In article <62ngh9$l7r$1 at light.nih.gov>,
Bharathi Jagadeesh <bjag at ln.nimh.nih.gov> wrote:
>>5) Recognize the prevailing style in your subfield, and
>work within it. Mathematicians & physicists use overheads,
>for example. Biophysicists use black/white slides with
>relatively complicated figures on each slide.
I think the advice given here has been excellent, and have very little
to add, but with a big meeting coming up, I was just reminded of a
real peeve of mine by this comment. Yes, Biophysicists use "relatively
complicated" figures. For non-biophysicists (at least, for THIS
non-biophysicist) they are TOO complicated. I avoid biophysics talks,
for the most part, because I find the style arcane and abstruse. I
actually think I am interested in the topic, but have never really
been able to find a way "in the door," so to speak. For small,
specialized talks in which you expect the majority of your audience
to be within your subfield, I agree with this advice. But I think there
is a real danger of ghettoization, when taken to extremes.
I wish that people would make more of an effort to be interdisciplinary
and reach out to others who are NOT in their subfield, in situations
where it is appropriate.
Another thing that is somewhat idiosyncratic to me, is that I've noticed
a preponderance of dark or black backgrounds on slides. Then the
room lights are turned off, and it is so dark that note-taking is
impossible. Although I take notes and find that it helps me concentrate
and follow better (as well as provides a record for the "meeting review"
that labs that I've been in always have), I know not everyone takes
notes, and there are good
arguments for not taking notes at times. However, when the room is
this dark, and warm and stuffy as well, there is a tendency on the part
of some small minority of the audience to fall asleep. I am prone to
this, which is why I notice it more than most. I really wish that people
would use light backgrounds, and keep the lights on during talks unless
it's really necessary to turn them off, such as to view a slide of
immunofluorescence.
However, if last year's Neurosciences meeting is any indication, this
request falls on completely deaf ears. The current trend is white
lettering on navy blue or black backgrounds, and the room so dark you
can't see to take notes.
Karen
