Comments on: A Day in the Life http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/10/12/a-day-in-the-life/ Random samplings from a universe of ideas. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:04:03 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Another day in the life | Cosmic Variance http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/10/12/a-day-in-the-life/comment-page-1/#comment-5086 Another day in the life | Cosmic Variance Wed, 30 Nov 2005 23:48:47 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/10/12/a-day-in-the-life/#comment-5086 [...] Here at Cosmic Variance we occasionally grant the gawking masses a brief glimpse into the glamorous and sexy world of the professional physicist. So, for those of you keeping score at home, I just did a quick count: in the last 24 hours I have sent 35 emails. Sadly, I have received 54 emails, so it looks like I’m still falling behind. (No, this doesn’t include spam — I usually get between 100 and 150 of those per day, but I do have a very good spam filter.) [...] [...] Here at Cosmic Variance we occasionally grant the gawking masses a brief glimpse into the glamorous and sexy world of the professional physicist. So, for those of you keeping score at home, I just did a quick count: in the last 24 hours I have sent 35 emails. Sadly, I have received 54 emails, so it looks like I’m still falling behind. (No, this doesn’t include spam — I usually get between 100 and 150 of those per day, but I do have a very good spam filter.) [...]

]]> By: JoAnne http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/10/12/a-day-in-the-life/comment-page-1/#comment-5085 JoAnne Tue, 18 Oct 2005 05:41:53 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/10/12/a-day-in-the-life/#comment-5085 Aaron F: Indeed new ideas just tend to sprout, as Clifford spelled out. I never have the time to work on all of them and have to pick and choose. Citrine: Indeed the caffiene factor is most joked about. However, at least at SLAC, many of us are caffiene-free (for medical reasons due to previous mistreatments of the powerful drug). So coffee is not a factor. Aaron F: Indeed new ideas just tend to sprout, as Clifford spelled out. I never have the time to work on all of them and have to pick and choose.

Citrine: Indeed the caffiene factor is most joked about. However, at least at SLAC, many of us are caffiene-free (for medical reasons due to previous mistreatments of the powerful drug). So coffee is not a factor.

]]> By: Clifford http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/10/12/a-day-in-the-life/comment-page-1/#comment-5084 Clifford Tue, 18 Oct 2005 01:12:25 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/10/12/a-day-in-the-life/#comment-5084 Aaron F. If you can't think of something, you find out what others are thinking. In other words, you read a paper, read a book, go to a seminar, (check a blog), ichat or call a colleague and ask a question, etc. Pretty soon, you've got new stuff to chew on and useful thoughts spurt out all over the place. Cheers, -cvj Aaron F.

If you can’t think of something, you find out what others are thinking. In other words, you read a paper, read a book, go to a seminar, (check a blog), ichat or call a colleague and ask a question, etc. Pretty soon, you’ve got new stuff to chew on and useful thoughts spurt out all over the place.

Cheers,

-cvj

]]> By: citrine http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/10/12/a-day-in-the-life/comment-page-1/#comment-5083 citrine Tue, 18 Oct 2005 01:01:46 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/10/12/a-day-in-the-life/#comment-5083 Aaron, According to the mathematician Erdos, a mathematician is a machine that turns coffee into equations. I'd say that this is true of many theoretical physicists as well. Aaron,

According to the mathematician Erdos, a mathematician is a machine that turns coffee into equations. I’d say that this is true of many theoretical physicists as well.

]]> By: Aaron F. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/10/12/a-day-in-the-life/comment-page-1/#comment-5082 Aaron F. Mon, 17 Oct 2005 01:58:03 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/10/12/a-day-in-the-life/#comment-5082 Great post!!! I've always wondered what theoretical physicists and mathematicians do all day. I mean, if you're an experimentalist or an engineer, you can fiddle with machinery and analyze data and such... but I can't imagine getting paid to sit around and <i>think</i>. What if you couldn't think of anything? I'd feel so guilty... Great post!!! I’ve always wondered what theoretical physicists and mathematicians do all day. I mean, if you’re an experimentalist or an engineer, you can fiddle with machinery and analyze data and such… but I can’t imagine getting paid to sit around and think. What if you couldn’t think of anything? I’d feel so guilty…

