academics, i have a question. I'm doing admission applications for the first time and i'm curious how you think about accepting proposals. Abstractly, what would you rank higher? A proposal that's well written, analytically rigorous, conceptually precise but is boring, uninteresting and leaves you - ThreadSky

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ayloncohen.bsky.social • 26 days ago

academics, i have a question. I'm doing admission applications for the first time and i'm curious how you think about accepting proposals. Abstractly, what would you rank higher? A proposal that's well written, analytically rigorous, conceptually precise but is boring, uninteresting and leaves you

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ayloncohen.bsky.social•26 days ago

thinking: just because this hasn't been studied doesn't mean it should be OR a proposal that's not very well written, analytically sweeping & conceptually imprecise but is exciting and has great potential? How much weight do you place in the promise of an application despite its obvious limitations?

kevingan52.bsky.social•26 days ago

I have a fair amount of experience in these sorts of judgment calls, and I almost always preferred the imaginative and conceptually adventurous, even if it had some cosmetic or structural problems. One caveat, however: I found it unwise to rely on my own judgment only. I have my own prejudices…

kevingan52.bsky.social•26 days ago

… and to guard against those and any sort of unconscious favoritism, we found it wise to submit most of the applications to collective judgment and, especially, discussion and debate. Taking advantage, in a small way, of the wisdom of crowds. Good luck!

ayloncohen.bsky.social•25 days ago

thank you for responding! the applications here go through a few rounds before a decision is made with scores assigned along the way. My gut was to rank higher the more exciting but less well written proposal but I wasn't sure if that was a problem, so i'm glad to have my gut confirmed - thank you!

kevingan52.bsky.social•25 days ago

Welcome! As an English teacher, I think there’s an analogy to the perennial problem we see grading essays: Technical problems are usually easy to correct; lack of imagination or missing ideas much more difficult!

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