cautionary tale from my CS desk - first dozen papers, just what was described above.. next, complete actual work using the knowledge - hey! I belong here! .. next, read a few more and decide "I can do this" and collect three or six dozen additional papers from the reference notes, new discoveries, and latest pubs, mix them all in the same collection of PDF (!)
now you have sixty+ complex papers, at least a third of which are not actually very important, useful or thorough.. and where are those original, carefully chosen ten you started with ?
side note - the "focus on the figures" reading advice does not scale, since most search is first and foremost with text. Which of the now-eighty papers (and growing, the field is hot) are the ones you cared about and understand.. ? "piled higher and deeper - PhD" indeed!
now you have sixty+ complex papers, at least a third of which are not actually very important, useful or thorough.. and where are those original, carefully chosen ten you started with ?
side note - the "focus on the figures" reading advice does not scale, since most search is first and foremost with text. Which of the now-eighty papers (and growing, the field is hot) are the ones you cared about and understand.. ? "piled higher and deeper - PhD" indeed!