Pulled in 100 Directions

During my time in the lab, 3 full years now, I feel like I have been pulled in every direction.  This month on top of doing my normal project I have been helping one of the graduate students with his tasks while he works on his prelims (the large examination he must pass in order to continue his training towards a Ph. D.).  It seems that every time a new project comes in I start it and get it going before someone new comes in and takes over.

Does anyone else feel like their project is always shifting around in lab?  How do you adjust and make a story out of all the different research?  I just worry sometimes because I have worked a little on a lot of projects that I will not be able to mesh it all together and make a thesis.  Suggestions are much appreciated!

Conversations with Experts

This is a short Q&A with Chemistry Nobel winner Dr. Avram Herschko that was published in the New York Times today. Dr. Herschko discovered the function of the ubiquitin-tagging protein degradation system.

First, I think the idea of interviewing a famous researcher and asking him - in simple terms - what it is he does, is a very simple and inspired idea. One the coolest things the Q&A reveals is that Dr. Herschko has a  tiny lab and does his own experiments himself rather than leaving the work to grad students.

Second, he gives two pieces of advice to students at the end that are great:

"I tell them not to go with the mainstream in picking a research topic. Also, if you have an unexpected finding, don’t ignore it. Serendipitous findings are sometimes the most important.

Another thing: If your mentor is not good, leave him. In these big labs, sometimes your mentor doesn’t know much about your activities. That’s not a mentor. For scientific research, you have to learn how to do it from a good researcher. I had that myself, and I try to pass it on to my own students."

My Big Fat Aquatic Reading List

Hi Everyone! I'm back from the watery depths of Alpena, MI and am excited to see everyone on Thursday. Per Professor McKay's request, below is my reading list. It's basically every book in the UM library system on underwater archaeology.

 I hope to get through as many of them as I can by the end of the summer. So far, some have proved more helpful than others and once I narrow down my focus, maybe the list will shrink a bit in some areas and expand in others.

 I doubt this list will be of much help to anyone else, but I guess it's cool to see how many books the library system can have on such a seemingly obscure topic. It's actually quite impressive.

 Also, I apologize if this is not the proper place for this post — I've been out of the HSF loop for a bit, as the Internet situation in Alpena was annoyingly temperamental.

Without further ado:

 Archer, Steven N. and Kevin M. Bartoy, ed. Between Dirt and Discussion: Methods, Methodology, and Interpretation in Historical Archaeology.

 Babits, Lawrence E. and Hans Van Tilburg, ed. Maritime Archaeology: A Reader of Substantive and Theoretical Contributions.

 Ballard, Robert D., ed. Archaeological Oceanography.

 Bass, George F., ed. A history of Seafaring Based on Underwater Archaeology.

 Bass, George F., ed. Ships and Shipwrecks of the Americas: A History Based on Underwater Archaeology.

 Benjamin, Jonathan, ed. Submerged Prehistory.

 Bowens, Amanda, ed. Underwater Archaeology: The NAS Guide to Principles and Practice.

Catsambis, Alexis, Ben Ford and Donny L. Hamilton, ed. The Oxford Handbook of Maritime Archaeology.

 Cleator, P.E. Underwater Archaeology.

 Delgado, James P., ed. Encyclopedia of Underwater and Maritime Archaeology.

 Finamore, Daniel, ed. Maritime History as World History.

 Firth, Antony. Managing Underwater Archaeology: A Theoretical, Historical and Comparative Perspective on Society and its Submerged Past.

 Floyd, Ronald J., trans. Diving into the Past: Archaeology Under Water.

 Gould, Richard A. Archaeology and the Social History of Ships.

 Gould, Richard A. Shipwreck Anthropology.

 Halsey, John R. Beneath the Inland Seas: Michigan’s Underwater Archaeological Heritage.

 Halsey, John R., ed. Retrieving Michigan’s Buried Past: The Archaeology of the Great Lakes State. 

Hamilton, Donny L. Basic Methods of Conserving Underwater Archaeological Material Culture. 

