APS in DC
I just finished up the last full day (for me) of the Association of Psychological Sciences Convention in Washington DC. So far it has been really fun. I want to write down the highlights before they left my mind. Sorry for the long post, you don't have to read it if you dont want to.
This was my first academic convention, so I didn't know what to expect. I love the free stuff: tote bags, shirts, books, mints, magnets, pens, and purple tape measures.
The first day I got here really early, my flight left at 6:45 and I got to the hotel at 8:30. I had a lot of time to get settled. My room is on the "cabana suite" floor which means I have a king size bed and a balcony that has a staircase to the pool floor - but it's still really quiet and nice. I saw some really cool speakers and had dinner with Dr. Kennison and it was great to catch up. The speakers covered everything from learning principles to changing personality. (which was the keynote address)
The next day I pretty much did my own thing, but I got to see some awesome guest speakers including Elizabeth Loftus (as in Loftus et al. who did the study on car crashes/smashes/and bumps influencing memory). I was hesitating about what to do for dinner when I heard a lot of commotion on the pool deck and saw an APS dinner party. I went down and met some really neat people. I met the APS Convention photographer from NYC, I met a woman named Suzanne (don't know last name) who is from England and was interested in eating disorders, and I met a man, Brink (don't know first name) who commutes from Mexico to Souther California to teach and who was interested in statistical analysis. I also saw lectures on risk analysis (which I find really fascinating), remembering the self, and cultural differences in neurological representations.
Today was the best day. I saw Susan Goldin-Meadow (famed in the gesture/sign language community) and she gave a really interesting talk on how gesture very strongly enhances your ability to learn and how it is a great predictor for children crossing over some of the Piagetian boundaries and learning things like conservation of number.
Then came the poster session. I think most people were scared of my work. Not surprising given the boring title Dr. Kennison came up with: "The role of animacy in noun compound in English" I had a fun one in Oklahoma: "Rating Noun Compounds: what lice eggs and teeth whitener have in common" I know that most people don't like or understand linguistics and (ok all) of the people who approached me asked one of two things. 1) Can you walk me through your poster (i.e. It's a lot of text and I don't that much to read it) or 2) what is Animacy/a noun compound/the take home message? (i.e. I don't understand what the Heck you are talking about, so explain. Both of these were followed by "Oh that's kind of interesting..." and moving on. I think this reaction is why I like the BCS/Vision and Action area more; it's something more people find relevant and interesting.
I also got to see a talk controlling emotion, childhood amnesia, and memory in the medial temporal lobes, as well as attending "Stumbling on Happiness" by Dan Gilbert of Harvard University which was awesome. That was the "Bring your family" lecture and the largest auditorium of the hotel was PACKED. His talk made me want go to his class lectures; he spoke like a motivational speaker and it was great. He tied in humor and economics, and really made you think about what happiness is and how we illogically look at ways to achieve it. Then I went to the 'meet and greet' session on the pool deck and saw Amy and Mia (seperately). It was really nice to catch up for a few minutes. I also met a woman (don't know name) who is interested in clinical psychology and teaches at UMASS. I am glad I met some people, I feel like I am starting to have "connections". ;)
It's been super hot here, and after seeing all the OSU people I almost feel like I am in Oklahoma again. :)
Tomorrow I plan on attending one morning talk on "why people make mountains out of molehills" and then having lunch and heading to the airport.
On top of all that I got a little tan while reading outside, and I got to both start and finish "A million little pieces" - which is a fanstastic book (true or not) and one that I would recommend everyone read.
So I was a little scared coming here by myself but I am really glad I did. Washington is not what I expected. They have HIGH tax (something I thought all the politicians would vote away from to keep themselves safe - it's 10% on all food). The area around the hotel is nice, I saw the French Embassy and some really nice apartment buildings. But walk the wrong direction and you get slums and bums on the street. The food at the Hilton is ridiculously expensive, a bowl of soup alone cost me $8, it was $5.97 plus $.60 tax and $1 tip. There is a "deli" here where a regular (not massively large) tuna sandwich is $10.50. :( It's absolutely insane. I need someone to split meals with ;)
It was a blast, but after the whole experience I think I am less inclined to stay in the world of Academia.
