I got up today early so that I could study before study group. I was kind of annoyed this morning because I had one of those extended family days yesterday that seemed like it would never end. Study yesterday was a wash. I had a couple of hours in the morning but had to get ready, leave and drive a distance after that. So it didn`t feel like I had done much. Today I worked on OCL again. I find it hard because I find no concrete answers to questions in the study guide. It seems like I could do the answer multiple ways of which I have validation for none of them. Is this something that they expect people to just know by intuition. Anyway I am thrashing doing the question over and over in different ways waisting time trying to find the best answer. The other guys in study group today canceled so we will be pushing out stuff by a week. That means that the formal method stuff will be pushed off by a week. My turn will be pushed out by a week also. So, I guess that I will continue to do these kinds of questions over and over again until I can no longer find something wrong with an iteration. Do these guys ever expect to get anything accomplished before the test?

I read an essay today The Ecstasy of Influence. A Plagiarism . This is a reprint in Harper`s Magazine. I found it kind of interesting at first but it dragged on for pages and I ended up skimming it for sound bytes. It is a formal look at life and how we re-use material around us as our original material. It is even recognized that way sometimes. It kind of relates to the ideals of an open source model. I found it interesting in that the PhD is kind of like that except you have to reference everything. The author of this piece I mention says that it is kind of impossible not to do this. I believe him. But, in academia your whole life is an index card or virtual facsimile there of. I am reminded that the PhD is an original organization of stuff not original stuff...but, including references. You add a very small incremental difference and they call you a PhD in most cases. This complication makes for interesting banter. It is all to help others recognize your originality. But the author of this piece says that your originality will be recognized regardless if you are "good" enough...No need for references because you may not be able to produce them...it may even be impossible. I find that the PhD has a bit of incongruence to real life.