Rio de Janeiro

Brazil

26 November 2007

Hi,

Your book helped me a lot during my PhD, which was a horror story. My PhD, which I eventually after nine years gave up, was the worst period of my life. I never liked the atmosphere at NYU (math) and truly hated the system of exams. I passed them all without failing, but the last one left a mark on me. I had to go through counseling and postpone it two or three times. I came to hate mathematical research more than I hate anything else.

I still suffer a lot from this experience, since I had to return to Brazil without the diploma, which put me in trouble with my funding agency and also put me in a very bad spot in the job market. Currently I have a job that is uninteresting, but still allows me to pay the bills. Your book made me realize that I was not alone in this madness. Thank you for that.

Jose

P.S. It was also the only time I remember having read anything on affirmative action that made any sense.