Space Data Scientist

What's the appropriate response if an American postdoc says they are so excited about data/project X but their tone and gesturing is flat and unengaged, opposite to the words.

Am I allowed to bring it up as "What makes you concerned about X, is there something wrong?" or similar.

Seems strange to me to leave it unaddressed, but I understand American culture is sorta requiring positive and enthusiastic language.

#Astrodon #AcademicChatter #confused #culturalDifferences #Americans #Question

At least my cough is productive today

#doubleentendre #pun #astrodon #AcademicChatter

Thanks for #applying to our position in the #physics department. Your research is excellent. But your pitch went too much into subdivision A, while we are subdivision B. Please apply next time subdivision A has a call. No, we don't write in the ad that we want someone in A. We write physics department, consisting of A and B. #insiderknowledgerequired #AcademicChatter #astrodon

Sorry for trying to build bridges in your organization.

I don't really bring up this with the students, it will panic them, because they all expect me to make it - easily.
Other #postdocs are equally stressed out, so the prevailing strategy is #toxicpositivity #mentalhealth. And it's surprising how many days a man can go without being asked "How are you?" That said, I am still happy when underrepresented folks get the jobs ... there are some great people out there. #AcademicChatter #Astrodon

The first rule of #PostDoclife is:
Try not to go crazy #worklifebalance #mentalhealth

The second rule of #Postdoclife is:
Do something useful for science #studydesign #deepwork #methodology #scientificsoftwaredevelopment
#hardworkisrare #focusisprecious

The third rule of #Postdoclife is:
Tell others the cool thing you did #writepapers #outreach #presentations

Go to rule 1.

#AcademicChatter #Astrodon

90% of my #careercoach and #psychologist's replies are:
"Well but how do *you* feel about it?"
"Practice reflecting on situations where you felt inadequate, notice when old feelings come up and why. Do positive #selftalk."
"That is quite common."
"That seems like a reasonable way to handle such a situation."

It is not useless. It is surprisingly powerful to be told by another #human that what one is going through is well within the breadth of human experience. #astrodon #AcademicChatter

Sat on a large conference dinner table today with a Palestinian (from Gaza, several family members dead) and a Ukrainian (late because was on the phone with family in Kiev) researcher. Meanwhile, I know a Israeli researcher on an ERC with two students. Petitions at work are disallowed, but our systems *are* picking winners and loosers. What can we do? We should not blame individuals, but we also cannot stand by, can we? #geopolitics #AcademicChatter #astrodon #war #Colonialism #systemicbarriers

New #PhD babies this week 🎉🎉 ... so happy to advise 2 students (one new, one 3rd year) and help some 3 more... we hired some really good ones! The 3rd year one really developed a lot. He used to treat me like a buddy and took his work not so serious, now he sends plots ahead of meetings, has an agenda, thinks ahead and drives the project. #advisor #AcademicChatter #astrodon

Saw a institute announcing their latest #data #science #astrophysicist #professor #hire, saying how passionate he is about his #hobby, piloting planes. Really? In this day and age, we are proud of that? Should I say I love beating animals as a hobby? If you still love #flying today you are either bad at #physics or dislike #data, or you don't believe in the #scientificmethod. #WTF #climatechange #astrodon #AcademicChatter

A toxic idea has become stronger over the last decades in the US. I see it in people dropping their trash left and right, how their treat their public transport, how they cut each other off driving, all the way to the prewident and the government's environmental #policy. The idea is: "What if my actions don't have consequences for me." And then these folks come together and want to "protect our way of life" and "our interests". #selfishness #egoism #society #politics #usa

Not the flowchart you wanted, but the flowchart you need. When to use AI? #llm #ChatGPT #ai #genai #machinelearning #ai4science

In the last few months, I have felt #overwhelmed, #overworked, #anxious, behind and planless. But, couple of days ago I stopped drinking big mugs of #blacktea daily. I think I am doing better. More sleepy during the day, sure. Bursty work efficiency, deep work and flow, but that's as usual. Quick googling suggests there isn't a link between #caffeine and #anxiety though, so may be #confirmationbias. #astrodon #postdoclife #publishandperish

I'm still debating reporting through other channels... I don't want to make the victim be a victim defined by this situation.
I wanted to ask her whether she wants help / a witness reporting it, but couldn't yet find a good situation to do it.

Advice welcome, especially from female #astrodon.

It's a problem.

#harassment #office #professionalbehaviour #sexism #sexualharassment #WorkplaceHarassment #workplacenorms

Ugh, it's exhausting to address senior colleagues #misbehavior.

