If I'm not dreaming in attributable risk and cumulative incidence equations tonight, some major rethinking of my studying methodologies may have to occur...
Today I learned...
What bootstrapping is!...or at least conceptually. I haven't successfully (or unsuccessfully, I suppose) run any code to implement bootstrapping, but that's up next on the docket. I'm mildly (aka tremendously) horrified to admit that, even after all of these years, I didn't quite understand what bootstrapping was (in brief: you take a random sample of your study population x times, with replacement so you get the same n as the original study population, and then ta da, you produce a distribution of sample means based on bootstrapping!) and why it could be helpful for an analysis (e.g., estimating 95% confidence intervals). I must say, it was very satisfying to leave biostats class today feeling like I really learned something (potentially) useful for my future research pursuits.
Today I'm grateful for...
Living in a state where all voting is by mail and thus I had the opportunity to vote whenever it fit best into my schedule. This year I wanted to hand in my ballot after I finished my own midterm on November 6, but I just couldn't wait any longer.
Today's best part was...
Receiving a truly heart- (and head-)warming text message from Marissa Reitsma, a friend/colleague whom I've had the true pleasure of getting to know better and working with over the last few years. Receiving an unexpected kind word or two is always lovely, but when it comes from someone you greatly admire and respect as a person, researcher, and well, a badass and strong female, it's that much more meaningful. While it's still early yet in my PhD, I'm fairly sure I'd like to pursue an academic career and seek a faculty position somewhere in this crazy world. I very much care about supporting early-career researchers and providing mentorship where and how it's appropriate, and well - the receipt of a thoughtful, affirming text from Marissa this afternoon brought tears to my eyes and offered a fierce neural hug to my strung-out synapses. Academia and related activities aren't for the faint of heart, literally (three words: free office coffee) and of course figuratively. I occasionally think back to college me and then the early-to-early-ish career model, and wonder how those versions would see me now: a little less idealistic, a bit more decisive, and comparatively, tough as nails. Now, in absolute terms, said nails would be a far cry from earthquake-proof or of diamond-level tenacity; I still have a lot of learning and skin-toughening ahead. Yet I think it's equally important to take time to appreciate the small steps of progress - those little things, after all, may end up being big things.
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