Here is what I have learned:
- I have a very short attention span. 3 x 25 minute talks/session is A LOT more than I can process, even if all three talks are on topics that I find intensely interesting and in which I have more than enough background to understand what's going on. [Note to self: Ask Dr. at my next pretend-to-manage-migraines appointment if Ritalin or Adderall have any off-label indications for migraines...you know, seeing as my actual migraine medication is totally falling down on the job.]
- There are several other sub-sub-fields in which I would consider doing a post-doc. I was aware of these fields even as an undergrad, but I had completely forgotten about them...I think that I have been wearing dissertation blinders for too long.
- One of the three transgenic mice we could use for Shiny New Technique probably won't work for my purposes (I already know that the other two will, just not as well as I had initially hoped). This little tidbit via a coffee break conversation with one of the speakers who also works on these tg mice, also some tricks for getting the troublesome genotyping to work - super nice guy!
- Catering at Really Big Research Institute is generally pretty good...but the fish is not to be trusted! [I've been regretting that choice all afternoon.]
- Professor Grand Poobah from Fancy-Pants Research Institute is a total dick!
Yesterday the first talk in one of the sessions was really interesting and ground-breaking and was composed of several incredibly elegant experiments that got at all the beautiful little nuances of this master process in sub-field. It was one of those talks that just makes you want to break out in song by the end. So good! Even more impressive was that the speaker was very young, fresh out of a post-doc, just started the lab a few years ago and is already knocking out this totally hot science. And a woman...not that that should make it surprising, just that I noticed.
Supplemental Movie 1: Re-enactment of my reaction to this awesome talk...I really did almost spontaneously break into song at the end!
At the end of her talk, some greybeard in the back asked a really good question:
Greybeard: Have you considered that sub-population A of the field you are testing actually arises from a separate source, and that this may affect the implementation of Really Elegant Experiment and thus the effects of sub-population A on the master program of this system?
Speaker: Thank you for bringing that up! Yes, we have considered the effects of multiple sources...I didn't have time to get into the data in this talk but we have ruled out that possibility, and I should also remind you that our experimental design included a global manipulation of the system so that it affects all sub-populations at their sources. As such, our conclusions remain that this effect is totally nuanced and novel and cool.
Greybeard: No, I think that you have not considered sub-population A's source because your results are clearly impossible!
[Me: {WTF!?!?! Who the hell is that guy!?!?!}]
Speaker: [!!!, recovers from shock, proceeds in a calm and collected manner] Well, let me see if I can explain this more clearly...[returns to experimental design slide]. As you can see, with our experimental design, we are implementing a global change in the system which includes all the sub-populations at each of their local sources. This could affect sub-population A in the following way, which would cause this perturbation. As you can see from the results, this is not the case, which means that sub-population A continues to behave appropriately in the context of the system. Thus, we conclude that the effect we are seeing is the result of nuanced, novel and cool master regulation of the system at large, rather than a specific effect that would exclude sub-population A.
Greybeard: No, no, no. Your results are just not possible. We can talk after the session so that I can explain to you why you are wrong.
Speaker: [Tight-lipped "smile"] Sure, I'd be happy to discuss my findings with you at the break.
[Me: I know enough about this to follow and she had me convinced...perhaps Greybeard knows something more about this field to consider some other factor, but she has clearly addressed this...wait a minute!! Did he really just call her a liar!?!? I mean, if you take issue with the interpretation of the results, by all means, question and discuss! But to tell someone that their results are impossible!?! What, like she made them up? Is that what you're saying? That you think she got up here and gave a talk based on fraudulent results? Would you have said that to a fellow Greybeard? I kind of doubt it...I have no idea who you are buddy, but congratulations, you just convinced me that are possibly the biggest asshat on the planet.]
Session Chair: Thank you, Speaker, for that very interesting and exciting talk...our next speaker is Dr. Grand Poobah from Fancy-Pants Research Institute. [Greybeard steps up to the podium]
[Me:....figures....]
I asked Fellow Student what he thought of this exchange at the break...he used to work on that specific subfield so I figured he would know about the sub-population A issue. He explained why sub-pop A could have been an issue but also that with Speaker's system, it shouldn't be. He totally didn't get that Dr. Grand Poobah was being insulting...maybe because of the language barrier. I reiterated the exchange along with which particular parts I found objectionable.
Fellow Student: Oh, really? He said that!!? I missed that...hmmmm...well, you know he is very famous in this field.
Me: [Grrrrr.] Yes, I gathered.
