The posts about meetings and whether people get much
out of them are really interesting, though I guess I
missed the original posting asking about the topic.
I have to say that my experience is and has been very
different from Alice's (with the exception of having said
things that seemed stupid upon reflection :-) ). I did
not find that the men I went with were more single-minded
or more aggressive, or that they were competing with one
another -- at least not any more than the women. Nor dod
I meet women who were interested in talking about their
home lives.
I have had wretched experiences at meetings -- I remember
one where I got so pissed-off that I began assigning dollar
amounts to the dignitaries I met and adding them up to see
if I was recouping the registration fee. That was before I
knew anybody in the field. After a few years, though, I
knew either the people or the names, and was able to just
go up and introduce myself with a question about people's
work. Almost everyone was nice enough to have a short
conversation, in that case. I'd agree, however, that it
isn't a venue in which to make friends; after you've said
what you have to say, people want to go talk to someone else.
The sustained conversations I saw were debates on theoretical
issues, where people could be thinking out new ideas as they
talked and thereby provide fresh grist for the mill.
Now I attend different kinds of meetings, which I never even
knew existed when I was in research. Biology teaching
associations have lots of meetings and they are similar in
their dynamic to an extent, but much more open in the types
of discussions. People don't expect you to have read their
papers (educational researchers in science teaching are amazingly
humble this way, and science teachers are amazingly arrogant --
would any of us set out to earn our living in a lab without
having read one relevant research paper?). Conversations are
less content-centered, people want to hear a lot more of other
folks' anecdotal experiences, and there are workshops which allow
you to work and talk with others for an extended amount of time.
Still, even at these friendly meetings there are 'in' and 'peripheral'
groups. I don't think it's gender related, it just has to do with
how many people you know and whether they're running the organization.
Sometimes I find myself more motivated by pique at being in the
peripheral group than I would be by more direct support. I think we
all need to be peripheral sometimes. It's a very 'free' position
from which to criticize and exercise your brain without feeling
responsible for the results -- a luxury, in fact! But best enjoyed
when you know the names of a few good local restaurants, and have
a good book in your briefcase. ;-)
Pat Bowne
