Ph.D. comps are the academic equivalent of fraternity/sorority hazing.

They are mostly a waste of time.

Sorry/not sorry.

I’m talking about traditional comps with 3/4 lists with over 100 books each. I am learning there are other models that are much more productive. I wish we all moved in that direction. The traditional model absolutely sucks.

But hey, if it worked for you, I’m sincerely happy for you. I still think that for most people who went/are going through that old model, the whole thing is mostly an unproductive mess.

I was “reading” 5 books a day to be able to get to the end of my lists before the exam. How is that productive or good for anyone? Even if you have an entire year to read (and no one does) and the lists are cut by half, I find the whole thing an empty rite of passage.