the subtitle, "The mechanism of intelligence that makes the world look different", was spot on. I consider abstraction to be one of the abilities gained in graduate school. I thought this would be a book where one could learn the basics of that abstraction.

4-b. Analogy Thinking

※Personally, I thought it would be more effective to read these two books, 4-a and 4-b, as a set.

Analogy thinking is described in this book as follows:

In the steps of thinking about research themes or solutions, I think "borrowing ways of thinking from different fields" is an effective method. This book systematically describes how to do that borrowing.

Immediately after reading these two books on abstraction, the feeling of "that was helpful!!" is faint, but after about half a year, you gradually realize, "it is actually helping..." I truly felt that "abstract things are not immediately useful, but have wide applications."

5. Thinking Methods to Increase Time

This book talks about "how to use time." What I resonated with was "how to plan." Graduate students have plenty of plans, such as "submitting a paper by XX" or "finishing this experiment." I thought this would be very helpful for "how to efficiently execute those plans."

Also, the existence and handling of "willpower (=energy of will)" were very helpful. Willpower is used for judgment and thinking, and it is a finite energy per day. It was very surprising to learn that, in addition to using it carefully, you can make it last longer by "resting before you get tired."

6. A Work Technique Guidebook for People Who Think They Are Not Efficient

It provides a very detailed methodology on 'how to efficiently handle a wide variety of tasks,' and there are many things you can use as a reference right away. Another key point is that it discusses approaches to finishing work efficiently from various angles, including how to maintain your mental well-being and how to communicate.

Additionally, it was easy to read because the length of each chapter was short. Since the author has also experienced being 'considered inefficient,' their personal anecdotes are very relatable.

I plan to add more recommendations as I come across them while continuing to read.

As another blog that introduces recommended books for graduate students, Minon-san's (@min0nmin0n) blog is highly recommended. It describes specifically 'in what research scenarios it will be useful,' so I think it is easy to visualize.

That is all. Thank you for reading.