rxrfrx ([info]rxrfrx) wrote in [info]_scientists_,
@ 2006-11-18 17:42:00
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Don't delete comments.
Deleting comments in a public community is lame. Here's the comment I posted to [info]mindcontrol's post, before it was deleted twice.

What does this have to do with science? You probably just have a mild form of Asperger's where you can't tell that talking about technical things with laymen is boring to them, and not a good way to socialize. Talking to the counter person at Dunkin' Donuts about just about anything is obnoxious, let alone the mechanism of caffeine.

Someone upthread said they needed a "don't ask me about my research" shirt. Again, nothing to do with science. People who can't shut up about their work are generally insufferable, self-centered tools who are no good at a party.


And here's [info]arafel's reply to my comment, also deleted:

IAWTC.

(Post a new comment)


[info]ke_han_ren
2006-11-18 11:09 pm UTC (link)
I'm somewhat amazed that the OP thought s/he'd seem like anything but a total jagoff for posting that. I wasn't aware that social dysfunction was prized by some people.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]deathjoy
2006-11-18 11:15 pm UTC (link)
I don't understand what's dysfunctional about it? I thought it was rather endearing.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]amplimax, 2006-11-18 11:17 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]dr_weir_uk, 2006-11-18 11:36 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]amplimax, 2006-11-18 11:42 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]ke_han_ren, 2006-11-18 11:30 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]dr_weir_uk, 2006-11-18 11:47 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]ke_han_ren, 2006-11-19 12:07 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]lederhosen, 2006-11-19 01:24 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]ke_han_ren, 2006-11-19 01:34 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]hollowman, 2006-11-19 12:09 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]lederhosen, 2006-11-19 01:30 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]hollowman, 2006-11-20 12:20 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]lederhosen, 2006-11-20 04:11 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]hollowman, 2006-11-20 04:45 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]lederhosen, 2006-11-20 05:42 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]hollowman, 2006-11-20 06:42 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]lederhosen, 2006-11-20 07:52 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]hollowman, 2006-11-20 09:15 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]lederhosen, 2006-11-20 09:48 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]hollowman, 2006-11-20 10:12 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]lederhosen, 2006-11-20 11:35 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]hollowman, 2006-11-20 02:28 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]lederhosen, 2006-11-21 07:08 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]dr_weir_uk, 2006-11-19 05:15 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]ke_han_ren, 2006-11-19 07:53 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]lederhosen, 2006-11-20 12:22 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]ke_han_ren, 2006-11-20 02:35 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]lederhosen, 2006-11-20 12:06 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]lederhosen, 2006-11-19 01:18 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]jayyy, 2006-11-19 02:42 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]darkenedminds, 2006-11-19 05:40 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]pitkat, 2006-11-20 02:33 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]lizetta, 2006-11-19 01:18 am UTC

[info]kaiann
2006-11-18 11:22 pm UTC (link)
Thank you on both points. Deleting comments is incredibly lame and not everyone in science is lacking social skills.

(Reply to this)


[info]dr_weir_uk
2006-11-18 11:26 pm UTC (link)
I don't know what you put but mindcontrol is entitled to their own opinion and I think the post is funny and very true, well for us science types anyway. Of course not everyone may agree with it but I don't see what's that got to do with your random nonsense you've posted which I don't understand one single bit.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]dr_weir_uk
2006-11-18 11:28 pm UTC (link)
Also I didn't think the post was about scientists lacking social skills. There's nothing wrong with discussing science, that's what we do here. It was partly a joke and partly a refection on experience. I think some people are taking mindcontrol's post too seriously.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]kaiann, 2006-11-18 11:47 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]ke_han_ren, 2006-11-18 11:50 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]amplimax, 2006-11-18 11:51 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]demonicgerbil, 2006-11-19 01:15 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]ke_han_ren, 2006-11-19 01:32 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]lederhosen, 2006-11-19 01:37 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]ke_han_ren, 2006-11-19 01:39 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]hollowman, 2006-11-19 12:12 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]graey42, 2006-11-19 04:36 am UTC

[info]cinderave
2006-11-19 12:13 am UTC (link)
"Deleting comments in a public community is lame." ?

public humiliation is lame

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]rxrfrx
2006-11-19 12:47 am UTC (link)
You're lame

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]cinderave, 2006-11-19 12:55 am UTC

[info]imluxionverdin
2006-11-19 02:21 am UTC (link)
Well said.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]ke_han_ren
2006-11-19 07:56 pm UTC (link)
But it's the internet.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]cinderave, 2006-11-20 01:43 am UTC

[info]darkenedminds
2006-11-19 01:23 am UTC (link)
Ha. I just replied to that post. I wonder if I'll get deleted too.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]ariel88
2006-11-19 09:28 am UTC (link)
Well, the whole post is gone now, so I guess your comment is deleted by proxy!

