Reading The Elements of Social Scientific Thinking by Hoover and Donovan felt like a drop of hope in a sea of despair. It gave me a better perspective by describing social science as simply a way of understanding social reality better by reducing uncertainty through observation. It made me feel that social science research can both be intellectually stimulating and socially relevant. It pushed me to do research that mattered, assuming I pursued my dream of becoming a sexy, public intellectual.
It was only a momentary glimpse of hope. My personal crisis, which I retrospectively think was a case of depression, went on for a year and a half. Aside from the vague idea of writing about issues that mattered, I made no progress at all on my thesis.
But that is now over. I chose not to purse graduate school, but I continue to seek the life of the mind.
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