Repeat 10 times

As many of you know, I'm working on writing my dissertation now. It's a long process that involves a lot of reading, a lot of assimilating information, and a heck of a lot of time on my computer. I'm reminded of what a former OIMB grad student once said to me, that he was a professional reader. I remember thinking at the time it was an odd thing for him to say, but I totally get it now. So much of academic life is just reading scientific papers, assimilating the information, and writing my own analyses. Of course I've had little distractions to break up the monotony. I'm actually in a bit of a cycle now:

Read scientific papers, assimilate information, write my own analysis. Repeat 3 times.
Pick up frozen squid for the invertebrate zoology class.
Then back to my desk - read scientific papers, assimilate information, write my own analysis. Repeat 5 times.
Fiddle with the OIMB camera sled to make sure it's in good working order.
Read papers, assimilate information, write my analysis. Repeat 10 times.
Have lunch with a new grad student and discover we're from the same state.
Read, assimilate, write. Repeat 12 times.
Take a short drive down the coast for a mental break.
Read, assimilate, write. Repeat 15 times.

And on and on it goes. If I had to guess, I'd say I've read a good 200 papers, and that's just for the introduction to my thesis. I've cited ~150 of them in my essay so far. It's so important to know what other scientists are up to, what their results have shown, so that my findings can be presented in the proper context. I've been encouraged to read anything and everything, to read around the topic I'm interested in, so that's what I'm trying to do. Hopefully I'll make it to the end and have a compelling analysis to show the world.

Alright, now back to reading.