What a Ph.D. really is.

This Article is originally by Dr.Matt Might, an Assistant Professor in University of Utah Original title is "The illustrated guide to a Ph.D." and it is origin is on http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/ Dr Matt Might says: Every fall, I explain to a fresh batch of Ph.D. students what a Ph.D. is. It's hard to describe it in words.
So, I use pictures. Read below for the illustrated guide to a Ph.D.   Imagine a circle that contains all of human knowledge:  

  By the time you finish elementary school, you know a little:

  By the time you finish high school, you know a bit more:  

 

With a bachelor's degree, you gain a specialty:
 

 
A master's degree deepens that specialty: 

Reading research papers takes you to the edge of human knowledge:  

 

  Once you're at the boundary, you focus:
 

 

You push at the boundary for a few years:  

 

 Until one day, the boundary gives way:  

And, that dent you've made is called a Ph.D.:

  

  Of course, the world looks different to you now: 

  So, don't forget the bigger picture: 

  Keep pushing.