Friday, August 25, 2006

A Word from the Wise

A classic parable, perhaps from France:

In the jungle of research, a small white rabbit stumbles upon a wolf.

“What’s a bunny doing here? ” says the famishus famishus wolf.
“I am doing an important piece of research work for my thesis, ” says the rabbit.
“And what is that?”
“It’s all about the superiority of rabbits on wolves.”
“Hin hin.”
“Dont you believe me? Come in my place.”

And no one ever heard about the wolf anymore.

Sometimes after that the rabbit meets a Tiger in the jungle of research. Asked what he is doing in such a perilous place, the rabbit says: “A thesis work on the superiority of rabbits on tigers. And if you don’t believe me, come to my place.”

And no one ever heard about the Tiger anymore.

And then just before his sabbatical year, the rabbit met with a fox in the jungle. He invites the fox, who do not believe in the superiority of rabbits on foxes, to come to his place. And inside the rabbit’s home, the fox sees a small amount of wolf bones, and next to them a not so small mount of tiger’s bones. And next to them, there is a table. Behind it, in an armchair, there is a lion. On the desk a small sign says “Director of Research.”
La morale: it does not matter what the subject of your thesis is, it’s what power you boss really has.

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