Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Your Tax Dollars: Scientific Progress through Inebriation

I was sitting in the lab the other day when the program manager (Mr. B) for my fellowship and another NSF fellow came in. The reason they came in is unimportant.

Mr. B: "Hey, Natalie."

Me: "Hey! What's up?"

Mr. B: "Tom, you've met Natalie, right?"

Tom: "Of course! Natalie and I got sauced together at the spring poster symposium!"

Me (blushing): "Gotta love the free alcohol at those things..."

Mr. B: "That's exactly why we supply it. So you scientists will actually talk to one another."

It works.

3 comments:

Scott said...

The man is a genius. It just goes to show that sometimes the unorthodox is the only way to get things done.

Natalie said...

It is genius. The best part is, even though I joke about the tax dollars stuff, do you realize just how little booze it takes to get a bunch of scientists drunk? I'm a goner after 2-3 glasses of wine and I'm considered a "heavy weight" at these things.

The only other way to loosen us up is to supply us with walls of chalkboard and/or boxes envelopes for drawing diagrams and estimating calculations.

*silence, I'm sure*

Ahem... that was physics humor.

Runner Girl FL said...

Physicists and philosophers are both known for being more social when beer (wine/drink etc) is involved.