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Two scientists walk into a bar. One steps on stage and delivers ten minutes of raucously funny stand-up comedy. The other enjoys an evening of laughter as enterprising STEM professionals share their science.
Scientists doing stand-up may sound like a joke, but it’s actually the latest innovation in science communication.
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Google is data-obsessed, so it should come as no surprise that the company sought to apply its analytical expertise inside the organization.
In an endeavor dubbed “Project Aristotle,” Google sought to answer a vexing question: What factors are important for a successful, productive team?
Their findings may have profound impacts not just at Google, but in a lab near you…
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Is your lab is filled with compassionate, positive individuals who offer nurturing support and gentle guidance to help you achieve your full potential as a scientist?
We didn’t think so.
While you may encounter a handful of Positive Pollyannas throughout your career, you’re also likely to run into a few Negative Nancys. Rather than encouraging you to keep trying when an experiment fails, they’ll take every opportunity to throw shade on your emerging research project.
This week, we heard from Amygdala (not her real name…), who was getting nothing but discouragement from one of the postdocs in her lab. She writes:
There is a postdoc in my lab who is tangentially involved in the project that I’m working on. This postdoc has extremely negative views regarding the project. This negative view spans from the amount of time it takes to train animals on this task to the variable results that we get with each animal, etc. While I agree about some points that this postdoc is making and that there is always room from improvement, it’s hard for me to not get down about this project. I’m the one directly training the animals and obtaining the results. Given that training animals takes 6 days a week and at least four hours each day, I’m trying to remain positive and not think that I’ve wasted all of this time. My PI and the postdoc whose project this is remain positive and encouraging. However, the tangentially-involved postdoc is someone who I interact more frequently with.
This is a very long-winded way of asking: How does one remain positive regarding their own project while still showing respect to other people’s views regarding the project? And is it appropriate for people to comment negatively on other people’s projects?
We address her concerns and offer some (hopefully) helpful advice for dealing with negativity from your lab mates.
For Science in the News, Josh celebrates Healthy and Safe Swimming Week with a story about Cryptosporidium in pool water. It’s a serious water-borne illness that you can prevent by not drinking where you swim.
Or you can get YOUR test strips today!
We also try an unfiltered sour beer from Sierra Nevada. It’s the Otra Vez Gose-Style Ale brewed with cactus and grapefruit.
Since the trendy flavors have shifted from intensely bitter IPAs to intensely sour Goses, we predict the next big hit will be beers that taste like cigarette butts and cat urine!
And soon after that, the hipsters will complain about those flavors being ‘mainstream.’ Sigh…
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Traditionally, spending time on social media was a great way to make your PI angry. Your job is to finish experiments, read papers, and present your work at conferences, not to upvote and share the latest blue-dress illusion.
But there are some unexpected benefits to the Twitter network that could help your science and your career.
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Spoiler Alert: Working in a lab is tough.
Yes, there’s the academic challenge, but it can also be an emotional roller-coaster when experiments fail, colleagues conflict, and you push yourself past the normal limits.
When someone in your lab has a bad day, does it sound like this?
Grad Student: (despondent sigh) “I can’t believe that PCR failed again. I’m never going to graduate.”
Lab Mate: (in a rush) “Yeah, that sucks. Check your primers again.”
Instead of finding support among peers and co-workers – the very people who understand how difficult lab can be – we often find indifference, dismissal, or half-hearted pity.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.