I may stop writing posts

Writing a blog post is taking too much time. I recently discovered that using OneNote by Microsoft Office365 seems like a much better idea to compile notes (yes, I'm old-fashioned!). So I will stop spending time writing blog posts and use OneNote instead. Another thing is that I just learn how to write a manuscript with LaTex, a nice alternative to MS Word. I'm not sure when to totally stop this. 

Meanwhile, the world has faced a serious biological threat stemming from a new coronavirus, the COVID-19 pandemic. The disease has caused a worldwide chaos since early 2020, and the situation has not improved as newer variants has emerged and hospital manpower is overstrained. The pandemic has also affected my research work and I do not feel that good about it. 

Let's see............. Stay safe! 

Okie, ciao!

Journals: How to write or read?

As a new grad student, one may wonder where to start if you either (1) write a new manuscript; or (2) read a journal in a lab meeting or school assignment. There is no hardcoded way to answer this. My supervisor uses the following steps in writing a fresh manuscript:

(1) Write the method section: the most straightforward way. You know what you did the most!

(2) Continue by writing the result section.

(3) Continue to bring the discussion, highlight the meaning of the main findings.

(4) Write an introduction and abstract the last.

Writing the introduction and abstract is preferentially the last because having gone through the previous three steps, one is able to have a much better overview or picture of the "value" one wishes to contribute. Note that I don't use the word "meaning" or "scientific contribution" because even if a paper has a good contribution but fails to convey its value to a broader audience, it fails to be recognized.

Reading a published journal is another thing to learn. In our lab meeting, we usually start with the abstract to get a rough idea the paper intention. Then we move on method section and figures (yeah pictures and diagrams, graphs, etc.) We then read the discussion in greater details. Nobody cares much about the introduction.

How should I do this?

I cannot catch up! My work requires me to master stuffs from three different domains: neuroscience, motor behavior, and statistics. It is simply too tiring to catch up with the amount of information that I have to learn with the time spent in writing this down online. From now on, I will just write a point of interest that I recently came across. It will be updated and revisited again and again in the future if I have more findings.

This is especially true when, for example, someone asked me about a few questions that I'm not too sure, but there is no sufficient time for me to find all of the answers. Furthermore, it is better not to retype the summary or basic theories of a certain topic. Citing the appropriate source here directly is more practical and time-efficient!

Okie, the 3rd year of my PhD officially has started :(

This is my first post

Hey! I really have to properly record what I have read for my literature review. The thing is, it is…. a little too late! I’m reaching the end of the second year of my PhD at McGill with a rather steep learning curve. The content of this blog is the knowledge and information that I found from textbooks and scientific journals or publications. Most of the contents serve as my quick reference for research. In the spirit of anti-plagiarism, citations will definitely be provided. But the neuroscience field is huge and evolving. It is impossible to contain every single piece of information in a blog, not even in a single encyclopedia. What I will write the most basic things, the most relevant, the most intriguing themes that I ought to know... to survive.

I started to write a blog using Blogger.com back ten years ago. It was quite basic and vintage compared to the current design. After hitting my 1000th entry, I made a new one also with the same platform. Was contemplating using WordPress.com initially, but it doesn't allow users to customize their page freely unless you pay some bucks. I don’t know whether I will publicize this site to my friends, perhaps they will find it too boring.

That's all I want to say; wish me luck! May the force be with me. Thanks, Yoda.