CJ @flsounds@qoto.org

Seen in the wild: “All a #PhD tells me is you were at least able to cram study and pass tests.”

I can’t even.

Do people really think this? Obviously this guy does, but in general? An honest question, not a rhetorical one.

I’ve spent a significant chunk of my life in the company of people with #doctorates—including two grandparents, so I understood from childhood that getting a PhD was quite different from any other kind of degree. Most people I know haven’t, but everyone who was part of my life through my long and winding #academic career has a pretty good idea what I did to become #Doctor Dvorkin. For anyone who doesn’t know, I’m always happy to give a quick sketch.

Among people who don’t have family or friends who have done it, and have never thought seriously about doing it themselves … is that the perception, that grad school is just a more intense version of elementary school through college? More tests, more cramming, more regurgitation, and then you get some shiny new letters after your name?

If that’s the case, I guess I can’t blame them, exactly. Like I’ve said before, most people have no idea how most of the things I’ve done for a living in my life actually work. The #military, #medicine, #science: all quite mysterious except for what people think they know from movies and TV, which is often worse than complete ignorance. So I guess it’s shouldn’t be a surprise if #academia is on that list.

But I would really like to know how widespread this view is. Maybe I can do something with that.

I should probably do a proper introductory toot, seeing that more and more people are making the move from the avian to the proboscid side of the internet...

So, #hello 👋

I'm a zoologist and a science communicator, from Poland, based in Oxford, UK. Currently, I split my time between #academia (Senior Lect at #Brunel Uni London) and public engagement (at #Oxford University), I also do freelance #scicomm in both Polish and English.

Oh, and I wrote a #book (non-fiction, about animals, not for kids unless you're happy to do your own explanations of awkward sex stuff): https://geni.us/modernbestiary

What I like:
- #animal facts and factoids
- #cycling as the main mode of transport
- #HigherEd teaching

What I dislike:
- pictures of fake animals posing as the real deal
- lack of public transport infrastructure
- scary movies

Pic © 2022 Greg Blatchford yewneek.com

I greatly dislike how Mastodon users never like/favorite posts “because it doesn’t do anything for the algorithm.” I’ll see posts with hundreds of reblogs/retoots and not a single favorite. I never ‘like’ content for any algorithm, I ‘like’ it so the OP knows I enjoyed the post. It’s still a meaningful way to support content even if it doesn’t feed the algorithm.

Anyways, I hope Mastodon becomes a better experience, since a certain egomaniac billionaire has killed the bird app.

@flsounds that is an amazing somg. It’s my favorite by them that I’ve listened to so far.

Good morning dear wonderful Tooteroonies of this n that ☕🌞❄️
It's Thors day or Freyas eve if you prefer that name 😜
Let's finish up as much as possible today so that Freyas day will be short 🤙
I wish yous a great day filled with joys n funs 😊
Smile, take care n stay safe 💙
#DailyGreeting #Tooteroonies #ThorsDay #Smile

(dream of Doctor Octopus before he became a villain, controlled fusion using lasers but this time it's non-fictional the technological first step achievement is real not simulated nor computational ooopppsss sorry)
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The yield surpasses the criteria for ignition established by the National Research Council in 2007. By other measures, such as the amount of energy deposited on the fuel capsule—around 250 kilojoules—the gain, or Q, is around 10, says Michael Campbell, who led NIF construction until 1999. Yet the amount of fusion energy from the record shot amounts to just 1% of the 300 MJ from the grid that’s required to power the 192-beam NIF laser, Herrmann says. Thus, although the lab’s achievement is a significant step, inertial fusion is still a long way from becoming a viable energy source.
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https://physicstoday.scitation.org/do/10.1063/PT.6.2.20221213a/full/

new #space bird series in the works 😏