The pieces are slowly coming together, coordinating Neuro groups across domains..... it always feels like I still haven't done anything but the conversations happening at all, let alone what we're talking about is such a massive change from when I started trying to pull ppl together.
idk how exactly where we're going or how were gonna get there, but we are in fact moving
organizing ppl, planting and cross pollinating lil seeds, etc. is v intangible and uniquely unrewarded in academia - ya don't get no paper from it - but it is one of the most personally rewarding things to me to see ppl I nudged together taking off on their own thing, or ideas I helped along spread out.
it's tricky bc the whole point is that I'm not taking credit for any of it, it's about doing something together not me doing something, so hard to not feel conflicted between wanting to feel like u are making a difference vs. not wanting to feel like you are centering yourself.
@jonny It's also a question of when to take credit - most of the time I find it's enough to have a sense of belonging to something bigger and being an important part of making something happen.
But it is worth being self-aware enough to document the evidence of contribution for a CV or when applying for promotion.
@jonny
Celebrate yourself for the work you did to connect people! It is a gift to the world that deserves to be recognized by other peeps too. You can take solitary satisfaction in doing a good thing, but I think it truly helps us as a species in the long term to have this kind of effort socially valued & celebrated. You are a good egg.
It sounds cheesy, but I’ll straight up ask someone I trust (not the person I helped) to give me some extra belly rubs for helping out. ❤️💪
@cnsyoung
ya it's tricky bc as you said I have absolutely zero desire to take credit for people becoming friends and having ideas together. it's quite literally my pleasure, my friends being friends with my other friends is one of the highest callings.
at the same time, some of these things have been like lots of gentle pushing from different angles over time to make ideas seem obvious in retrospect, and ime that kind of helping ppl believe in things on their own is way more effective than taking credit for them. I also actually love being able to whisper 2 my friends like (heh heh that one was me) but I am facing the prospect of having to look for a job in a few years where I won't be able to explain what I was freaking doing for a long time bc it was all behind the scenes work (that and I have only been self-publishing things that have no disciplinary home because fuck that whole racket).
jonny (good kind)
Joseph Guillaume
Erin Conroy
Crystal Steltenpohl