Back to School Days

Well the fall semester is officially underway. I had my first class session today with Paul Resnick on recommender systems. The class is a short one, only half the semester or seven weeks. I look forward to it. More classes to come tomorrow and next week.

Over the weekend I was less than enthused by the start of classes. Once the actual event occurs and I get back in the rhythm of things I'm sure my outlook will improve. The biggest question looming over the semester is what to do about further academic study. Do I want to continue on and pursue a PhD or is it time to forge my own education?

The trouble is there are pros and cons to both approaches. I've been trying to figure out what the attraction of academia is for me. Over the weekend I decided that the biggest factor I've found so far is community. For all its many flaws, academia still manages to collect a significant number of intelligent people in a single location and let them work on intellectual problems. I want to share some of that glow if only by proximity.