How scientists view each other

It was brought to my attention (by another post doc) that there is a very interesting, insightful and visual of how people in science see each other.  Check this out!

Image taken from DrugMonkey.  Please click to see a bigger image.

I especially like the one where technicians see themselves as Chuck Norris - strolling in and kicking practical science ass - every time and every day! Btw, Chuck can also defend your bench from nifty fingers:

Also check out 'Definitions' to see the "power" status of each member of the lab:

DEFINITIONS 

By Lawrence and Gail Bloom 

Appeared in J.I.R., December 1974 

CHAIRMAN OF DEPARTMENT 

Leaps tall buildings at a single bound 

Is more powerful than a locomotive 

Is faster than a speeding bullet 

Walks on water 

Gives policy to God 

PROFESSOR 

Leaps short buildings at a single bound 

Is more powerful than a switch engine 

Is just as fast as a speeding bullet 

Walks on water if the sea is calm 

Talks with God 

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR 

Leaps short buildings with a running start 

Is almost as powerful as a switch engine 

Is faster than a speeding BB 

Walks on water in an indoor swimming pool 

Talks with God if a special request is approved 

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR 

Barely clears a quonset hut 

Loses tug of war with locomotive 

Can fire a speeding bullet 

Swims well 

Is occasionally addressed by God 

INSTRUCTOR 

Makes high marks on wall when trying to leap buildings 

Is run over by locomotive 

Can sometimes handle gun without inflicting self-injury 

Dog paddles 

Talks to animals 

RESEARCH ASSOCIATE 

Runs into buildings 

Recognizes locomotive 2 out of 3 times 

Is not issued ammunition 

Can stay afloat with life jacket 

Talks to walls 

GRADUATE STUDENT 

Falls over doorsteps when trying to enter building 

Says, “Look at the Choo-Choo.” 

Wets himself with water pistol 

Plays in mud puddles 

Mumbles to himself 

TECHNICIAN 

Lifts buildings and walks under them 

Kicks locomotives off the track 

Catches bullets in his teeth and eats them 

Freezes water with a single glance 

Is God …

The eye of Mordor is back tomorrow.  I had better get my get hooves back on the ground and start hauling my load ;-)

'Til then!

Happy Halloween - I mean Easter!

Lets go easter egg hunting!! Image by Paul Sapiano


It is past midnight and I am desperately fumbling for the remote control with my eyes closed to get rid of the creepy advert of yet another horror movie from my TV screen. It's April, for goodness sake! Easter is but a week away, our Kate and Will's wedding is not far off either; it should a time of sunshine, celebration and scoffing Easter eggs. But no, instead, some of us will be happily heading on down to the cinema to take a proverbial dump in the pants:



Why??????

An article blog by Norman Holland (Psychology Today: Why are there horror movies?) suggests that one can find satisfaction from experiencing fear and other unpleasant emotions. As living beings, we learn from a whole host of sensory cues. Fear and other negative emotions signals for danger and from an evolutionary stand point it does us good to pay attention and learn from the situation in order to help us survive. As human beings we enjoy learning, therefore maybe we enjoy learning the art of survival through fictitious media. However, Holland suggests that it is all down to the economising of psychic energy: in an unreal situation we have no need to respond to what is happening. We can just watch and learn and go with the flow and this (apparently) can be relaxing and quite satisfying. In reality however we would be more inclined to do something, like call the police or go knock out that p***k with the mask on. This requires brain activity, extra energy and with the addition of the impending adrenaline rush that energises the fight or flight response, it is this that causes unpleasant sensations.

So having learnt all that, how come I (and others) are such scaredy cats?? I can say in my case I maybe have more of an emotional response to what I perceive, whether it is real or not, since I feel really depressed when I watch sad movies and laugh out loud at comedies. One of the appealing natures of any storyline is that it draws you in to feel for the characters, and that's a good thing as otherwise it would be really boring! However, for the more emotionally sensitive amongst us, movies, books or games invoking negative emotions is a big no-no. I'll go and hide back behind the sofa now...

Source: Psychology today

See also: Norman Holland - Marston-Milbauer Eminent Scholar Emeritus

Wonders of the Universe

After being awed by the sight of the supermoon (19th of March of this year) and oohing and aahing at the revelations by Professor Brian Cox in his aptly named TV series 'Wonders of the Universe' (its over now, making Sunday evening TV boring again), I started trawling the internet for more fascinating and inspiring information on the cosmos (that is easily accessible and understandable to non-physics-or-math-geniuses). Here is a really great page I found: apod is updated daily with pictures taken by NASA and various other sources and features commentary by professional astronomers. These guys also have a lot of fun it seems! Enjoy! :D



Check out:

Supermoon pics

BBC - Wonders of the Universe by Prof. Brian Cox

apod