Read an interesting and funny piece about thesis defense. However, I ended somewhat confused with the meaning of the word “snake”. What is the snake a metaphor for?
[here’s the article in question](https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/faq-the-snake-fight-portion-of-your-thesis-defense)
In: 1
The snake is a metaphor for the whole theatre that is thesis defense. In the medical world it’s equivalent to forcing residents to work 24-36 hour plus shifts even tho all the evidence says it’s bad for them it’s bad for patients but “that’s how we’ve always gone it.”
So in this article the snake is the protocol, the clothes, the voice, the do you bring snacks or not, all the etiquette and traditions of defending a thesis – these differ between departments and universities and are mostly unwritten so it can feel like they’re sneaky, and can strike you from anywhere… etc etc
Does that make sense?
Latest Answers