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]esya
2006-11-19 01:30 am UTC (link)
everything depends... My roommate has no high school diploma, but was happy when I told her she may have some hormonal disorder and explain her way the medicine would benefit her, also she likes my scientific way of view on diet and fitness and so on.
You just should adjust the scientific level to the people interests and understanding. And nothing wrong with discussing science with a strangers if they show interest.
Deleting comments is always fun I know as ex-moderator :)
Have fun and be kind!

(Reply to this)


[info]imalegend
2006-11-19 02:09 am UTC (link)
Given that [info]mindcontrol's last post was questionable in my opinion, I chose to ignore the more recent post. It just seems like s/he is baiting members.

Just my thought on the whole thing. I love discusiion on all things science but I also know when things are just getting to the point of ridiculous.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]rxrfrx
2006-11-19 05:26 am UTC (link)
Oh man... I didn't realize it was the same person who posted that crap. Ah well. Makes a little more sense now. It's the same with that other dude who posted the "all cancer research is a scam, we're just deficient in one particular compound and if we took it we'd all live forever" video (in [info]biology maybe). His journal showed a sort of obsession with scientific factoids and jargon, but no real interest in just being an open-minded dude who learned about stuff and helped people.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]imalegend, 2006-11-19 07:42 am UTC

[info]dr_weir_uk
2006-11-19 05:25 pm UTC (link)
Yep you're right the poster just wanted to spark reaction.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]arafel
2006-11-19 03:43 am UTC (link)
I was wondering where that comment went. XD

A hard lesson well learned in high school - if you go around trying to show people how smart you are, chances are they won't appreciate your big mouth. Sometimes you get a chance to be an ambassador for knowledge, but the trick is to understand when someone is interested in hearing what you have to say.

(Reply to this)


[info]ariel88
2006-11-19 09:29 am UTC (link)
Anyone have a screen cap or anything? The post you've linked to is all gone and I missed it!. :(

(Reply to this) (Thread)
<lj user=mindcontrol>'s deleted post
[info]rxrfrx
2006-11-19 02:07 pm UTC (link)
There has to be a "science gene", somewhere in a select few people; at least metaphorically speaking. Those of us with the science gene can explain to our roommates what a hydrogenated vegitable oil is, much to thier dismay and possible annoyance. I get in trouble with my roommates girlfriend if I use a sentence involving the word "empirical." Those of us with the science gene are put off by any presentation in our public speaking classes that are an appeal to emotion. How many times have you said "I'll believe it when I see the peer reviewed article"?

What are examples of the science gene phenotype being expressed in your daily life?

[1] I will frequently, without thought, correct anything that mistakenly refers to two clades of organisms as different, when in fact one obviously includes the other. First is when a training tape at my job mentioned "Animals and Insects", I yelled out that insects are animals jerks. At the doctors office, when preparing for a trip to the rainforest, I corrected the doctor. She said that vectors for diseases would include different groups of insects from mosquitos to flies. I said that technically mosquitoes are a family of flies. She gave me squinty eyes for sure.

[2] When I learned how caffiene inhibits phosphodiesterase, which is critical in the down regulation of cyclicAMP. In one specific pathway, cAMP activates the protein kinases which in turn activate the breakdown of long glycogen chains releasing glucose into the cytoplasm of cells. Therefore most any signal to release glucose is amplified (hence the feeling of more energy!). I certainly thought it was exciting, the cashier and Dunkin Donuts did not.

[3] I can't tell you how many times I've been at a bar, and found myself in a half an hour discussion on how we go from starch to ethanol. It's not a short trip, and along the way we are visited by enzymes, anerobic digestion, yeast and carbon dioxide bubbles. The friend sitting across the table will either find it interesting as anything they've ever heard, or will offer to buy the next pitcher to shut me up.

[4] It is nearly impossible to watch the film Jurassic Park. What laid those eggs? Isn't there no fossil evidence for mosquitos until the cretaceous anyways? Wouldn't the mosquito sill be mineralized in amber anways? Why did they use frog DNA to fill in the missing gaps; that's rediculous, if anything use bird DNA, right? How would the herbivores digest all new plant material? Wouldn't the dinosaurs be susepticable to innumberable diseases?

But I suppose that is as silly as making an argument that The Force in Star Wars breaks every law of thermodynamics. Metacholorians? Right.

