"I tell myself that I will learn how to differentiate the space station from all of them soon."
At a winter Sunday Assembly event before the pandemic, an attendee told us the ISS was coming by that night, and that we could see it if we went outside during our potluck. As an evidence-based, science-loving crew, we did, and it was a surprisingly unifying, moving experience for us. I recommend watching the dot fly across the sky some time. There are sites and apps to help know when.
"You must not be a science prodigy"
Fuck that guy.
---
I'm really remembering the joyful feeling of learning from how you write about your time in school.
"It was the kind of place where students bragged about being exhausted and overworked."
Georgia Tech is the same way. It's a frustrating culture with hints of endorsement from the institution, which is extra reprehensible.
"For years afterwards, I beat myself up about this, about my lack of focus and my naivete about the academic job market."
I had a friend at GT who had a hard time finding work as a post-grad that fit his passions. I remember his photo in Antarctica at that giant ice cube particle experiment area. I really feel for him and folks in the post-grad position trying to find their way. Last I recall he's doing observatory work in Madison.
"I tried to make it a habit to spend the first week of each class on discussions of what physics even is or why we think science works as a way of knowing the world with young students who were often apprehensive about it."
I love forming a solid foundation that answers questions often taken for granted in a class. Forming shared understanding and buy-in to the topic probably has a big impact. I'm glad some students seemed to appreciate it.
"catch a glimpse of a train of thought falling in place"
This made me smile because you're a good writer and this is such a real, joyful phenomenon.
I also applaud you clearly learning and evolving your pedagogy in response to what worked and didn't work for your students. Plenty of folks do not reflect nor attempt to improve at all.
this is the first time I saw this, and it is, well, a gripping story - had me hanging on every sentence, tbh — you are such a marvelous writer
all through your recounting of those grad school years, your professors and fellow students (and omfg that boyfriend) I was naturally thinking about my experiences, how lucky I was to have professors who were very kind people, who mentored me so generously - but then I was male and also in a field (sociology) that probably has less of the… what, tensions? of physics, and not so dependent on grants as we need not much equipment, devices, or lab facilities - anyway, your stories of those years (and then the job market struggles — here again, I was just so bloody lucky) were painful to read but did so much to help me (and I think every reader) learn about you, so really, thank you for sharing them
also,was thinking now about physics, and sociology - the latter has plainly not developed the same form of science, not made the kinds of discoveries physicists have made - a scholar in my field whose work was an inspiration for me, Harold Garfinkel, wrote quite a lot toward the end of his career about the natural sciences as ‘discovering sciences of practical action’, compared to the ‘talking sciences’ like sociology, anthropology — curious if you have ever seen the writings of Garfinkel and his students and colleagues Michael Lynch and Eric Livingston
and then, the cakes! amazing looking, and I’m sure amazing tasting
Thanks Jack, I appreciate you reading! I think academia differs so much across sciences and it has also changed so much over time - my partner is a social psychologist and watching him get his PhD taught me a lot about how a science becomes more quantitative and what the fall out from people trying to be more like "hard" sciences is. And I think those of us on the more mathy side are sometime too quick to dismiss the talking sciences! We need every approach we have, if we're ever gonna understand the world in full, I think. I'm adding Garfinkel to my reading list - sounds really compelling.
the whole field of ‘social studies of science’ has been quite controversial insofar as the life and physical sciences folks are often not so keen to read what social scientists — especially ethnographers! — have to say about their profession and its workings
but then, what could social scientists possibly say that those in the ‘hard sciences’ find useful? maybe why I never tried to study those scientists and their labs lol
when I was doing ethnographic studies of emergency communications systems, which toward the end of over a decade of work included working full time as a 9-1-1 dispatcher for 18 months, I made a special effort to make my research useful to those I studied; in fact, wanting to devote myself to applied research, work that would be truly useful for the people whom you were studying, was the reason I eventually left academia (and when I returned to academia some 12 years later, it was in a design school, which by its very nature is ‘applied’)
doing science journalism seems perfect for making the discoveries, the work of scientists, understandable and hopefully useful for non-scientists, and you do it so well Karmela (like, quantum physics, which was mostly a real mystery to me until I started reading your stuff)
"I tell myself that I will learn how to differentiate the space station from all of them soon."