]]> By: What are the odds? | Cosmic Variance http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/10/12/a-day-in-the-life/comment-page-1/#comment-5081 What are the odds? | Cosmic Variance Thu, 13 Oct 2005 06:28:22 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/10/12/a-day-in-the-life/#comment-5081 [...] Today, I continued on the deck staining project (as mentioned in a post yesterday). I needed a newspaper to put under the brushes and can of stain. Yesterday was recycle day, so I threw out all my old newsprint. Scouring the garage, I came across an old newspaper, still covered in plastic. I took it out of the plastic, picked a few pages at random from the middle and placed it under my can of stain. About an hour later, dipping my brush into the can, I saw a headline staring out at me: Bloggers Learn the Peril of Posting Too Much Information [...] [...] Today, I continued on the deck staining project (as mentioned in a post yesterday). I needed a newspaper to put under the brushes and can of stain. Yesterday was recycle day, so I threw out all my old newsprint. Scouring the garage, I came across an old newspaper, still covered in plastic. I took it out of the plastic, picked a few pages at random from the middle and placed it under my can of stain. About an hour later, dipping my brush into the can, I saw a headline staring out at me: Bloggers Learn the Peril of Posting Too Much Information [...]

]]> By: Tom Renbarger http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/10/12/a-day-in-the-life/comment-page-1/#comment-5080 Tom Renbarger Thu, 13 Oct 2005 00:18:27 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/10/12/a-day-in-the-life/#comment-5080 I'll be interested to see what you'll have after you've written a few of these "day in the life" posts, JoAnne. One of the things that tends to get lost in the shuffle is the nature of science as a process, as opposed to a collection of results (the way it is almost exclusively reported), and your project is exactly the sort of thing that can remedy this misperception. I’ll be interested to see what you’ll have after you’ve written a few of these “day in the life” posts, JoAnne. One of the things that tends to get lost in the shuffle is the nature of science as a process, as opposed to a collection of results (the way it is almost exclusively reported), and your project is exactly the sort of thing that can remedy this misperception.

]]> By: Arun http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/10/12/a-day-in-the-life/comment-page-1/#comment-5079 Arun Wed, 12 Oct 2005 21:08:24 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/10/12/a-day-in-the-life/#comment-5079 You're lucky - you get paid to think. In the Dilbertesque world of the large American corporation, one is often paid to suspend one's ability to think. Examples available on request. You’re lucky – you get paid to think. In the Dilbertesque world of the large American corporation, one is often paid to suspend one’s ability to think.

Examples available on request.

]]> By: JoAnne http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/10/12/a-day-in-the-life/comment-page-1/#comment-5078 JoAnne Wed, 12 Oct 2005 16:40:13 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/10/12/a-day-in-the-life/#comment-5078 Jay, for me the sexual harassment course was a bit of a distraction (especially at 2 hours long!). I'm fairly well attuned to such things. However, I can personally vouch that there are some people who need the training - badly. Citrine, SLAC has a funny status. It is both a school within Stanford University (same as, say, the school of engineering), and a national laboratory. We have a faculty (of which I'm a member) that are professors at Stanford Unversity. However, in practice we are really a lab, so we are research oriented and generally don't teach. Once in awhile we'll teach a special topics course on some aspect of high energy physics. I did so last Winter quarter. That was the third quarter I've taught in the 12 years I've been here. The fact that we don't teach makes what we do even more mysterious to people. Everybody can understand teaching, and assumes that either we teach or we sit around twiddling our thumbs. Jay, for me the sexual harassment course was a bit of a distraction (especially at 2 hours long!). I’m fairly well attuned to such things. However, I can personally vouch that there are some people who need the training – badly.

Citrine, SLAC has a funny status. It is both a school within Stanford University (same as, say, the school of engineering), and a national laboratory. We have a faculty (of which I’m a member) that are professors at Stanford Unversity. However, in practice we are really a lab, so we are research oriented and generally don’t teach. Once in awhile we’ll teach a special topics course on some aspect of high energy physics. I did so last Winter quarter. That was the third quarter I’ve taught in the 12 years I’ve been here.

The fact that we don’t teach makes what we do even more mysterious to people. Everybody can understand teaching, and assumes that either we teach or we sit around twiddling our thumbs.

]]> By: citrine http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/10/12/a-day-in-the-life/comment-page-1/#comment-5077 citrine Wed, 12 Oct 2005 15:24:02 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/10/12/a-day-in-the-life/#comment-5077 Are you teaching any classes? If so, how come you didn't spend any time grading? (Or do T.A.s do it for you?) Are you teaching any classes? If so, how come you didn’t spend any time grading? (Or do T.A.s do it for you?)

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