the.com/dissertation
A book-length apology for picking a topic you no longer love.
means A long, formal piece of research writing—usually required for an advanced degree—that argues an original thesis in exhaustive detail.
from From Latin dissertatio, built on dissertare, 'to debate or discuss at length,' itself an intensive form of disserere, 'to examine, discuss, set out in words' (from dis- 'apart' + serere 'to join, arrange'). So the root sense is 'arranging an argument piece by piece'—which is exactly what the sleepless months are actually for, even after the love for the topic has quietly left the building.
- average length
- 150 to 300 pages of hedging
- true audience
- four people, three of whom skim
- real purpose
- proves you can suffer methodically
- final stage
- defending ideas you privately doubt