I have twenty bucks riding on The Donald uttering the words "crooked Hillary." I bought my shares too early, so I'll only get $31 if I win. You can do better than double your money if you buy now.
No, I lost my investment and half a million brain cells committed suicide. Obviously I was tuned to the wrong channel. I tried to resist the idiocy by working on a probability problem. Maybe you can show me how to generalize a solution using Bayes. How was Riyadh?
How was Riyadh. Good question. All in all, it was relatively dull. I spent the majority of my time being shuttled between the hotel and conference center at King Abudulaziz university. Didn't see much of the city, but what I did see didn't really impress me: mainly car dealerships and malls. I can't say I was really exposed to any novel cultural experience, aside from sitting on the opposite side of the auditorium from my female colleagues. They did, however, let us eat lunch and dinner together, which I'm told represents a liberalizing effort. It seemed to be a fairly friendly place, but with something hidden under the surface, like they were putting on airs for a couple dozen westerners . On my last day there, as I was leaving the conference enter, a young medical student came up to me, beaming, and kind of had a fanboy moment. Apparently, he was quite enamored with the work our lab does, and was happy to have a conversation with a western scientist (even though I'm not a notable one by any stretch). Although flattered, I thought little of it until he sent me an email a short while later: I'm Mohammed, the medical student you've met earlier today. It was great to listen/speak to you. Long story short, I hope we meet in person. Maybe in the hotel lobby for your convenience. I'm a secular atheist pacifist introvert science freak, the worst combination to be in this land. You could be the first one I have the GUTS to honestly talk to in person. You're probably spending the evening with your conference colleagues, but I'd appreciate if you could spare whatever time you feel not busy. I'm a benevolent guy to know and it'd mean the WORLD if I know an understanding person. Followed by this one: You've served much of what I hoped for by expressing your understanding, all that I hope is someone whom I don't fear my life talking to freely. My existence is an utter anathema, terrorism punished by prison, lashing and (they charitably abstained) execution. even psychiatrists can report us secretly, I know someone on Twitter who got exposed to his family by his psychiatrist. Perhaps he was a government agent trying to get me to say something untoward as retaliation for me telling their organizers that their scientists were always going to be at a disadvantage unless or until they have a more open society. Probably not though. I'm sure they kid was genuine, and it really broke my heart. I thought of inviting him to Hubski, but haven't decided yet. Mostly, I just wanted a beer.Hey, Dr. X
Thanks for your reply Doctor,
Thanks for sharing, that was interesting. I attended my first conference a couple weeks ago at UCLA, and I wish that I could have just observed, but of course you don't get flown out to those things to simply watch. My presentation was an absolute train wreck. Voice audibly wavering in pitch, I kept walking off from the microphone to get a better view of the screen, laser pointer dot amplifying the tremors of my hands. First time I'd spoken into a mic since a birthday party in 2nd grade, I think. Finished my 15 minute presentation in about 8 minutes, and no one dared asked this poor grad student any questions, likely out of pity. Sigh
Being your first, it was probably bad, but probably not as bad as you think it was. The thing is, most people forget everything they saw in a talk by the time the next one is finished. They might, however, remember your face, name or topic, and that's the best you can hope for. Next time you submit a funding application, you hope that one of the reviewers has heard of you. The more talks you give, the more likely it is. You'll get better at it.