Meet UC Davis Graduate Student Ted Shear

• Department
  Philosophy
   
• Program and year of study
  Ph.D.
   
• Previous degrees and colleges
  BA Philosophy (Hons.), Linguistics, University of British Columbia
   
• Where did you grow up?
  While I lived in Marblehead, MA until the age of 15, I would really say that I grew up in Vancouver, BC, where I completed high-school and college.
   
• Where do you live now?
  Brisbane, QLD, Australia! I started a post-doc in the Economics Department at the University of Queensland in January 2017 and will be defending my dissertation in October 2017
   
• What's your favorite spot in Davis?
  Sophia’s Thai Bar and Kitchen
   
• How do you relax?
  I am an avid rock climber and, in a former life, was a member of the US national badminton team.
   
• What was the last book you read for pleasure?
  I honestly can’t remember. Maybe something by Terry Pratchett.  
   
• What TV show are you currently binge-watching?
  Since moving to Australia, I have become a huge fan of Australian television. Two notable favorites include Utopia, which provides an amazing (and accurate) view of the dysfunction of the Australian government, and Black Comedy, which is a sketch comedy show that provides poignant and probative commentary on race relations in Australia.
   
• Research interests
  Broadly speaking, I am interested in the normative aspects of belief and belief change. However, as a philosophical naturalist, I am committed to understanding these aspects of human behavior in a way that is consistent with the best science. Accordingly, I also have research interests in philosophy of cognitive science and philosophy of mind. I also work on various issues in philosophical logic and the foundations of probability theory.
   
• Dissertation title or topic
  The Difficult Business of Belief Change: Prospects for a Realistic Theory of Belief Revision Beyond AGM
   
• Please share a surprising or noteworthy fact or finding from your research
  In a paper, co-authored with Branden Fitelson (Northeastern), we prove that the inverse of the Golden Ratio is a lower bound on a particular function relevant for rational belief change. While the details are too complex to explain in this short reply, needless to say, this result was indeed surprising. It also led me to spend a good amount of time digging around on especially weird parts of the internet.
   
• Which professor or class inspired you to pursue graduate studies?
  As an undergraduate at UBC, I was inspired by the courses in the philosophy of language that I took from Ori Simchen. This led me to think that I’d wished to pursue graduate work in the philosophy of language; however, it was only after completing my BA in linguistics and two years of graduate study at UCD that I realized that natural language was far less well-behaved than I’d been led to believe through my studies of early/mid-20th century philosophy of language.
   
• Which scholarly text do you wish you had written? Why?
  Fred Dretske’s Knowledge and the Flow of Information. It not only played a formative role in my philosophical development, but its preface also includes perhaps my favorite quote from any work: “Words are the tools of philosophers, and if they are not sharp, they only disfigure the material.”  
   
• What's the best thing about being a grad student?
  Being part of and contributing to a research community.
   
• What's the worst?
  Being poor and the insecurity that comes with the position.
   
• If you weren't a grad student, what would you be doing?
  Wishing I was.
   
• Finally, please ask yourself a question - "Why do you work on what you do?"
  Because it’s fun!
   

Graduate student profile courtesy of the UC Davis College of Letters and Science.

About Graduate Studies

Graduate Studies at UC Davis includes over 100 dynamic degree programs and a diverse and interactive student body from around the world. Known for our state-of-the-art research facilities, productive laboratories and progressive spirit – UC Davis offers collaborative and interdisciplinary curricula through graduate groups and designated emphasis options, bringing students and faculty of different academic disciplines together to address real-world challenges.

UC Davis graduate students and postdoctoral scholars become leaders in their fields: researchers, teachers, politicians, mentors and entrepreneurs. They go on to guide, define and impact change within our global community.

For information on Graduate Studies’ current strategic initiatives, visit the Graduate Studies strategic plan page.