TricksAren'tAlwaysFor
KidsVille
I'm pretty sure I've owned this thing since I was a child.
But I didn't become acutely aware of it until I was in college.
Why?
Because it drove my best friend crazy.
In first year calculus.
Here's the thing. We could sit at the back and mess around, nothing bad really, usually just whispering about homework or an assignment that was due in another class.
Inevitably, when it became abundantly clear that we weren't paying attention, the prof would call on us.
And most of the time I flummoxed my friend S. by answering the question because I kinda/sorta had been.
Paying attention I mean.
I've been doing the same thing to my own family since forever and, while I'm not sure it drives them completely crazy (although it probably does), my kids always laugh when I refer to it as my slightly Rainmanian 'two track' parlour trick.
Weirdly, unlike just about everything else, this two track thing has not started to diminish as I slip and slide toward the end of my sixth decade.
In fact, I now use it fullest advantage in my day job.
Specifically, these days the place where I get a good chunk of my real work done is in those never ending meetings that are all pervasive in the world of academia.
Just yesterday (yes, Saturday!) I was sitting in an all day retreat to discuss curricular renewal. It was was actually pretty important and, to be honest, it's something I'm pretty passionate about.
But...
I also had a colleague who was waiting for a revised sub-aim for a research grant we're writing together.
So, I beavered away on the grant in the back row of the conference room with one ear to program credit and butts-in-seats ground, until things in the room started to get deep into the course duplication weeds and I couldn't help myself.
So I jumped in, said my piece, and then got back writing up to our grant's transgenic gene knock-in strategy.
I thought I was in the clear until the woman sitting next to me, who works in a completely different field, tapped me on the shoulder and whispered, 'What's a knock-in, anyway?'
I started to explain and pretty soon we were having a full-fledged whisperfest.
The chair of the meeting, who is a prof who knows nothing about math, was not amused.
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5 comments:
ps
In molecular cloning and biology, a knock-in (or gene knock-in) refers to a genetic engineering method that involves the one-for-one substitution of DNA sequence information in a genetic locus or the insertion of sequence information not found within the locus.
Over at his place Norm Farrell does a good job informing us of the billions granted by our government to the fossil fuel industry in the form of subsidies and credits.
Meanwhile cancer research scientists are forced to devote valuable time away from their crucial work to sell it’s worth to government in order to continue research.
There’s something wrong with a society that rewards people involved in an industry that is killing us over one that is desperately trying to save us.
That’s the knock.
Thanks for that NVG - I should never forget what happens when you assume...
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Lew--
There are, indeed, issues with our government funding system for biomedical research, not all of which are due to a lack of dollars in, in my opinion. Regardless, there is no disputing that the competition-by-competition success rates of biomedical research operating grant applications are about half of what it was when my lab really got going 20 plus years ago which is becoming extremely problematic as it means that a considerable number of really solid applications now come back repeatedly for review which clogs up the system.
Having said all that, I really like the actual the grant writing process, at least the science part, because it really forces me to stop, step back, read and think...Of course, there is always the deadline rush at the end getting everything finalized, including all the bureaucratic bits that drive everyone around the grant writer crazy*.
(*which in my case is most often C, E and e not to mention the folks I actually work with)
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sometimes the trick is genetic. You once mentioned your Dad having worked on the tugs. Lots of guys who worked boats, had that "trick" but never were fully aware of it. its what kept them from sinking. Eventually it helped you get a PhD. good thing Unions got to be where they were once upon a time/
Now "speaking" of once a upon a time, Blog Borg Collective has a nice article up, reviewing history and money, I think its one of those "oh dear" moments.
Thanks, as always e.a.f. - on both counts.
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