Brains in Jars Have Needs Too

Blog-fixing-upping won’t happen until June, but it will happen - and almost certainly under the same familiar brand and domain name, archives to be restored just as soon as I can figure out how. Meanwhile:

  • On mentoring:

    In fact, I’d go so far as to say that if the profession were all it’s cracked up to be, then mentoring would be unnecessary because the already existing professional relationships would be fulfilling the needs of members of the profession. Is it wrong for me to think of mentoring as something that fills in the gaps created by a flawed profession? I’m still thinking these things through.

    Via Bitch, Ph.D.

  • Finding mentorship in odd places:

    I spent a lot of time upset that I didn’t have any guidance–I didn’t even have the pat on the back that all of us crave. I felt like I was killing myself to get approval, to be the student that all mentors want to have. This type of thinking leads to frustration, bitterness, and depression. These are bad things.
    […]
    So, my little grasshoppers, learn from my struggles. Your advisor is not your mother or father. You do not need approval or food or shelter from them. It’s nice if you can get those things (well, maybe not the shelter…creepy), but if you can’t, start your hunting expedition.

    Via, umm, I forget, d’oh!

  • Do contrarians make bad scientists? - it’s important not to confuse contrarianism as in “likes to advocate for minority opinions” with contrarianism as in “likes to tell people they are full of shit” - I often fall into the latter category, and it’s made me want to advocate for mainstream views (earthquake prediction, anyone?) as often as minority views.

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