Dr. Roger Pielke Jr. points out this nifty visual on the social order of science from Matúš Soták. Well worth a look if you’ve ever been anywhere in the realm.
Dr. Roger Pielke Jr. points out this nifty visual on the social order of science from Matúš Soták. Well worth a look if you’ve ever been anywhere in the realm.
I haven’t laughed so hard in quite some time!! This one promptly moves into the classic category. Anthony and Dr. Peilke, Jr., thank you so much for bringing this one to our attention.
I nominate Paul Westhaver “Where did they get that picture of me with the knife?” for a gold star for his response.
Hi to fellow Texas A&M grad ‘Chuck (now) in Houston’, tho I was Biochem then Nuke E (Health Physics option), rather than Eng. Tech. I’ve no idea what it’s like there now, but sure have some pretty fond memories from a couple of decades ago. :0) Hope to heck it hasn’t been too taken over by political correctness, liberals, sheer size and bureaucracy.
This is a great way to start the weekend. Thanks Anthony.
It appears the post doc has the most hilarious perspective because I found the the best pics were: The eye of Sauron, donkey, boy with knife, baby going for beer, two women gossiping
And I have never been a post doc.
John
reply to: d says: August 12, 2011 at 11:42 am
d, it’s a play on Punnett squares and mendelian genetics (I’ll let you look them up). In this case, however, rather than the interior squares showing the offspring of mating the corresponding x column to y row, it shows how people at each education level views others at various levels.
That chart would also work for military ranks, eg Lt through Col with the technician being replaced by sergent.
Jake says:
August 12, 2011 at 10:15 am
@jim, too:
“One of the largest holes in our education system is a four year technician university. This would be one that teaches all kinds of real-world, functional problem solving …..
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We used to have these in the UK, they were called polytechnics. Their highest qualification was HND (Higher National Diploma), 3-4 years of mixed classroom/lab study and working in industry. The cream of the survivors from the top polys were fought over by mech,elec,etc companies. I had a buddy back in the 60s who went that route. He blew the socks off graduates from Imperial College, London when it came to getting a job. (Imps is among the top unis in UK, think MIT but smaller).
Then the polys became 2nd-rate universities. And now they offer ‘degrees’ in such subjects as David Beckham studies, soap opera studies, ……
Hilarious and too true!
Alan says: August 12, 2011 at 8:43 am
Well, I was once a MSc student, and that was a few decades ago. Then I graduated, found a real job in the real world, morphed from a social liberal who wanted to change the world to a realistic conservative who now knows that theory and practice seldom agree with each other.
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The difference between theory and practice is that in theory they are the same, but in practice they are different. 🙂
As a one-time senior technician at an observatory, I found that technicians had to be able to do everything, including operate all the equipment as well as maintain it, while academic staff had only one thing to do, and weren’t always good at that. The smartest academics had started off as technical people and then gone on to a PhD.
d says: August 12, 2011 at 11:42 am
i dont get it
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d,
Academic humor is . . . . ahhh, different.
But not as difficult as some exceedingly dry Brit humour. :^)
I’ve always found the most difficult humor to be DownEast Maine humor . . . man, I just don’t get it much.
John
Phil R says:
August 12, 2011 at 12:12 pm
When my daughter was 2 or so, I was holding her by the work “island” in the kitchen. She immediately picked up a pair of tweezers and stuck them in an outlet before I had a chance to notice what she was doing. I didn’t drop her since I knew what that sound and flash meant. She was more than a little bit startled and the tweezers were no longer able to tweeze.
Ok, more than a lot startled.
That`s good.
A ‘technician’ is some one who can fix your computer/lab equipment with no loss of data, the first time, gets there quick, never gives up, does research(on your problem) while you are sleeping, and never treats with other than the utmost respect, even if you have caused all the problems, are rude, condescending, ignorant of the most current research of your subject, a lecher, psychotic fraud.
I laughed pretty hard at that one.
Our laboratory has a Methods, Research, and Development section that has about 6 PIs. We used to also have a “Physical Science Technician” who worked there (before the budget cuts). He was the only one that could keep all the PIs straight. He forced them to clean up their messes.
Matúš Soták is going to have to do another similar matrix, but with People of Science on one axis and People of the Public on the other.
Priceless, although I agree MacGyver would be better than Chuck Norris.
Apprenticeship, the US military as the best. Maybe for most, but working for German engineering or technical types did me fine. Able to go from fixing embedded software to fixing hydraulic systems in one year. Warning – always carry spare clothes for the “afterbath”.
Jack says:
August 12, 2011 at 4:32 pm
“A ‘technician’ is…”
The technician actually read the user’s instruction manual!
Hysterical!
Not a knife, but my 3-yr old was left sitting ZAP-stunned in front of an electric cord about 1′ long still plugged in, and holding a (fortunately rubberized grip) wire cutter with a chunk of steel missing and presumed vaporized in one of the cutter blades. Unfortunately, did not go on from there to become a Technician.
Ric Werme says:
August 12, 2011 at 4:05 pm
Heh, scares the h*ll out of you. My son tried to follow in my footsteps with my car keys once. Won’t touch my keys any more.
Pure class!
Those that can do, those that can not teach. Those with opposing thumbs connected to a brain that is practical make the world go round. High IQ does not equate to common sense nor usefulness. A PHD often equates to employment at McDonald’s, The dumbing down of the population seems to be a purposeful thing.
Practical engineers in the electrical side of things in some countries put switches on electric outlets, and put child proof covers on those reachable by small children. This however only makes discovery of adventure more of a challenge and the children are smarter for it. They are no less damaged however by the blinding flash.
Beautiful! – and just as true on the British side of the Pond as Stateside.
Declaration of interest: Technician (yes, including at a University), all my life! 🙂
Works for music and business academics too. The vertical column of how various people view the utlimate position of power vs. their position seems accurate. I spit coffee at the point of the Dark Lord Sauron. (Could have perched that eye on the top of an ivory tower.) I can’t disagree – I’ve met a few who, despite their myopic vision, are a lot like a hobbit who believes in the one ring and thinks it belongs to him.
Only one category missing:
Postgrad Engineer with MBA
heh…
Let’s have an Adult Taxpayer column. Nah, too bloody.
That’s pretty funny !
The group with the most realistic view of themselves are the PhDs I think. They are frustrated to the point of mental illness–I knew quite a few of those types in the days before a person could just make-up data and write a dissertation.
Everyone else seems to have a story about an electrical outlet. Here’s mine. I’m a trustee at a college and I spend more time around the place than I should. One day I am sitting at a computer in a big open area and down the hall come the 3-5 years-olds from day care. As one teacher rounded a corner out of sight, and the other was too far behind to see what was happening ahead, a little girl went down on one knee and began shoving something in an outlet. The kids around her were keeping watch–it was a cooperative experiment. “Hey,” I shouted, “leave that alone.” Most productive single thing I’ve accomplished at that place.