What NOT to do/say at your Ph.D Defense
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1. “Ladies and Gentlemen, please rise for the singing of our National Anthem…”
2. Charge 25 cents a cup for coffee.
3. Stage your own death/suicide.
4. “I’d like to thank the Academy…”
5. Answer every question with a question.
6. “Laugh, will you? Well, they laughed at Galileo, they laughed at Einstein…”
7. “I could answer that, but then I’d have to kill you.”
8. Show slides of your last vacation.
9. Try to use normal printed paper on the overhead projector.
10. “Please phrase your question in the form of an answer…”