Sometimes I forget to listen. This happens in various situations: conversations with friends (and girlfriend), conversations with relatives, conversations with colleagues. I forget to listen. I get wrapped up in what I want to say.

This flaw sometimes finds its way into my writing. I also sometimes forget to listen when it comes to research. I'm reading Latour's Reassembling the Social, and while I won't be applying his Actor-Network Theory in any direct way (at least not in my dissertation...I can see myself considering ANT for a future project) the book has already reminded me that the best research happens when we just listen. That listening needs to happen regardless of how messy things get. Don't take my word for it, listen to Latour:

"ANT claims that we will find a much more scientific way of building the social world if we abstrain from interrupting the flood of controversies. We, too, should find our firm ground: on shifting sands. Contrary to what is so often said, relativism is a way to float on data, not drown in them" (24).

"We have to resist pretending that actors have only a language while the analyst possesses the meta-language in which the first is 'embedded'" (47).

This is just a reminder to Jim (if you other dissertators out there need a reminder, it can be for you as well) to listen. Let the mess happen. Make sense of things? Yes. Force things into some sort of "plan" I have developed? No.