Hocker, Frederick M. and Cheryl A. Ward, ed. The Philosophy of Shipbuilding: Conceptual Approaches to the Study of Wooden Ships.

 Holecek, Donald F. and Charles A. Hulse. Michigan’s Coastal Waters: A Pilot Study in Underwater Cultural Resources.

 Johnstone, Paul. The Archaeology of Ships.

 Langley, Susan B.M. and Richard W. Unger, ed. Nautical Archaeology: Progress and Public Responsibility.

 Marsden, Peter. Book of Ships and Shipwrecks. 

Marx, Robert F. Shipwrecks in the Americas.

 McCarthy, Michael. Ships’ Fastenings: From Sewn Boat to Steamship.

 Muckelroy, Keith. Maritime Archaeology.

 O’Shea, John M. Ships and Shipwrecks of the Au Sable Shores Region of Western Lake Huron. 

Richards, Nathan. Ships’ Graveyards: Abandoned Watercraft and the Archaeological Site Formation Process. 

Rick, Torben C. and Jon M. Erlandson. Human Impacts on Ancient Marine Ecosystems: A Global Perspective.

 Ruppe, Carol V. and Janet F. Barstad, ed. International handbook of underwater archaeology.

 Søreide, Fredrik. Ships from the Depths: Deepwater Archaeology.

 Spirek, James D. and Della A. Scott-Ireton, ed. Submerged Cultural Resource Management: Preserving and Interpreting our Maritime Heritage.

 Steffy, J. Richard. Wooden Ship Building and the Interpretation of Shipwrecks.

 Swarmy, L.N., ed. Ethno-marine Archaeology.

 Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary: Final Environmental Impact Statement/Management Plan, May 1999.

How correct is political correctness?

"Politically correct censorship is dulling our minds by emphasizing what to exclude from our cognitive thinking processes and discussions. Notice how politically correct expressions are expressions of “what is not.” It is not a hut. It is a small house. He is not an old man. He is an older person. Children are can never be disobedient. Men are not lawyers, doctors, or plumbers. There are no mountains. Cake does not exist. There are no jungles. There are no widows, or house wives or senile old people. And so on and on. 


This is thinking in deficit. Notice how careful and hesitant our speech has become. We are extraordinarily careful to make sure the words we use cannot possibly be construed to offend anyone. Consequently, we are constantly thinking of what not to say, what words cannot be used, and what expressions should be avoided. We spend our time thinking of what we cannot say instead of thinking about what we should say. It has become safer and easier to talk about what things are not, or not to talk at all."

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/creative-thinkering/201206/political-correctness-run-amok

Not sure what I think about this, but a few thoughts. This might be controversial as it is a complex and sensitive topic.

