Monday, September 21st, 2026, 4:11 am
Still Inspired by Chris
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think that based on my records, I started my Ph.D. on “Tuesday 23rd September, 2003″ or maybe that was just my first meeting (21st September was likely my first day). I wrote this report a week later. Prior to that I had met or “interviewed” – if that’s the right term – 3 people in that department regarding a project and/or supervisor (I think that was Jim, Sue, and Chris).
I’m glad, in hindsight, that I chose Chris. Despite him being a demanding perfectionist (months later a student of his, Gareth, committed suicide), he did inspire or encourage certain traits I still have. I remember a prior student, Kate, complaining about his attitude in a dinner, saying he’s “always right” (cynically, something to that effect), but his track record or credentials compensated for this attitude.
Having high expectations can be a burden on others.
23 years later Chris is still alive (in his 80s) and shows up in fairly new videos of the same university where he studied and worked for about 60 years. He’s still professionally active, at 80 or above. That part of him I really appreciate. I hope that I too can do the same things 40 years from now.
Chris was always a heavy drinker of coffee, who clearly didn’t get enough sleep. This seems not to have shortened his life. He did what he loved.
