And it was embarrassing, because the interviewer’s response to my answer was perfectly natural and fair. I was completely caught out, to the point where I wasn’t able to think on my feet and give a coherent reply as far as I can recall. To which my interviewer immediately responded “But you don’t do anything like that.” The implication being that I wasn’t doing what I myself considered the best sort of work in ecology and evolution. 1994 (evolutionary optimization of space-filling circulatory systems as an explanation for quarter-power allometric scaling the paper that’s at the core of the “metabolic theory of ecology”). I was prepared for this and immediately replied West et al. The interviewer asked me what I thought was the best ecology and evolution paper published in the last decade. And the fact that I did eventually figure out the Price equation didn’t retroactively make the awkwardness and mortification go away.Īnother embarrassing moment I recall was when I was totally caught out by a line of questioning on a faculty job interview. It was very awkward, and totally mortifying. Here I was, standing in front of the Alan Grafen talking nonsense. In an instant, I realized that I didn’t really understand the Price equation at all. I started to answer–and then realized I couldn’t. It was a small question, the sort of thing you easily clear up–at least, if you know what the hell you’re talking about. As I recall (and I admit I may be fuzzy on details–this was over a decade ago), about 30 seconds in, he interrupted and asked me to clarify my notation. I went to a white board and started writing math, walking him through the idea. On the day, I introduced myself and told him that I wanted his feedback on an idea I had about applying the Price equation to ecology. I booked half an hour of one-on-one time with him. So this was a great chance to get some feedback on my idea from a leader in the field. Alan Grafen is one of the world’s top evolutionary theorists and a leading expert on the Price equation. And in a piece of good luck, my institute had invited Alan Grafen in to give a seminar. After a lot of thought, I had developed what I thought was a really neat idea, to use the Price equation from evolutionary biology to analyze biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships. Probably the most embarrassed I’ve ever felt as an academic was as a postdoc back in 2002 or so. But even if you’re well-prepared for everything you do, at some point you’re likely to get embarrassed anyway. For instance, the desire to avoid embarrassing yourself can motivate you to be well-prepared (e.g., for giving a public lecture). Up to a point, the desire to avoid embarrassment can be a good motivator. Not that you want it to happen, of course. This is sort of following up on Meg’s post in which she urged you not to be afraid to admit “I don’t know.” Don’t be afraid to admit “I embarrassed myself” either. on the spirit of my shadow cv (listing all my rejected papers, rejected grants, etc.), and in the interests of helping you overcoming any imposter syndrome you’re experiencing, I thought I’d share my most embarrassing moments in academia. In the meantime, TEXT ME YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING STORY - if yours is good, I might put it on next week!!!! Click here to text.Ĭredit: © 2012 Viacom International Inc. I'll tell you some more embarrassing stories next week. then she just said, "Maybe it's time for you to go on home." So I left. before I knew it, I PUKED RIGHT INTO CARLY'S NEW PURSE. (At this point, the wasabi was really causing my stomach to hurt!) So Carly is showing me her brand new purse, and I start to feel sick (from all the wasabi), and then. Then later I walked Carly home.She told me to come in cuz she wanted me to see a new purse she got. So, since I wanted to look cool in front of Carly, I DID IT. And Sam DARED ME to eat a WHOLE BOWL OF WASABI (the hot green fluffy stuff that comes with sushi). SHE HEARD ME say I'm in love with her! That was SOOO embarrassing.ģ weekends ago, I went out for sushi with Carly and Sam (after we did iCarly). After I hung up, I said (out loud) "I am SO IN LOVE WITH YOU, CARLY." And THEN you know what I heard? I heard Carly say, "I know, Freddie - get over it." I HADN'T HUNG UP THE SPEAKER PHONE, even though I THOUGHT I had. So, I told her, and we talked for a couple of minutes and then we hung up. Carly wanted to know how much I weighed (for some science project or something). Last week, I was doing my math homework when Carly called me on my cell phone - so I put her on speaker. WHY? Why do I always do embarrassing stuff when I'm around Carly? I don't know, but here are some of the things I've done: Okay, so it's bad enough my CRUSH (if you don't know who my crush is.um, it's CARLY) isn't totally in love with me (YET).but for some reason I ALWAYS do embarrassing things in front of her.What I want to know is.
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