1. It is almost hilarious to read about this from a third person perspective, but imagine growing up in a politically correct environment and then listening to a benign comment from a person from outside the US who never intended harm. For example, in Chinese, there isn't really a "politically correct" term like "African American" or "Caucasian". You can say "Black" and "White" and even refer to yourself as "yellow" because they are the common terminologies for people of certain races - no hard feelings intended. Yet immediately, that Chinese person will be accused of racism, sexism, and all the isms in the world. Is it truly a reflection of morality, or is it more of a reflection of socialization? Just because someone is brought up in a "politically incorrect" environment doesn't mean someone is intentionally trying to hurt someone's feelings - and if he/she recognizes the negative impact of his/her words when told, and is willing to accommodate and tone down his/her unintended harm, do we still have the right to judge him/her for being inherently immoral? Do we have the right to blame people for being insensitive when we're not sensitive of the environment they were brought up in? After all, not everyone is exposed to social justice focused education - at least not in certain countries. If you asked me two years ago what I thought of social justice I would probably sound like a racist and a sexist person - just because my education in Hong Kong never taught me that, and I was not socialized to act in that manner. Does it mean I became a saint once I came to the US just because I learnt all the right ways to portray certain issues? I don't think so. My personality just channeled into different outlets, and it found social justice here - doesn't mean I'm more or less of a good/evil person.
2. How much of it is a cultural thing anyway? For example, some Asian values tend to be very sexist in American standards. I personally don't agree with a lot of these statutes, but does it mean that all Asians are immoral and deliberately suppressing women? What if we take into account cultural values that are deeply ingrained in their tradition? Can we use the same moral ruler to measure all behaviors of the world? Can we judge actions on a superficial level without considering the belief system driving these actions? Can we understand a person by looking at actions and not words? To take this argument further, wouldn't it be outrageous to use one universal moral ruler across history, and across species too? If we can laugh at this, why do we still act "culture-ist"?
3. As someone involved with social justice work and research, I find it difficult to gauge whether I am overreactive in certain sensitive situations - whether something is for social justice, or simply political correctness. How do we balance between freedom of speech and all these isms of the world? Do we have to sacrifice our mental capacity and creativity, among other things, to be politically correct? Will we become too afraid to talk one day? Initiating important changes and making outrageous discoveries require risk taking. When we become too careful about our speech and actions, will we lose the mental space, courage, and ability to take risks ever again?
4. People criticize religiously-based education for censoring knowledge of the real world. For example, evolution might not be taught in some Christian schools, which, according to some people at least, distorts reality. Can we fall into similar traps by censoring all political incorrectness? Must we say things CONTRARY to stereotypes in order to portray reality? By focusing on contradicting stereotypes, do we PROPAGATE stereotypes by increasing its salience in people's minds? Try telling yourself to suppress the thought of a white bear for 3 minutes - you simply can't stop thinking of a white bear as a result.

And linking it to my research...

My current research directions point towards the benefits of being consciously aware of the threat of being evaluated as racist, because one would then exert more effort into trying to be non-racist - so that no one's feelings get hurt in the process. I understand this might be beneficial in this current political environment in the US, but I wonder how things would unfold in other cultures where social justice ideas are foreign to most people. Perhaps in less politically charged environments, conscious reminders of race will build unnecessary barriers that are non-conducive to comfortable interracial interactions. And even within the US, I wonder  how this effect will generalize to populations outside of the college campus - where people care much less about social justice.

In addition, what are the pros and cons of exerting conscious control over one's speech and actions? I would imagine that if my friend becomes way too concerned about how she acts around me, I would feel rather distant and uncomfortable. Perhaps, my hypothesis would only work in a context where the two people are strangers to each other, since first impressions are probably based on superficial characteristics, such as race? In a close interracial friendship, boundaries of race are probably already eliminated, and dancing carefully around political incorrectness would probably be less important. 

That is perhaps one of the reasons why we feel tired when interacting with a lot of strangers for an extended period of time, but can talk to a close friend for hours and hours - because we let go of these conscious efforts needed to maintain political correctness.

What are your thoughts on this?

The Hunt for the Perfect Post-Its

As I finally sat down to read my first research book, I found myself bereft of my scholarly tools. I had a pencil, a pen, a highlighter, and a mind hungry for knowledge. But no Post-Its! How was I supposed to learn with no Post-Its?

Clarification: I had some apple-shaped sticky notes that my mom scored from a drug company, but they were large, unwieldy, and were only useful on my bathroom mirror to remind me to do my laundry. I wanted the tiny kind, the kind to bookmark pages and write cute notes to myself.

Being simultaneously cheap and picky, I needed to find the best deal across town.


Ulrich's was a ripoff. These were $8.


Now what kind of a Honors Summer Fellow would I be without doing some research online first?


These will do. But they are $11.95. No thank you.

These are horrible.



I almost bought these from the Last Call section of an online teacher's supply store, because Google Shopping told me they were $1.35.

But after I put the package in my shopping cart, the price magically morphed into: $1.35 + $9.95 shipping. Holy cow! Was I made of gold?

The virtual world clearly provided me no respite, so I had to do it the old fashioned way. I took to the streets.

Off I went, cruising down Washtenaw Ave., in search for the perfect Post-Its. I had one gallon of gas left, so first came the business of finding the cheapest gas station. (I ended up going to BP, because - who knew? - apparently my car can use E85 gas. That's some tacit knowledge right there.)

