tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post1304408303248495084..comments2024-03-25T02:33:41.590-05:00Comments on FemaleScienceProfessor: Feast or FamineFemale Science Professorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15288567883197987690noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-90207961041486836172008-11-19T16:39:00.000-06:002008-11-19T16:39:00.000-06:00I had never heard about snacks after seminar. Soun...I had never heard about snacks after seminar. Sounds like a good idea. Our seminar for invited talks was at 4pm, so the coffee/cookies before helped the attendants stay awake and most people went into the offices to finish up and go home after the talk. These were on thursdays. Fridays were our informal grad student talks with no refreshments but we had a beer lounge in the dept. that students and sometimes profs. would go to afterwards. The speaker received a free beer.Jenniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07986787458979351622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-73211896998453978642008-11-18T01:44:00.000-06:002008-11-18T01:44:00.000-06:00I agree. After for food. But coffee is better to h...I agree. After for food. <BR/><BR/>But coffee is better to have before (and ideally, during). <BR/><BR/>illegal alien, I have to agree, sugar and caffeine make you more nervous. The calmer I am, the better my talks.Ms.PhDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06542602867472447035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-80409657559766540672008-11-17T21:02:00.000-06:002008-11-17T21:02:00.000-06:00I live relatively far away from my school, so the ...I live relatively far away from my school, so the attractiveness of free food is canceled out by the transportation cost. The food is served afterwards, and I think its most important function is to encourage discussion after the talk. Of course, most of the discussion us grad students have involve a) griping about TA work or b) how delicious the spring rolls are. The most hilarious post-talk discussions with profs begin around 30 minutes after the talk, because our post-talk nibbles also include free booze.Evehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02264848674807433431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-90717718460781911672008-11-17T19:21:00.000-06:002008-11-17T19:21:00.000-06:00My current department has no snacks-- due to budge...My current department has no snacks-- due to budget limitations. We take the speaker out to lunch & dinner, and what with hotel & airfare & taxis, it all adds up to quite a lot. <BR/><BR/>My grad department had a lot of seminars every week (5? 10?), some had refreshments and some did not. The one I attended most regularly did not serve refreshments. The excuse (this was a very well-endowed institution so budget could not be the explanation) was that students should attend for The Right Reasons.Ivy Climberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04747551662197485139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-62344222766909080972008-11-17T14:27:00.000-06:002008-11-17T14:27:00.000-06:00The practice in Germany is to invite the speaker t...The practice in Germany is to invite the speaker to a restaurant with faculty and some of the most interested students or at least the ones who know not to wipe their mouths on their sleeves. <BR/><BR/>If you give them enough beer you can learn interesting stuff before you shovel them onto the train to go home.EliRabetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07957002964638398767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-75858562008376130262008-11-17T11:48:00.000-06:002008-11-17T11:48:00.000-06:00I concur. Over the summer I did some research at ...I concur. Over the summer I did some research at another institution where the weekly research meetings were infamous for the scones that one of the profs brought from a local co-op bakery. Good times...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-41361368625667316812008-11-17T11:19:00.000-06:002008-11-17T11:19:00.000-06:00I totally agree with FSP that, as a speaker, I don...I totally agree with FSP that, as a speaker, I don't really appreciate pre-talk coffee and nibblies. A glass or bottle of water is appreciated, but that's it.<BR/><BR/>As an audience member, I like the drinks / snacks <I>after</I> the talk rather than before, preferably if there's a glass of wine involved at the end-of-day seminar time. My current department, alas, doesn't allow wine (under the excuse that alcohol is only permitted for certain types of events, or some such waffle) so we are stuck with instant coffee (yuck), stale tea (yuck) and some herbal teas (sometimes ok) so the selection is unlikely to impress any visitor.<BR/><BR/>Given the patchy attendance at our departmental seminars, I think the option of a glass of wine would go a long way towards shifting the culture towards turning up for scheduled talks.Not Just Academichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01032887423006916040noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-41952394826053449552008-11-17T11:03:00.000-06:002008-11-17T11:03:00.000-06:00It is a bad idea for me as a speaker to enjoy pre-...It is a bad idea for me as a speaker to enjoy pre-talk cookies etc. because I get hyper, talk very fast, then crash during the talk. The audience can get hyper and crash on sugar and caffeine if they want, but it's better if I don't.Female Science Professorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15288567883197987690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-63188481307245253142008-11-17T08:34:00.000-06:002008-11-17T08:34:00.000-06:00It is not clear to me why do you think it is a ver...It is not clear to me why do you think it is a very bad idea to enjoy pre-talk cookies, coffee etc.<BR/><BR/>Can you please clarify this for me?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-31833399560245482392008-11-17T07:04:00.000-06:002008-11-17T07:04:00.000-06:00your goodyour goodAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com