I'll report back after the poll is over with how I reacted to the hallway situation so far...

#office #professionalbehaviour #sexism #sexualharassment #astrodon #WorkplaceHarassment #workplacenorms #astrodon

If you decide to not let it rest, you can
a) report it, which will get other people getting involved, maybe reprimanding the person. The person may deny it happened, say it was a joke. The victim may not want to make a fuzz.
b) you talk to the perpetrator directly. They may feel attacked, try to isolate you, and why are you making a fuzz, and not hear you.
c) you talk with senior colleagues, creating rumors

#poll #office #professionalbehaviour #astrodon #WorkplaceHarassment #workplacenorms

You see a male colleague put their arm around a female colleague, then grab their ass. They say "hey!" in a disapproving tone. Then they keep chatting.

You think this unprofessional and ask another colleague for the names of the people by description to bring it up. This makes you 80% certain you have the male colleague's name. Do you pursue this further? #poll #office #professionalbehaviour #sexism #sexualharassment #astrodon #WorkplaceHarassment #workplacenorms

Some of the quantum entanglement research budget should be diverted to solving headphone entanglement. #quantumentanglement #showerthoughts

Imagine the #trolleyproblem, but instead of 5 vs. 1 people it is cows and chickens suffering and causing #climatechange vs. you gaining a slightly higher #risk of #cancer. That's how I feel when people say "#meatreplacements do not taste the same, look at the #NutriScore, I want the original." #okay.

https://xkcd.com/1338/

But the most exciting thing about the meat replacements industry will be exploring the space of possible creations between poultry/pork/beef that no human has tasted yet.

Today, I had another one of these moments. Two weeks ago I had a unfriendly, essentially #passiveaggressive exchange with a #colleague & felt annoyed. I couldn't catch her, so the #conflict lingered. Exhausting. Then I see her #office door open today. But: the feeling that I don't want to deal with the conflict, just want to duck away. Alas, I take the step and knock on her door. We have a chat & clear the air. It's always worth it, so why is it #scary every time? #professionalism #astrodon

The more #tiktok videos I see of dates where men look for a stay-at-home, always-available wife, of #Karens, of #royalfamily stargazers, of #rightwingers inciting #jealousy to the less fortunate, the more I think a little, asshole part of our brain wants slavery and feudal hierarchy. #handsmaidIsNotATutorial #no2project2025 #RefugeesWelcome #slavery #BlackLivesMatter time to remind people of the french revolution #Liberté, #égalité & #fraternité and make it a reality https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTokCringe/comments/1f2nx8l/the_things_some_people_put_up_with_in_their/

Day 5 of "how long can I ignore my boring admin TODO items and play with astro data instead?" #astrodonchatter #researchlife #travelreimbursementsareboring

Referee: do a grammar check before resubmitting this paper
Reply to the referee: we checked for grandmas but didn't find any #AcademicChatter #Astrodon #nerdyjokes

@reallyflygreg 1) people should be thinking all kinds of things all day long, but how we are acting upon these thoughts is what makes a character. 2) a more interesting question than definitively settling #COVID19 #CovidOrigin is: in the last 20 years, how did the increasingly frequent zoonotic viruses originate, and what do we need to do about it?

"ChatGPT says on this <social issue our group in a meeting disagrees on>: ..." is the most disturbing type of discussion contribution I encountered this week. Is that what we are succumbing to? Listening uncritically to machine garbage made from stolen data piles? #ChatGPT #societalimpact #learningfrommachines #bananas #ohthehumanity

I'm told I am #generous in helping other #researchers and for #collaboration, especially on #DataScience . But if someone plays foul, like not giving #coauthorship nor acknowledgement, takes my #opensource code but doesn't share theirs, they go on my mental blacklist until they do something positive, unrequested.

Reflecting over the weekend, this is the tit-for-tat #strategy -- the overall optimum according to #gametheory

#TIL: In loud environments, #birds sing louder (Lombard effect), shorter and earlier in the day. Whether the same selective pressure applies to human activity, to get the message out earlier, in shorter and louder form? #curios #noise #noisepollution #nature #democracy #Communication

If I drive 10km/h for 5 min, then increase my speed by 10%, continue for the next 5 min, speed up by 10% again, how far have I gone after 2 hours? How is it different if I speed up 10% after every passed km? #analogy #exponentialGrowth #interestrates #riddle #math

Application portal: "Please upload your profile picture. Must be <2GB" Ok, I will try. #Computers #computerSaysNo #lol