Fellow Student: [pause] But really?!?! He said that!?!? Did he really say her results were impossible? Famous is no reason to be so rude.
Thank you. 'Nuff said.
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11 comments:
You might find this totally too personal (understandable) but what are you taking for your migraines? Because my meds have been switched around a LOT, and some of what I have been on have ABSOLUTELY affected my attention span. I mean, unbelievably so. Like, depression-level (but not actually depressed, just the whole, no matter how interesting this should be, I just can't sit here for any longer and care about what you are saying thing). Actually, one of the meds that worked best at preventing migraines came with the worst side effects, unfortunately.
EtBr - That's totally how I feel. I don't care if it's too personal, I just want something that works without totally effing up my day-to-day function. If it's messing with concentration that could explain a lot lately - I really hope that might be it!
I was originally taking Imitrex (horrible!) which is a vasodilator that functioned a bit too well as far as I'm concerned. More like a pan-smooth muscle relaxant which has the completely unacceptable side effect of total constipation, like I didn't crap for 5 days! And dry mouth. And diziness. Sorry, that's not better.
My current prescription is Relpax which isn't horrible, but isn't all that effective either.
I should say that I don't strictly take it daily. I tend to have migraine cycles so when I'm feeling good I don't take drugs, and when the migraines go on a bender I tend to take them "as needed" (every day til they quit). Which has been often lately.
I noticed in one of your earlier posts that you were on one that caused some weight gain? Which one was that? I know I've gained weight bc I haven't had the time/energy to run as much as I used to...but when I was running a lot I had a much harder time than usual losing the weight...and was also on Relpax pretty consistently at that time.
Any advice/experience you can offer would be SO appreciated.
There are Dr Grand Poobah assholes EVERYWHERE in science so get used to it! They like to hear themselves talk and enjoy having everyone in the room know who they are. When I get to be a Dr Grand Poobah-ess, I intend to be the most arrogant bitch in my field ... then again, maybe not :)
PiT - Yeah, the fact that he wanted everyone to pay attention to him was clear...he was oozing ego.
But seriously, why would you tell someone that their RESULTS are impossible when they just spent the last 25 minutes showing you THE DATA?
Like I said, if you don't like the interpretation that's one thing...but to say that it is NOT POSSIBLE for her to have gotten he results that she did is ABSURD. It implies that the data she presented where made up. It would have been far more time-consuming to fabricate these data to the point of them being convincing than it would have been to do the friggin' experiment, so I'm just not buying that one...and I don't think that he really mean to to imply that he thought she was a fraud...just that she was stupid, which she was not.
He certainly got everyone's attention - which was drawn to the fact that not only is he an arrogant asshole (I know, they're everywhere), but he's also completely moronic.
I have to say I was impressed with how well the Speaker handled him.
And I doubt that you will be so horrible as this guy when you're a Grand Poobah-ess...I read your blog. You are exponentially more reasonable.
So, I'm on a totally different routine than you... I'm on preventative meds. I generally get 4-5 migraines/month, and for me, they typically last around 36-48 hours of vomiting, blurry vision... total non-functional, no way I could possibly be working type conditions. So to be missing 2 days/week every week is just not feasible, so I take medication every single day to prevent them.
I do take Midrin, however, when I do get a migraine, and it seems to work pretty well for me -- 1 pill each hour for the first 6 hours (if your migraines don't last long -- apparently most people have SHORT migraines, lucky bastards, then I guess you don't have to go the full 6 pills). 6 pill limit/24 hours. Unfortunately, I've never been on them alone without my other daily migraine meds, so I can't vouch for the side effects of the Midrin alone, but it might be something to ask your doctor about if you're not happy with the Relpax.
I gained like a bazillion pounds (okay, 35) on Inderal. It actually worked GREAT other than all the weight gain -- very minimal side effects, prevented my migraines, didn't feel like shit the way I do on most of the other meds... but I just could not stop gaining weight! And this was right before my wedding so I was counting calories like a maniac because I had visions of not fitting in my dress (it was kind of a disaster) and working out nonstop and just kept packing on the pounds, so finally my doctor had to pull me off. Next I went on Topamax, which for the most part worked on the migraines -- maybe 1/month or less (big improvement from 4-5/month) but the side effects were a bitch. I got really depressed on it, couldn't focus on anything, didn't care about anything (and not just the typical hating the lab -- I didn't want to do the non-science things I liked, either), I just felt AWFUL, and then I started to lose my vision, probably permanently (I now have standing dates with the ophthalmology clinic at the hospital to see if it's going to get better -- total bummer since I had 20/20 vision before I started on it).
