2/ Before one of the sessions started, I struck up a conversation a presenter from earlier in the day. I enjoyed his talk and learned a bit. I told him as much. He asked me about my work. I was "only" a PhD student then, but I knew what I was going to propose for my thesis.
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3/ I told him about it. His response: "That's a blog post not a dissertation." End of conversation.
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4/ He had status in that community; I did not. I figured it was not a good idea to call him a sack of shit, as I'm wont to do. I just stopped talking. He didn't seem to mind.
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5/ It actually fucked with my head for while. Know what doesn't help with
#ImposterSyndrome? Someone implicitly calling your interests and research motivation inadequate.1 reply 0 retweets 8 likesShow this thread -
6/ Removed a few years in time, I can look back with confidence knowing I can do the same work he does. I can contribute to our field. But, had I been in a different point in my life at the time, that type of experience could have pushed me to say, "fuck this, I quit."
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7/ From that experience, it's easy to recognize the basic importance of respecting what people are doing. Even if it's uninteresting to you, it's probably not to them. And, they're putting in work on it, so maybe...don't?
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8/ At a minimum, maybe STFU? Better yet, be supportive and encouraging! (I remember also vividly remember
@MrMeritology telling something like, "good job, that was really cool" on a class project that had me beaming. That stuff accumulates too, but positively.)2 replies 0 retweets 8 likesShow this thread -
9/ But, don't be a dick and do be supportive is only a half the lesson. It also made me realize that my encounter with "that's a blog post not a dissertation"-guy was atypical in that it was an *infrequent* experience. Women experience that shit incessantly.
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Replying to @generativist
While defending my undergrad thesis (theoretical astrochemistry) a prof asked what the point was since it’s not like it was going to cure cancer. My advisor shot him down hard “just because you don’t understand the math doesn’t mean it isn’t important!” Still unsettled me though.
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Replying to @coldclearsea @generativist
I've had similar experiences doing research in theoretical/mathematical chem from professors in experimental chem. Luckily prior to that point I was fortunate to have met a number of awesome people who did both
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Oh, I can definitely see that. "Hard" sciences have that dynamic a lot!
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