iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

#Etymology and #History folks: Are Old Norse "Austr" and Latin "Auster" coincidence or cognates? #phdchat #phdvoice #phdlife

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

#Evolution #Anthropology friends: What criteria define #Homosapiens? Ive read that they existed prior to anatomically modern humans, so what makes early H. sapiens included despite not being physically the same? #phdchat #phdvoice #phdlife

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Might stop getting excited for jobs, it feels like an impossible task to secure one. Plus, sometimes you dont even get acknowledgement. #phdchat #phdvoice #phdlife

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

No acknowledgement email upon application, and not heard anything despite interviews being Friday. Don't think I got it :( #SciComm #phdchat #phdvoice #phdlife

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Are there any organisations which provide tutoring to students from deprived areas which is free for the learner but paid for the tutor? #Education #Tutoring #Charity #SocialJustice #Equity

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Applied for a #SciComm job at a science centre. Quite confident because im a good fit. But im sure it'll be hella competitive. Any tips for the (hopefully) interview? #phdchat #phdvoice #phdlife

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Last week I shared some thoughts about mentorship in higher education (and the lack thereof). Id love to hear some thoughts and experiences from others too! Let me know the good, bad, and ugly you've seen :) #phdchat #phdvoice #phdlife

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

*how* does dividing by (n-1) for sample variance make it unbiased? Why n-1? Why not a different negative? So much #stats #education tells us what to do but neither why nor how it works. Anyone savvy enough to help a naive but enthusiastic learner? ##phdchat #phdvoice #phdlife

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Academia has a mentorship problem. My thoughts on crossing the invisible bridge. bencturnbull.wordpress.com/2026/09/09/c... ##phdchat #phdvoice #phdlife

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

So. Very. True. My training didn't match my assessment and I walked out woth an #MPhil after working for a #PhD. It's about your personal skills development, not the specific project. #phdchat #phdlife #phdvoice

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Would love a job working with spreadsheets and numbers, but every #DataAnalyst job requires prior experience with a load of different tools. I have the #stats essentials and the aptitude to learn specific tools. Anyone hiring for entry level? #phdchat #phdlife #phdvoice

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

#education friends: what hashtags are popular for connecting with other #teachers? I want to find a community for sharing advice. #teaching

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Was anyone else's #phd thesis training utterly mismatched to their examination? No wonder i ended up failing. None of the criticisms in design and execution from my examiners were raised or questioned during the writing. 1/2 #phdlife #phdvoice #phdchat

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Academia be like "this is how you do things best" and then when you do that, after examining you go "no, not like that". Alright. Guess I'll go fuck myself. #phdchat #phdvoice #phdlife

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Now that england have lost again, plz could people refrain from beating their partners.

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Be nice for hard work to pay off for once, ey? Continuing to feel dismayed by HE, but I'd still love to be a researcher... What does excelling look like in #education? I hope to be a stellar #teacher but how do we measure that? #phdchat #phdvoice #phdlife

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Another year since losing my #PhD, I'm sharing the final feedback i received, my rebukes, and my current reflections on them. The gist is that my training/exemplars didn't aligned with my examination, and the uni didn't allow any appeals. Any and all Qs are welcome :) #phdchat #phdvoice #phdlife

bencturnbull.wordpress.com

Failed for a PhD – Responding to Examiners’ Feedback

Brief recap: In 2022 I submitted my thesis and had my viva which resulted in major corrections. I did these over two years and in 2024 resubmitted, according to the recommended guidelines of my exa…

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

#stats Q: Technically, we can do regression on data that is just correlated (I.e. isnt causal), but we don't for a priori reasons. How do the stats 'know' that we're exploring causality? Is it just built into the maths that causality is assumed? If so, how? #PhD #phdlife #phdvoice #phdchat

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Identity is weird. Isn't it? I full acknowledge academia has become a shitshow. Temp workers are not being renewed, no matter how integral they are to teaching, retired/deceased lecturers aren't being replaced, student intakes are increasing despite fewer staff. 1/n #PhD #phdlife #phdvoice #phdchat

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Anyone feel like they're the "almost, not quite" person? Only one of my cohorts to: retake an A level year. scrape grades to stay on my masters course. redo their #PhD first year report. fail their PhD. Be nice to excel at SOMETHING... #phdchat #phdvoice

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

In two days time #BrightClubStAndrews returns to the #ByreTheatre! Come see funny folk talk about their time in academia! byretheatre.com/shows/bright...

byretheatre.com

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Sensory #science folx: Is there any consistent data on the minimum detection thresholds of human taste? I can't find a basic science source and intervention Al ones are wildly different in findings. E. G. For sucrose, NaCl, bitter, acid, and MSG #phdlife #phdchat #phdvoice

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

Yesterday was 4 years since my #PhD viva. It didn't go well but I had a framework for resubmission. 2 years later I resubmitted, hitting all the criteria, and they failed me anyway. Losing a PhD after 10.5 years is identity shattering. Anniversaries bring it all back. #phdlife #phdchat #phdvoice

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

#BrightClub #BrightClubStAndrews is returning to the #ByreTheatre June 10th for some smart laughs and a few pints! byretheatre.com/shows/bright...

