PhD Comics is running a series of strips at the moment about getting scooped.  I remember when I started my research that I'd get an idea, only to find out the next day that someone already had it.  That's 'getting scooped', and it's always a let-down.  Until, that is, I realised that there are a lot of people in the world and everyone's talking about the same thing (i.e. experiencing life), so of course we're going to have similar ideas!  My favourite was when I ran into the Spoom at New College and told Kathleen and Nick about this theory I had.  After laying out the basic idea, there was an awkward silence, and Nick said, 'you just invented Marxism, Sam.  Well done.'  *sigh*

All I can say is that at least it only took me a year and a half to figure what my research was called!* 

* Well, ok, it was three years if you count my years as a Visiting Student and MSc…