I think the Lego Gradstudent is brilliant! Very dark humour, but ohh so funny, especially if and when you feel a little down during your PhD journey.
The creator made a video about the “impostor syndrome”, that many experience at times. To watch it:
I recently read an essay on a closely related topic, namely on feeling stupid when conducting scientific research. One of the key points is the move from a Msc to a PhD, in the former, the more one prepares, the better the answers. It is all about finding answers available in the literature. In research, neither the questions nor the answers exist, and not understanding can make us feel stupid. But this is key to doing research. Accepting how little we know, and making a lot of “simple” mistakes. If you ever feel despondent and “stupid”, it is worth reading it!
The importance of stupidity in scientific research
I recently saw an old friend for the first time in many years. We had been Ph.D. students at the same time, both studying science, although in different areas. She later dropped out of graduate school, went to Harvard Law School and is now a senior lawyer for a major environmental organization.
As for the LGS, to see the full archive, see: https://brickademics.com/gallery . Be warned, the photos are of very high resolution, so takes time to load. Further, make sure to read the caption, that is where the brilliance comes out.
Suffering from writer’s block, the grad student stares at a screen as empty as his hopes and dreams.