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Something I'm wrestling with today on my #PGDE journey is: what happens if #Teaching isn't right for me? Ive spent 17 years with life oriented towards teaching and/research, I dunno what else I'm suitable for. 1/n

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

#bbcdn Scottish Parliament election televised debate was good but very unsurprising. A lot of the same talking over each other and answering their own questions. How I think they did 1) libDem 2) green 3) snp 4) Labour 5) Reform 6) Conservative #election #scotland

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Languages matters, for story telling and identity. If I say that I failed my #PhD, it sounds like I was incapable. But if I say my PhD was downgraded after resubmission, it puts an onus on my examiners and supervisor. The collective failed, not just the individual. #phdlife #phdchat #phdvoice

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Between submitting my #PhD thesis correction and learning it'd be failed, I had a lunch with my supervisors. Durign which, they both said academia had changed so much that if they were starting out again they wouldn't stay. #phdlife #phdchat #phdvoice 1/2

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

I wanna author a paper on sleep in insects and call it 'Cicadian Rhythms'. #phdlife #phdchat #phdvoice

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Wonder if I resubmitted my #PhD thesis to another uni if itd be approved or at least if I'd be given an appropriate framework to successfully resubmit it? #phdlife #phdchat #phdvoice

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Not my former department offering 4 year #PhD/lectureship 💀 Where was this when I was applying? Hope Tue candidate gets fully supported and doesn't fall through the cracks like I did. #phdlife #phdchat #phdvoice

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

Who'd spend 10.5 years on a #PhD to walk away with an #MPhil? That'd be identity destroying. Couldn't be me 👀 #phdlife #phdchat #phdvoice

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

Academics who don't want to teach baffle me I mean, what do you think the 'academy' is for? Research is also important, but the aim is to develop the future generations to do so. #phdlife #phdchat #phdvoice

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

#BrightClubStAndrews is so soon! I'll be working the door, then enjoying our 6 funny folks and our wonderful MC! Come if you can, it's only a fiver :) wegottickets.com/event/691981 P. S. There's a bar ;) #BrightClub

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

First revision lesson today: 2nd year 'Food&Feeding'. 5 station, each in a different theme, and with similar but differing activities. E. G. Answering fixed and open ended Qs, matching key terms to images and definitions, and labelling the body. #PGDE #Teaching #Science #Biology

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA My former uni, which allowed my #PhD to be downgraded at the last hurdle, has the gaul to ask for donations. You're rich af. If you can't operate without donations, try axing middle and higher management. Get fucked. #phdlife #phdchat #phdvoice

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Latest post about my #PGDE journey becoming a high school #Biology #Teacher. I talk about my second assignment and starting to actually teach full lessons! bencturnbull.wordpress.com/2026/02/25/p...

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

So I finally did it. I taught my first whole lesson of high school. The anxiety of build up followed by the release afterwards felt like uncorking fizzy wine. I've got a lot of developed, but it wasn't enarly as tough as I'd imagined. #PGDE #Teaching #Science #Biology

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

This didn't happen as I was unwell, but it is happening this week. Any advice from jnr teachers? Ive never been this nervous for teaching in any other context. #PGDE #Teaching #Science #Biology

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Academia will give you examples of how to best do and present research, only to criticise and fail you for then doing so. Ti's like there's an unspoken leap you have to take to succeed. #phdlife #phdchat #phdvoice

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

What do you think you'd feel if your #PhD was downgraded at the last hurdle to an #MPhil? Specially after providing a record of how you met your revision criteria and having had your supervisor look at all your revisions. Le sigh. #phdlife #phdchat #phdvoice

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

TIL that the assumption of Homoscedasticity applies to residuals and not data in linear models. I think we do learners a disservice in #Statistics #Education by simplifying concepts to the point that they're wrong. Very frustrating. #phdlife #phdchat #phdvoice #Teaching #Science

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Sorting through my various docs today and found stuff pertaining to my #PhD. Those were worthwhile... I could be a head of department by now, had I gone straight into #Teaching #phdlife #phdchat #phdvoice

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Potentially/probably teaching my first full period this week. Pretty nervous. Don't really know how to remedy that bar a lot of prep. This is hard. #PGDE #Teaching #Science #Biology

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

Didn't get the job. A little disappointed, I'd never felt more suitable for a position before and was over qualified compared to the candidate criteria. Hoping for some useful feedback to take me forward. We persevere. #PGDE #Teaching #Science #Biology #phdlife #phdchat #phdvoice

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Interveiw for a "Variable Lecturer" job today. Still don't quite know what that means, and they give no expected hours in the advert. I'm more than an ideal fit, however. So I'm quite confident I'll get an offer. Still nervous. #PGDE #Teaching #Science #Biology #phdlife #phdchat #phdvoice

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Benji Turnbull @benjiturnbull.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

Last week, I gave my second update on my #PGDE journey! #Teaching #Science #Biology #phdlife #phdchat #phdvoice Anything you wanna know about the process, let me know!

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