PhD opens a fried chicken stand

2013年03月20日：博士生賣雞排：陳祺勳
by Chen Qixun

最近一個博士生賣起雞排，郭董認為虛耗教育資源，有人認為生涯選擇是個人的自由，所以罵起郭董，不過人也有表達意見的自由，大家對這種事情永遠不會有達成共識的一天（其實，對這種事情，我們也不需要共識，任何人都可以憑自己的能力去讀任何想讀的東西，也可以憑自己的能力去做想做的工作。）

Someone with a PhD has recently opened a fried chicken stand. Director Gou thinks this is a waste of educational resources; others think individuals should have the right to freely choose a career path, and thus have criticized out Dir. Gou. But then again, people also have freedom of expression, and there will never be a day when everyone reaches consensus on this kind of thing (in fact, we don't need to reach consensus on this kind of thing; anyone can go study anything they want on their own power, and then to go do whatever they choose with it).

譁眾取寵得一時討論為什麼大家都覺得賣雞排是一個萬不得已人人可做的工作？一天到晚聽到人家說怎樣怎樣就去賣雞排，雞排是一項需要高度專注力和技術的工作，不是拿塊雞肉抹粉炸熟就可以了事的，光是雞肉該選哪個部位，如果是不同的部位需要不同的處理方式和炸的時間，粉是什麼粉，攤子的特色是什麼，該不該兼營其他炸物還是獨有雞排一味，都是累積出來的技術，如何控制進貨成本，如何開拓客源，經營一個成功的雞排攤子絕非想像中那麼簡單（至少我身為雞排愛好者知道自己是萬萬做不來的）。

Just to fan the flames for a moment, I must bring up the question of why people think selling fried chicken is something that anyone could do, but would do only as a last resort? From morning to night you hear advice about how to open a successful fried chicken stand. Making fried chicken requires a high degree of expertise and artistry: It's not like you can just grab a piece of chicken, roll it in flour, pop it in the deep fryer and you're done. To begin with, you have to know what part of the chicken to use, and that each piece requires a different prep method and cooking time, and what kind of a flour; what your stand's special draw will be, and should you offer some other fried thing along with the chicken or just stick with chicken---all these things require a lot of accumulated knowledge. And then there's how to run the finances, and how to develop your customer base. Managing a successful fried chicken stand is not nearly so simple as some may imagine (at least from my perspective as someone who loves fried chicken, I know I could never pull it off).

還有，何必拿學歷出來招搖說自己是台大博士好像委屈了你似的，賣雞排是個辛苦而且了不起的工作，拿學歷出來說約莫是想炒話題，但在熱潮退了後，最終還是自己要面對自己的雞排攤，譁眾取寵可以得到一時討論，但最終大家注意的，還是你的雞排。

And furthermore, is it really necessary to wave your NTU PhD around and then act like you're the victim? Selling fried chicken is a difficult and important job, but flaunting your educational status seems a bit like a publicity stunt. After the storm has died down it's still you yourself that has to face that chicken stand. A media controversy will get people talking about you for a moment, but in the end the only thing they really care about is your fried chicken.

美國偶像有個參賽者天生比人矮，他每次唱歌都要報自己的身高，評審之一妮姬米娜有天煩了就說你可不可以不要再報自己的身高，若是真唱得好自然沒人在意你的身高，若是唱得不好那麼報再多次身高也沒用，若是真好吃大家會來也就是因為你的雞排，若是不好吃，就算你再去拿一個博士後研究或雙博士貼在額頭上也沒有用。

There's a contestant on American Idol who is very short, and every time he sings, he always mentions his height. One of the judges, Nicki Minaj, got fed up with it one day and said: Would you please stop talking about your height? If you sing well nobody will notice your height, and if you don't sing well, then no matter how many times you mention your height, it won't do you any good. If you make good fried chicken then people will come, and they'll be coming for the chicken. But if you make crappy chicken, even if you have a post-PhD degree, or you have two PhD's and you paste them both on your forehead, it still won't help you one bit.