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From: smoliar@vaxa.isi.edu (Stephen Smoliar)
Newsgroups: comp.music
Subject: Re: Fruitful research areas - summary
Message-ID: <13648@venera.isi.edu>
Date: 26 May 90 15:23:50 GMT
References: <1990May25.090038.20344@metro.ucc.su.OZ.AU>
Sender: news@venera.isi.edu
Reply-To: smoliar@vaxa.isi.edu (Stephen Smoliar)
Organization: USC-Information Sciences Institute
Lines: 37

In article <1990May25.090038.20344@metro.ucc.su.OZ.AU> monro_g@maths.su.oz.au
() writes:
>  There was no response 
>from one or two people who have told us at length about bad research and 
>fruitless research areas.
>
MEA CULPA, Gordon!  However, there is a reason for my silence, which is that I
believe that graduate students should only venture into this area with proper
guidance and supervision.  I once observed a very sad experience in which a
graduate student had one advisor in computer science and another in music.
He was able to keep each very happy as long as they did not talk to each other!
I was the unfortunate agent who closed the loop of communication, and it became
quickly apparent that this student really did not have the musical competence
for the project he had proposed.  My feeling is that until we have some faculty
who are qualified to supervise such research (that is, qualified as individuals
to take responsibility for ALL aspects of the research, whether they involve
computers, music, psychology, or even brain science) it is a BIG MISTAKE to
encourage graduate students to go looking for topics in the field.  One of the
reasons I report at great length about "bad research and fruitless research
areas" is in the hope that others will not make similar mistakes.

=========================================================================

USPS:	Stephen Smoliar
	USC Information Sciences Institute
	4676 Admiralty Way  Suite 1001
	Marina del Rey, California  90292-6695

Internet:  smoliar@vaxa.isi.edu

"By long custom, social discourse in Cambridge is intended to impart and only
rarely to obtain information.  People talk;  it is not expected that anyone
will listen.  A respectful show of attention is all that is required until
the listener takes over in his or her turn.  No one has ever been known to
repeat what he or she has heard at a party or other social gathering."
					John Kenneth Galbraith
					A TENURED PROFESSOR