At a winter Sunday Assembly event before the pandemic, an attendee told us the ISS was coming by that night, and that we could see it if we went outside during our potluck. As an evidence-based, science-loving crew, we did, and it was a surprisingly unifying, moving experience for us. I recommend watching the dot fly across the sky some time. There are sites and apps to help know when.
"You must not be a science prodigy"
Fuck that guy.
---
I'm really remembering the joyful feeling of learning from how you write about your time in school.
"It was the kind of place where students bragged about being exhausted and overworked."
Georgia Tech is the same way. It's a frustrating culture with hints of endorsement from the institution, which is extra reprehensible.
"For years afterwards, I beat myself up about this, about my lack of focus and my naivete about the academic job market."
I had a friend at GT who had a hard time finding work as a post-grad that fit his passions. I remember his photo in Antarctica at that giant ice cube particle experiment area. I really feel for him and folks in the post-grad position trying to find their way. Last I recall he's doing observatory work in Madison.
"I tried to make it a habit to spend the first week of each class on discussions of what physics even is or why we think science works as a way of knowing the world with young students who were often apprehensive about it."
I love forming a solid foundation that answers questions often taken for granted in a class. Forming shared understanding and buy-in to the topic probably has a big impact. I'm glad some students seemed to appreciate it.
"catch a glimpse of a train of thought falling in place"
This made me smile because you're a good writer and this is such a real, joyful phenomenon.
I also applaud you clearly learning and evolving your pedagogy in response to what worked and didn't work for your students. Plenty of folks do not reflect nor attempt to improve at all.
this is the first time I saw this, and it is, well, a gripping story - had me hanging on every sentence, tbh — you are such a marvelous writer
all through your recounting of those grad school years, your professors and fellow students (and omfg that boyfriend) I was naturally thinking about my experiences, how lucky I was to have professors who were very kind people, who mentored me so generously - but then I was male and also in a field (sociology) that probably has less of the… what, tensions? of physics, and not so dependent on grants as we need not much equipment, devices, or lab facilities - anyway, your stories of those years (and then the job market struggles — here again, I was just so bloody lucky) were painful to read but did so much to help me (and I think every reader) learn about you, so really, thank you for sharing them
also,was thinking now about physics, and sociology - the latter has plainly not developed the same form of science, not made the kinds of discoveries physicists have made - a scholar in my field whose work was an inspiration for me, Harold Garfinkel, wrote quite a lot toward the end of his career about the natural sciences as ‘discovering sciences of practical action’, compared to the ‘talking sciences’ like sociology, anthropology — curious if you have ever seen the writings of Garfinkel and his students and colleagues Michael Lynch and Eric Livingston
and then, the cakes! amazing looking, and I’m sure amazing tasting
Thanks Jack, I appreciate you reading! I think academia differs so much across sciences and it has also changed so much over time - my partner is a social psychologist and watching him get his PhD taught me a lot about how a science becomes more quantitative and what the fall out from people trying to be more like "hard" sciences is. And I think those of us on the more mathy side are sometime too quick to dismiss the talking sciences! We need every approach we have, if we're ever gonna understand the world in full, I think. I'm adding Garfinkel to my reading list - sounds really compelling.
I always love reading your essays, and the stuff in New Scientist (and the podcasts too)
here is one collection from Garfinkel et al that is representative of the work…
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003172611-4/respecifying-natural-sciences-discovering-sciences-practical-action-harold-garfinkel
the whole field of ‘social studies of science’ has been quite controversial insofar as the life and physical sciences folks are often not so keen to read what social scientists — especially ethnographers! — have to say about their profession and its workings
but then, what could social scientists possibly say that those in the ‘hard sciences’ find useful? maybe why I never tried to study those scientists and their labs lol
when I was doing ethnographic studies of emergency communications systems, which toward the end of over a decade of work included working full time as a 9-1-1 dispatcher for 18 months, I made a special effort to make my research useful to those I studied; in fact, wanting to devote myself to applied research, work that would be truly useful for the people whom you were studying, was the reason I eventually left academia (and when I returned to academia some 12 years later, it was in a design school, which by its very nature is ‘applied’)
doing science journalism seems perfect for making the discoveries, the work of scientists, understandable and hopefully useful for non-scientists, and you do it so well Karmela (like, quantum physics, which was mostly a real mystery to me until I started reading your stuff)