Now, I'm on the third (and final) main class of migraine prophylactics -- tri-cyclic antidepressants. Hate them. Hate hate. Seem to do nothing for me (except that I don't feel so shitty as before, but that probably has more to do with NOT being on the Topamax, but I miss it and want to go back on, if it wasn't for the vision thing). They don't seem to do anything for my migraines - I switched over maybe 3 weeks ago and have already had 4 migraines since then, and they seem to be worse than before. Plus, I'm gaining weight again, which is pretty standard for tri-cyclic antidepressants -- "EXTREME" weight gain is listed as a common side effect (WTF?). So I think I'm going to stay on these through the end of the year to give them an equal-opportunity chance to try to kick in (and make me fatter) and then haul ass back to the neurologist and make him give me something else. Or put me back on the Topamax, blindness be damned.
And I doubt that you will be so horrible as this guy when you're a Grand Poobah-ess...I read your blog. You are exponentially more reasonable.
So you're the one that reads my blog :) I'm just not cut out to be an arrogant, grandstanding bitch. I hate it when people do things like that and vowed that I would never become one of them.
EtBr and AA- have you considered Maxalt for the migranes. I take it, and I love it- it is fast- about 30 minutes and the migrane is gone.
AA- I enjoyed your post and I wrote a little something myself on this topic which I have linked to you.
You can find it here
AA, I commented over at DrDrA's post on this topic concerning your comment there, but I am copying it over here in case you don't go over there to look.
You suggested the following approach to the asshole:
–I’m sorry, I misheard you. Could you repeat your QUESTION?
If he persisted with the “impossible results”:
–Perhaps I am misunderstanding your QUESTION. Are you saying that you believe that these RESULTS are impossible? Because I can assure you that they were produced exactly as I have presented. If you’d like to continue to discuss my INTERPRETATION of the results I would be happy to meet with you during the break so that we can sort out this misunderstanding.
I disagree with this approach, because it starts off way too defensive: “I’m sorry”; “perhaps I am misunderstanding”; “I can assure you”. *Never* say, “I’m sorry” when giving a presentation. And why pretend that *you* are misunderstanding, when you are not? By saying, “I can assure you…”, you are validating the premise of the attack by attempting to defend against it on the merits.
Rather, when it becomes clear that a questioner is being an asshole, go on the *offensive*: “Clearly, you are misunderstanding the point. Feel free to approach me after the talk and we can try to figure out where you are going wrong.” ZING!
Thanks CPP - That is MUCH better approach (I will save that for my next talk)...I commented further at drdrA's about how it's hard to strike a balance of appropriate ZING without distracting people from your data...it's harder for women bc people expect an answer in kind from men...but when women do it they come off as "bitchy" sometimes. I think that your response hits that balance really nicely.
Another Thought:
Perhaps Dr. Grand Poobah was getting a little nervous about having to speak after the young female PI. Her talk really was a hard act to follow, and even though Dr. GP's got years of experience behind him, his talk really paled in comparison to the one given by the young woman who opened the session.
I imagine he was sitting in the audience during her talk starting to sweat about NOT being the guy who blows everyone away with his earth-shattering findings and made the drive-by character assassination (as DrDrA so eloquently put it) in a pathetic attempt to stoke his flagging ego.
BACKFIRE!
What a sorry, sad little man if that is the case. Why can't we just love the science? I mean sure, I was totally envious of Awesome Young Female PI and her kick-ass story...but that made want to BE her rather than DESTROY her.
I'm astounded by how many scientists in the blog-o-sphere seem to suffer with migraines, I wonder if this is a statistical anomaly, or just a biased sampling (i.e. migraine-sufferers leave migraine-related comments where others do not).
I, too, suffer from migraines, and have fortunately found a reasonably effective treatment regime. Like EtBr, I have found Inderal (here in Australia it actually goes by its pharmacological name - propranalol) to be quite effective in preventing migraines, and have not seen the same weight gain side effects. I am, however, only on a very low dose (40 mg), but I believe that there are studies that have shown that this lies well within the therapeutic window for migraine prevention (although it is outside the therapeutic window - too low - as an effective heart disease medication). I also find that, when I do get a migraine (less often these days, but it still happens *sigh*) the most effective thing for me is to take either paracetamol/acetaminophen or aspirin straight away. This doesn't stop the damn thing happening but does significantly reduce the length of the migraine and severity of symptoms.
Hope that's of some use.
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