And don't get me started with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. ...more like malignant ninja turtles.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: <lj user=mindcontrol>'s deleted post - [info]ariel88, 2006-11-19 09:08 pm UTC

[info]pitkat
2006-11-19 01:36 pm UTC (link)
I think there is a fine line between talking science and being able to relate science to the laymen. There's a finesse to it, really. My mom is like the person who posted that thing below and people often get frustrated with her not only because they don't understand, but also because she doesn't know when to shut up and let them go. I tend not to talk science around someone unless I'm specifically asked, or if the topic comes up in conversation. And when I do talk about it, I try to gauge the topic based on their understanding of it rather than spouting out a dissertation. Your neighbor does not want to know the intimate nature of the cell and all its functions just because they're confused about why they kid is hyper on the soda they drink.

People don't understand what science is. It's startlingly striking how many people in this country are more concerned about their football weekend than what's going on in the labs - so why would any scientist expect that the general public would get or care about hardcore scientific topics?

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]rxrfrx
2006-11-19 02:06 pm UTC (link)
See, I think the issue here isn't some kind of battle between technical topics and other stuff. Personally, at the moment I care roughly as much about what I'm going to do when I go into work today (ugh, Sunday) and what happens to my fantasy football dudes later in the afternoon. Like someone already said, when you go to the bar after work, you don't talk about work. That's generally uncool.

And yeah, if someone is asking you to explain something, by all means, use as many terms of art as possible as long as the other person understands you. But the fact is that people just aren't asking for you to explain stuff all of the time.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]scented_garden
2006-11-20 05:11 am UTC (link)
In all honesty, "mindcontrol" comes across as the far more sensible one in this case in my opinion - he was simply making a somewhat humurous and inoffensive post, whereas you took it as an opportunity to beat him down and diagnose him with forms of autism - my elder brother has asperger's thanks very much, and I don't appreciate you attempting to use it in a derogatory fashion.

And what is obnoxious about talking to the person at dunkin' donuts? Having worked at a supermarket checkout in the past to put myself through university, I'd say that in such jobs an interesting customer sharing a part of their lives with you can be quite useful on breaking the monotony of the day somewhat, and goodness only knows, the last time I went to Dunkin' Donuts (the New Zealand version...) the guy behind the counter looked so emotionally dead I think he NEEDED some social contact before he threw himself off a cliff or the likes.

People who are very passionate about their work and find themselves eager to share that excitement with others are 'insufferable and self-centered'? Wow, that's some pretty harsh judgement. Maybe you should get some practice at socialising yourself - with those which behave a little differently to you for once. People AREN'T all the same? And why should they be? Who the hell are YOU to go judging who's good at a party and who's not? And what's so important about being good at a party - is there not more to life?

And yes, my brother, with his Aspeger's Syndrome, does like to talk about his computer-programming beyond a point which I really find of interest. Is he insufferable? No - we have a great many other things we CAN share, we can go to the movies, have a drink, go for a walk... like any siblings. Is he self-centered? Hell no - he's by far one of the most generous and caring people I have ever met! Just because you can't pick up on the social cues and feelings of others so easily, does NOT mean you don't care!

Please - learn how to take a joke, and learn how to be more accepting of others - for your own sake. I am sorry if any of this comment sounds at all nasty - that's not my intention, I just wanted to make a point.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]imnotasquirrel
2006-11-20 10:33 am UTC (link)
Well, as someone who has actually worked in a mindless customer service job, I will tell you that no, we do NOT want some random stranger prattling on something that we couldn't care less about. Sure, you'd be breaking up the monotony of the day, but in a very bad way. Saying hi is fine. Asking me how I am is fine. Going on about how the outside electrical wiring in the house was historically evident of the homeowner being extremely wealthy back in the day is not.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]imnotasquirrel, 2006-11-20 10:35 am UTC

[info]sassalicious
2006-11-20 05:43 am UTC (link)
I think this post is childish and lame. And doesn't really have anything to with science.

(Reply to this)


[info]tylik
2006-11-20 06:22 pm UTC (link)
"Someone upthread said they needed a "don't ask me about my research" shirt. Again, nothing to do with science. People who can't shut up about their work are generally insufferable, self-centered tools who are no good at a party."

Why thank you.

(Reply to this)

Just a thought
[info]lerryn
2006-11-21 12:35 am UTC (link)
This is a moderated community, and ultimately a community moderator has the right to delete posts and comments, as well as to ban users. No community on LJ is a truly open forum.

(Reply to this) (Thread)
Re: Just a thought
[info]rxrfrx
2006-11-21 01:08 am UTC (link)
I agree

(Reply to this) (Parent)

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