The Black Hole

When I teach, I sometimes feel like I'm talking to an empty room.  An empty room full of 100 students.  I'm not sure if students are just conditioned to be passive or if I lull them to sleep, but it can be very difficult to get them to give any feedback.

 I feel bad.  You'd think a decent teacher (and I consider myself slightly better than mediocre) would be able to keep students engaged, but I've seen students fall asleep in even the most dynamic lectures.  To cope with this, I've decided to just amuse myself while I'm talking.  If students aren't going to be responsive to the material I'm teaching, at least I'll keep myself amused.

Seminar Blues

I gave a talk last week about my research.  It seemed relatively well received at the time, and the majority of the feedback I've received has been very positive.  Since then, I've heard that a faculty member, with whom I thought I had a good relationship, threw me under the bus while discussing the talk with my advisor.  Apparently this person took exception to how I framed some of my review of the literature and concluded that, for this reason, my hypotheses must be unsubstantiated and/or incorrect.  If this were an accurate criticism I wouldn't mind so much, nor would I mind so much if s/he had leveled this criticism to me in person rather than by proxy through my adviser.

Communication in academic departments is fantastically complicated.  On paper, there really aren't a lot of rules for who should communicate what to who (and how).  Furthermore, the rules that do exist are generally completely ignored.  This results in a huge amount of stress, especially on grad students who are under a tremendous amount of pressure but whose concerns are most often pushed aside or outright ignored in favor of those of more senior personal in the department.

Luckily my situation is a relative non-issue.  The complaint was dismissed by my advisor and I'll face absolutely no consequences.  I'm mostly just annoyed that the complaint even reached my advisor at all.  Usual (unofficial) protocol is that problems (especially relatively minor problems) are leveled at the student first, with the students advisor being left out unless the situation is serious.  My advisor controls a large part of my future, so I'm really not happy that I was heavily criticized in front of her without an opportunity to defend myself.  Not only is this a breach of protocol, but its unconstructive.

How Research Works: IX

A SMALL SEMINAR ROOM- 5:10

(Our industrious grad student has just finished giving a talk)

GRAD STUDENT

Thanks everyone.  Does anyone have any questions?

VERY TENURED PROFESSOR

I do! Could you explain to me something I read in the New York Times that is only tangentially related to the research you do and not at all related to what you just spent 80 minutes talking about?

GRAD STUDENT

I'm... not sure I can.  I'm sorry.

VERY TENURED PROFESSOR

Well.  Ok.  Can you give me a working hypothesis for an experiment I am just now, while talking to you, making up.  Keep in mind I know nothing about the work that has already been done in the area, I am speaking in very vague terms, and that I respond poorly to ambiguity.

GRAD STUDENT

Er.  The... results... will be significant?

VERY TENURED PROFESSOR

Hm.  Lets talk in my office tomorrow.  How does 6am sound?

Numbers

Grad school is so much fun, sometimes I get e-mail that looks like this:

To:     xxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.edu
From: xxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.edu

Subject: FFA ROI (Please Analyze Over the Weekend)

161.02,188.96,192.9,191.31
161.01,189.99,192.67,191.62
161.38,188.9,191.85,190.49
160.27,187.87,192.07,191.57
160.89,188.03,193.29,191.12
160.98,188.72,193.01,190.23
160.16,188.54,192.54,190.48
159.99,187.7,191.35,190.26
161.39,189.84,192.46,191.19
161.3,189.15,191.92,191.25
161.56,189.65,192.14,190.51
160.61,187.81,191.75,189.57
160.49,188.6,192.19,189.97
161.62,188.14,192.29,189.83
161.14,187.48,191.34,191.17
160.94,188.27,192.29,190.67
161.63,190.16,191.53,190.81
161.31,189.38,191.57,190.51
160.8,188.73,192.34,190.69
160.65,188.41,192.99,191.31
160.35,189.32,192.13,189.96
160.61,188.35,191.87,190.01
160.93,188.29,191.24,190.27
161.04,188.78,192.83,191.2
161.8,189.76,191.97,191.24
161.8,189.7,191.44,190.38
161.4,188.07,191.9,190.59
160.39,187.1,192.67,191.5

Fear of Snow

There is a distinct 80's influence on a lot of new music that I like. Pretty much everything sounds like either Sonic Youth or The Jesus and Mary Chain.  A development I am perfectly fine with, by the way.  Lots of staring at the ground and mumbling. Anyway, the Triángulo de Amor Bizarro track on this mix probably doesn't fit so well with the rest, but I really like it anyway.

1. Shake the Shackles- The Crystal Stilts

2. Crazy Rulers of the World- Surf City

3. Some Candy Talking- The Jesus and Mary Chain

4. Christine- Siouxie and the Banshees

5. There is a Light that Never Goes Out- Dum Dum Girls

6. Sometimes- My Bloody Valentine

7. Blue LA Strip- The Vandelles

8. El Baile do los Caidos-Triángulo de Amor Bizarro