The End.
This was my first academic convention, so I didn't know what to expect. I love the free stuff: tote bags, shirts, books, mints, magnets, pens, and purple tape measures.
The first day I got here really early, my flight left at 6:45 and I got to the hotel at 8:30. I had a lot of time to get settled. My room is on the "cabana suite" floor which means I have a king size bed and a balcony that has a staircase to the pool floor - but it's still really quiet and nice. I saw some really cool speakers and had dinner with Dr. Kennison and it was great to catch up. The speakers covered everything from learning principles to changing personality. (which was the keynote address)
The next day I pretty much did my own thing, but I got to see some awesome guest speakers including Elizabeth Loftus (as in Loftus et al. who did the study on car crashes/smashes/and bumps influencing memory). I was hesitating about what to do for dinner when I heard a lot of commotion on the pool deck and saw an APS dinner party. I went down and met some really neat people. I met the APS Convention photographer from NYC, I met a woman named Suzanne (don't know last name) who is from England and was interested in eating disorders, and I met a man, Brink (don't know first name) who commutes from Mexico to Souther California to teach and who was interested in statistical analysis. I also saw lectures on risk analysis (which I find really fascinating), remembering the self, and cultural differences in neurological representations.
Today was the best day. I saw Susan Goldin-Meadow (famed in the gesture/sign language community) and she gave a really interesting talk on how gesture very strongly enhances your ability to learn and how it is a great predictor for children crossing over some of the Piagetian boundaries and learning things like conservation of number.
Then came the poster session. I think most people were scared of my work. Not surprising given the boring title Dr. Kennison came up with: "The role of animacy in noun compound in English" I had a fun one in Oklahoma: "Rating Noun Compounds: what lice eggs and teeth whitener have in common" I know that most people don't like or understand linguistics and (ok all) of the people who approached me asked one of two things. 1) Can you walk me through your poster (i.e. It's a lot of text and I don't that much to read it) or 2) what is Animacy/a noun compound/the take home message? (i.e. I don't understand what the Heck you are talking about, so explain. Both of these were followed by "Oh that's kind of interesting..." and moving on. I think this reaction is why I like the BCS/Vision and Action area more; it's something more people find relevant and interesting.
I also got to see a talk controlling emotion, childhood amnesia, and memory in the medial temporal lobes, as well as attending "Stumbling on Happiness" by Dan Gilbert of Harvard University which was awesome. That was the "Bring your family" lecture and the largest auditorium of the hotel was PACKED. His talk made me want go to his class lectures; he spoke like a motivational speaker and it was great. He tied in humor and economics, and really made you think about what happiness is and how we illogically look at ways to achieve it. Then I went to the 'meet and greet' session on the pool deck and saw Amy and Mia (seperately). It was really nice to catch up for a few minutes. I also met a woman (don't know name) who is interested in clinical psychology and teaches at UMASS. I am glad I met some people, I feel like I am starting to have "connections". ;)
It's been super hot here, and after seeing all the OSU people I almost feel like I am in Oklahoma again. :)
Tomorrow I plan on attending one morning talk on "why people make mountains out of molehills" and then having lunch and heading to the airport.
On top of all that I got a little tan while reading outside, and I got to both start and finish "A million little pieces" - which is a fanstastic book (true or not) and one that I would recommend everyone read.
So I was a little scared coming here by myself but I am really glad I did. Washington is not what I expected. They have HIGH tax (something I thought all the politicians would vote away from to keep themselves safe - it's 10% on all food). The area around the hotel is nice, I saw the French Embassy and some really nice apartment buildings. But walk the wrong direction and you get slums and bums on the street. The food at the Hilton is ridiculously expensive, a bowl of soup alone cost me $8, it was $5.97 plus $.60 tax and $1 tip. There is a "deli" here where a regular (not massively large) tuna sandwich is $10.50. :( It's absolutely insane. I need someone to split meals with ;)
It was a blast, but after the whole experience I think I am less inclined to stay in the world of Academia.
The End.