• 2 Posts
  • 52 Comments
Joined 7 months ago
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Cake day: November 20th, 2025

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  • I feel you, I had a few managers like you describe. I am all for establishing your boundaries and telling people what you don’t care for if it doesn’t affect your tasks and so on, and I also agree with what other people told you here.

    For example, I had a colleague that just talked about their sex life all the time. I deflected every time to another subject, I didn’t laugh at crassy innuendos and boys’ club language, I didn’t engage in stories of my own, but I became very fluent in being smiley, engaged, and willing to talk about work-related topics. People don’t feel offended and they pick up quickly that there are topics I won’t encourage. And I think I am better off now, with colleagues I really do care about. And if people insist on small talk, I sometimes tell yhem honestly, sympathetically, that I am stressed about things being done and that we will catch up later.

    There is a way to connect with colleagues that doesn’t feel fake, but it takes practice and good faith. I don’t think it is beneficial in the long run to see others as of lesser value or as a waste of time. It can worsen social relationships. You seem to be motivated to know more about the inner workings of your job and it’s great, and I think the skill of “managing” middle managers and bosses could be included in the skillset.









  • Sometimes, I think science educators aren’t political enough.

    Cleo Abram’s interviews with Nvidia’s CEO, Zuck and Sam Altman are her only interviews to date, and they all paint them in a good light without being critical of their work. I get wanting to make it to the top, but simping for the capitalist elite is just not a good look in my book, especially when science communication should try to minimize bias.

    I also remember her video about John Deere last year, giving the impression the company is only doing so much good in the world…









  • Not exactly what you’re asking for, but it felt really small world to me.

    I saw Anthony Bourdain on TV review a Bánh Mì restaurant in Vietnam and told myself I would eat there someday. Went to Vietnam, pretty much the first time I traveled ever. Went to the Banh Mí place. It was at night, there was a very long queue to get in, I waited in line and ordered. At the counter and on the walls, multiple snippets of newspapers and pictures of Bourdain with the staff and chefs. I sat down with my food, and as I started eating, I received a notification on my cellphone from my local news network at the other side of the world : Bourdain just killed himself.

    It felt very surreal. I was looking at all these pictures with the feeling I knew something all these people didn’t yet.