> No one gets out the same, just knowing more
>stuff. I'm am not saying it makes you better, maybe
>Joanna is right that it makes you worse, but call that
>as you may it makes you _different_ in may that other
>people (disfavorably) notice. (
>
I don't know if it makes you worse. I knew a lot of idiots with Ph.D.'s.
But I have noticed that graduate study (up to but not necessarily including a PhD) is good training for software technical writing.
1. It teaches you good research skills 2. It teaches you how to work completely alone 3. It teaches you that all the stuff people call "knowledge" is just variously made up and so it makes you less afraid of dealing with a realm in which everything is made up as you go along (software). 4. It teaches you how to write books
By the same token, from the standpoint of most people, I'm a lousy conversationalist. I'm not interested in mortgages or home improvements; I'm more interested in the "philosophical" aspect of things than in anything else; I don't talk sports; I can't stand 90% of Hollywood movies, etc.
So, I'll go along with the "different" category.
Joanna