Rodrigo Couto

finish my masters degree
my biggest problem: focus

Well… I am facing a master on computer science…

I started my master classes 2 and 1/2 years ago. That was the easiest part. I went on all the classes that my adviser told me to. After completing those a year ago, I found myself with one simple question: what do I have to say on my thesis?

The topic my adviser suggested for the thesis doesn’t have any real appeal to me. It was just mere convenience to be studying that (combinatorial optimization) because I really didn’t know what to do at the time I started it.

I don’t have a specific taste for any particular research area on computer science. Au contraire, I love ALL of them. I spend a large part of my free time (I work 40h per week with Java on a health care company) devouring every piece of scientific document I find. I just don’t have any focus. And I don’t think I want to have any :)

My last passion is Semantic Web and the social content applications that are revolutionizing the web. I am trying hard to find a topic on this area worth of spending a year or so studying.

Any suggestions about how to focus on the thesis, and specially, how to transform it on a fun task worth to be endured:), will be extremely welcomed!

May 27, 2005, 06:38PM PDT


Comments:

Librarian dancing with hope and determination

ideas

This is kind of free flow and I’m not sure it will result in anything useful to you, but let’s see….

My bachelor’s is in computer science, but I’m working on my library science master’s so I’m thinking more like a social scientist. Your interest in social content applications made me think—hey, there is a lot of stuff there that could be interesting to a social scientist. For example, a librarian might want to look at how 43 things pleas for help (http://www.43things.com/zeitgeist/recent_pleas) are similar to or different from questions that people ask at a public library reference desk.

To make that work, wouldn’t I need some data mining tools? So that’s my idea for you—figure out how to do data mining from social content applications.

As for transforming it to a fun task, you might want to look at some of the fun project planning tools that are out there. There’s a whole subculture on the web devoted to the book Getting Things Done by David Allen. As a computer scientist, you may find that very useful. The entries on the 43 Things goal “implement GTD” are actually a pretty good starting point with lots of links to get you started:
http://www.43things.com/things/view/10001

Good luck!

May 28, 2005, 07:56AM PDT | Thread | Respond to this

Rodrigo Couto

Good points...

Thanks, I’m going to get to know these subjects a bit better.

May 29, 2005, 03:59AM PDT | Respond to this


 

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