Introduction

Graduate training rewards convergence: narrowing problems, fixing methods, and defending decisions.
 But when it comes to understanding how research might be used, converging too early can quietly limit what your work becomes.

In this episode, we examine why jumping straight to use cases often narrows thinking prematurely — and why exploration itself is a critical, but often skipped, phase of the research process. This episode reframes exploration not as indecision, but as a disciplined way to protect options while rigor still matters.