Expertise

NERD ALERT — this post will only be interesting to grad students.

It's pretty satisfying to be able to read a paper, and when you come to a numbered reference in the text to know what paper they're referencing without even checking the list at the end. For me, at least, it serves as a signpost that I've understood the preceding sentence well enough to not only grasp the concept, but also to be familiar with the most relevant literature.