Today, for the first time, I really started to understand the radiation transport equations. It's one of those fundamental realization things that suddenly makes everything much easier. Let the research commence.

It's a good thing I'm understanding it, I guess, since I'm giving a lecture on it tomorrow. Even weirder: I'm giving the lecture to my advisor.

So here's my fundamental problem: I don't think I grok what it is that my advisor does. We've chosen me a thesis topic, and my first piece of work is to explain the basics of the field to him. Doesn't that violate something about what a thesis advisor is for?