I realized a little while ago that I wasn't reading anywhere near enough, and that the little I was reading just wasn't staying with me terribly well.
The scientific reports I've remembered the best are the ones I've presented to others: in journal club, class or just in passing. I know that it's the act of having to explain one person's research to someone else that really makes me understand the paper.
So, I started to blog about the papers I read, and to get myself going I committed to reading one paper per day and writing a little precis about it before I went to bed. That means that what is written here isn't a perfect review, but it tries to capture the essence of why this research was published.
I encourage you to join me in my challenge. I'm leaving off Friday and Saturday nights this time (because drunken blogging is never a good idea) but the spirit of the challenge lives on. In fact this idea was originally inspired by a faculty member who said he interviewed potential post docs by asking them to read a short paper and write the abstract. So who knows, this could get you your next job.....if we ever graduate....
(PS: I'm also adding in pages that I'm sure I'll find useful in the future and that you might just like too. I'm putting those amazing cartoons from places like PhdComics that just make you say "That is SO TRUE" under the Future Figures label, and helpful hints and links to cool resources under the Helpful Techniques label. Please feel free to contact me if you'd like to contribute!)