First stop: Dollar Store. No luck. Out of the 20,000 square foot store, the only Post-Its they were hawking were the terrible, party store kind that have cats on them.

I stopped at Office Max, but alas, they were closed.


Was the world conspiring against me? Desolate, I shuffled into Barnes and Noble, ready to admit defeat. Maybe Ulrich's was the way to go.

But wait! Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a 24-hour Walgreen's sign. Now, I had never stepped foot in a Walgreen's before, but this place looked promising. Smiling faces greeted me as I strided through the automatic doors.

(wrong smiley face, but you get the idea)

THESE WERE $1.99!!!!
I debated whether I ought to buy 2 of them, but I didn't think my brain could handle the happiness!!!


I did, however, buy a slightly overpriced 12-pack of toilet paper, to reward the CEO of Walgreen's for his foresight in reasonably priced sticky notes.

Armed now with 150 new Post-Its (in four different colors, no less), I sat on my couch and happily finished Francis Barker's The Tremulous Private Human Body. For those who are interested (read: none), this book is terrible. I threw it back into the Ugli's drop box with disgust. It deserved none of my precious Post-Its.

(P.S., I know this is not a particularly scholarly blog post, but I was reminded today that I was supposed to post here, so, you know, here's a post)

Accept your ignorance.

Not an easy thing to do, especially for undergraduate students trying to write Honors theses that demonstrate we in fact know quite a bit about something. This bit of advice was so striking, and it's something I really want to reflect on.

I like to think I know just as much as my professors in my field, even though that's not the case at all. It's hard for me to accept my ignorance, especially when it's clearly pointed out to me. I found a juvenile epiphysis ( the tips of your bones are separate in childhood before they fuse together) in a bag with animal remains, and I immediately pulled it out and said "This looks like a juvenile distal tibia epiphysis." It took her a second to glance over and nonchalantly say "No, that's a juvenile distal radial epiphysis." Even though it was a small piece, it's still embarrassing to mistake a leg bone with an arm bone.

What are you ignorant of, even in your own field and your research?

Scholarship and Social Media

As I often do in the morning, I looked at the most recent photo on NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day archive and read a recent post on the Bad Astronomy blog (hosted by Discover magazine, and today has an awesome compilation of photos of the transit of Venus!) and I don't really make much of these activities except that it's nice to start the day with something beautiful and curious.

Then I came across this editorial on the Biological Bulletin: "It's Time To e-Volve: Taking Responsibility for Science Communication in a Digital Age".  In it, the author points to public perception of scientists as elitist and disengaged and to a survey where 66% of respondents couldn't/didn't attempt to name a living scientist (carried out by Reasearch!America, slide 51) and says that "we, as scientists, are failing at communicating science to the public", which seems to be a theme in our summer program (though expanding that goal to academic researchers in general).  To combat this, she looks particularly at the power of online media tools like Facebook, blogs, Twitter etc. for being the platform on which to "break down" research and "pull in" people.  

I'm curious to know if others have felt like they could (or want to) connect to the people or institutions they work with, the researchers they admire, or their field in general through these means?  What effect has it had on your interest?  Your perception of opportunities and opinions?  In general, how much outreach do people in your department participate in?  Have you ever come across a professor's blog?  How did that change your perception or interaction with them?

For me, I used to find the injection of social media (tiresome lexicon this has become!) into my education initially off-putting, as if it somehow cheapened the material (the same platform that can inform me that Snooki's pregnant also teaches me about sparse matrix properties!) and degraded the prospect of my induction into some cabal of knowledge, but I have almost always found it beneficial.  But I'm glad that the blog - as an invitation to understand or investigate something interesting alongside someone who knows and loves a subject - has loosened its topical boundaries.  They personally keep me excited about the field of physics (Someone took the time to illustrate the collision of the Milky Way with Andromeda as seen from Earth! How cool is that?!) in addition to uses for nutella.