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Professor Pedantic 教授的考究學問
【學術專欄】
TPS的編輯教授在此歡迎關於學術文章的所有詢問，當然，其實他並沒有足夠的時間給你。他擁有終身教職的教授身份，也是著名的學術巨作作者。即便如此，他仍大方地接受你們的詢問。將關於學術方面的詢問寫在下方，你將獲得教授的親自指導，陶冶對學術的探索與啟發。
The professor awaits your query on academic writing, though in all honesty, he doesn’t have a lot of time for you. He is a tenured full professor and working on yet another magnificent academic tome. Even so, he has graciously consented to entertain your question. Submit it and prepare to be edified.
QUESTION: My professor advised me during an interim review that I ought to start over completely on my paper. I thought he was kidding. He wasn’t. Have you ever heard of anything so crazy?
期中檢討的時候，教授建議我重寫論文。我以為他在開玩笑，但他是認真的。你聽過這麼瘋狂的事嗎？
Craziness comes in many flavors. When your professor advised you, was he sitting on his desk in his bikini pajamas, a Teddy bear on his lap, and peering at you through an eyeglass? That would be crazy. By comparison, his suggestion that you begin anew on your paper might be the sanest advice you’ll get all year. Your professor has seen enough academic writing to recognize early on when a paper is lame enough to warrant a mercy killing. That’s what he was doing, telling you to put it out of its misery. You should thank him, not question his mental stability.
瘋狂有很多種，你的教授提出建議時，是不是穿著比基尼睡衣坐在桌子上，腿上放隻泰迪熊，從單眼眼鏡後面看你？如果是的話，他是瘋了沒錯。否則的話，他要你重寫論文的提議，可能是你這輩子獲得最明智的建議。教授看過太多學術文章了，很早就能判斷一篇文章是否呆板無趣，不如提早安樂死，早點結束論文悲慘的命運。你應該感激他，而不是懷疑他精神有問題。
Let’s assume for a moment that your professor is correct. I also will assume that he told you why he believed your efforts were destined to fail. You don’t share those details, so I will guess the writing was thin and nonacademic, the structure faulty, and / or the research inadequate. It really doesn’t matter. What matters is your reaction. You balked. This tells me two things: You have so little regard for your instructor that you doubt he knows as much about paper-writing as you do, or you have become so attached to your writing that you can’t give it up when challenged.
先假設你的教授是對的，也告訴了你為什麼他認為你最後一定徒勞無功。你沒有寫出這些細節，所以我猜可能是內容空洞、缺乏學術價值，結構有問題，或者研究不充分。這些都不要緊，要緊的是你的反應。你猶疑了，這告訴我兩件事：你不看重指導教授，覺得他對寫論文懂得沒有你多；或者你對自己的文章非常執著，不願因為別人質疑而放棄。
Revising an entire paper, or even a passage, can be an ordeal. Every writer blanches at the prospect. We fall in love with our words. We convince ourselves our premise is sound, our research complete, our argument unassailable. Yet writers can get so close to their work that they lose all perspective. A professor is a perspective-restorer. He isn’t there at the creation. He only sees what the paper has become, or where it is headed. Your dismissal of his critical opinion suggests that you are not serious about learning. Be smart. Heed his advice. Rewrite the paper.
重新修訂整篇論文，甚至只是一小段，都可能是場試煉。每個寫作的人都不喜歡別人挑剔自己的文章。我們會愛上自己寫的文章，自以為假設毫無瑕疵，研究完整全面，論點無懈可擊。然而當局者迷，作者往往會失去判斷力。教授卻能看得很清楚，文章不是他寫出來的，他只看已經成形的文章，或文章的方向。你拒絕教授的批判意見，或許表示你對做學問不夠認真。聰明點，謹慎看待教授的意見，重寫論文吧。
The professor awaits your query on academic writing, though in all honesty, he doesn’t have a lot of time for you. He is a tenured full professor and working on yet another magnificent academic tome. Even so, he has graciously consented to entertain your question. Submit it and prepare to be edified.
QUESTION: My professor advised me during an interim review that I ought to start over completely on my paper. I thought he was kidding. He wasn’t. Have you ever heard of anything so crazy?
期中檢討的時候，教授建議我重寫論文。我以為他在開玩笑，但他是認真的。你聽過這麼瘋狂的事嗎？
Craziness comes in many flavors. When your professor advised you, was he sitting on his desk in his bikini pajamas, a Teddy bear on his lap, and peering at you through an eyeglass? That would be crazy. By comparison, his suggestion that you begin anew on your paper might be the sanest advice you’ll get all year. Your professor has seen enough academic writing to recognize early on when a paper is lame enough to warrant a mercy killing. That’s what he was doing, telling you to put it out of its misery. You should thank him, not question his mental stability.
瘋狂有很多種，你的教授提出建議時，是不是穿著比基尼睡衣坐在桌子上，腿上放隻泰迪熊，從單眼眼鏡後面看你？如果是的話，他是瘋了沒錯。否則的話，他要你重寫論文的提議，可能是你這輩子獲得最明智的建議。教授看過太多學術文章了，很早就能判斷一篇文章是否呆板無趣，不如提早安樂死，早點結束論文悲慘的命運。你應該感激他，而不是懷疑他精神有問題。
Let’s assume for a moment that your professor is correct. I also will assume that he told you why he believed your efforts were destined to fail. You don’t share those details, so I will guess the writing was thin and nonacademic, the structure faulty, and / or the research inadequate. It really doesn’t matter. What matters is your reaction. You balked. This tells me two things: You have so little regard for your instructor that you doubt he knows as much about paper-writing as you do, or you have become so attached to your writing that you can’t give it up when challenged.
先假設你的教授是對的，也告訴了你為什麼他認為你最後一定徒勞無功。你沒有寫出這些細節，所以我猜可能是內容空洞、缺乏學術價值，結構有問題，或者研究不充分。這些都不要緊，要緊的是你的反應。你猶疑了，這告訴我兩件事：你不看重指導教授，覺得他對寫論文懂得沒有你多；或者你對自己的文章非常執著，不願因為別人質疑而放棄。
Revising an entire paper, or even a passage, can be an ordeal. Every writer blanches at the prospect. We fall in love with our words. We convince ourselves our premise is sound, our research complete, our argument unassailable. Yet writers can get so close to their work that they lose all perspective. A professor is a perspective-restorer. He isn’t there at the creation. He only sees what the paper has become, or where it is headed. Your dismissal of his critical opinion suggests that you are not serious about learning. Be smart. Heed his advice. Rewrite the paper.
重新修訂整篇論文，甚至只是一小段，都可能是場試煉。每個寫作的人都不喜歡別人挑剔自己的文章。我們會愛上自己寫的文章，自以為假設毫無瑕疵，研究完整全面，論點無懈可擊。然而當局者迷，作者往往會失去判斷力。教授卻能看得很清楚，文章不是他寫出來的，他只看已經成形的文章，或文章的方向。你拒絕教授的批判意見，或許表示你對做學問不夠認真。聰明點，謹慎看待教授的意見，重寫論文吧。