“Fox, Rabbit, Lion and PhD”

In the book, “Woman, Fire, and Dangerous Things“, George Lakoff takes 632 pages to tell the  relation between women, fire, and dangerous things. Here, I will take few lines to connect Fox, Rabbit, Lion and PhD. Yes, by PhD I mean “Doctor of Philosophy” and not some animal.

Once,  there was a young, but timid, rabbit. While he was enjoying the beautiful fall weather in a dense jungle, a hungry fox caught him by suprise.

Fox: I am very hungry and today I will eat you.
Rabbit: No No. Please don’t eat me.. :-( :-( :-(  . I am doing my PhD :-( :-( :-( and I am about to complete it in a month. Please don’t eat me now, otherwise all my effort of last three years will be gone .. :-( :-( :-( .
Fox: (Skeptically) ha ha ha. PhD !!! ha ha ha. You think I am a fool.. Tell me your topic, otherwise I will eat you now.
Rabbit: hmm….My topic is “Rabbits are more intelligent than Foxes”.
Fox: ha ha ha….You think I will believe your nonsense. How can you prove that rabbit’s are more intelligent than foxes. I will eat you today…
Rabbit: please don’t eat me..please don’t eat me…I can prove you within a month…Just let me go today and next month I can prove it…
Fox: (intrigued by the topic) hmm..okie I will let you go today. But, if I catch you next month, you will have to defend your thesis. If you failed, I will eat you.

After one month, the fox again catches the same rabbit.

Fox: Ahhh.. Finally, I got hold of you. So how can you prove that “Rabbits are more intelligent than Foxes”.
Rabbit: Please don’t eat me. ….please…please. I can prove it. You will need to come my home.
Fox: Okie..but if you fail to prove it, I will eat you.
Rabbit: Ok

Both walk to Rabbit’s home. The fox enters the home and notices piles of bones and, at the end of home, a ferocicous lion, waiting to kill the fox.

Moral: In PhD, all that matters is who is your advisor.  

 Note: The story is not a beget of my creativity but was told by my friend.