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Victor GijsbersWhy is apparently seen as acceptabele in #academia to go to a talk, open your laptop, and then work on totally unrelated stuff while the speaker is talking? I find this unbelievably rude, but I see it all the time.
Daniel Reeders@victorgijsbers and then they put their hand up and ask the most stupid-ass questions!
@onekind Absolutely!
Dr Micha Campbell@victorgijsbers yes, such a lack of basic respect.
Fuzzy Leapfrog@victorgijsbers I am neurospicy and can't follow a talk without e.g. solving nonograms or sudokus. It's sad that everyone things that is disrespectful but I live with that. Additionally, not every talk of a session might be interesting, but instead of walking in and out during sessions, having people to stand up and creating noise, I maybe read through one talk. What I actually find rude is people talking in the audience or typing really loud, i.e. creating a distraction for others.
@fuzzyleapfrog Actually, of somebody was solving non-verbal puzzles like a sudoku, that wouldn't bother me much, since it is indeed possible to listen to a talk and do that (and for some people it helps with concentration). But when people are answering their emails, or typing articles, or whatever... they're definitely not listening to the talk at the same time.
zombiecide@victorgijsbers @fuzzyleapfrog see, people are different. If I was solving sudoku I wouldn't be paying attention.
Reading/writing plus listening to unrelated content in a narrative/conversational form in the same language or German/English is often needed to match my focus to the current input, possibly puzzles that use visual memory; crafts for audiovisual input - if I listen/watch "attentively" to a talk/lesson without doing anything else, I just drift into daydreams
@zombiecide That's super interesting. Thank you for adding this perspective. You really can't tell what distracts someone else or helps them focus instead.
@victorgijsbers Which you consider rude, I see. There are people daydreaming or zooming out otherwise. You can't always tell what someone is doing on their computer/phone and you can't always tell what someone is doing while looking at the speaker. As long as it isn't distracting anyone else, which depends on noise/movement, I personally don't mind. Especially not in long sessions with several talks/topics. I'd rather have someone read instead of leaving/entering but that's personal preference.
suzi_1960@victorgijsbers @fuzzyleapfrog people droodle or drawing is very normal and it helps to focus.. thats what i have heard. But answering mails etc is very rude.
IcooIey@fuzzyleapfrog @victorgijsbers
I often knit during talks. It helps me maintain focus and is fairly socially acceptable in most situations. And you get information from the talk plus a bonus hat or scarf.
I often knit during talks. It helps me maintain focus and is fairly socially acceptable in most situations. And you get information from the talk plus a bonus hat or scarf.
Bart-Jan Vrielink@victorgijsbers why am I reading this during a meeting?
@bartjan Caught you!
Aurel@victorgijsbers Title was interesting, but the speaker isn't good? Waiting for the next talk in the same block? Waiting for the Q&A because they are already familiar with the work?
jelte@victorgijsbers It's even worse in non-academic tech conferences, IMHO. Though way back when, when I still got nervous about giving talks, that actually helped me get over my nerves: the idea that most people weren't paying attention.
Lisanne@victorgijsbers I agree that it is rude, but I think it is a natural response to the incredibly low quality of the median research talk. (At least this is the case in my field.) If the speaker is just mumbling about some technical details using his favorite jargon, why should people pretend to listen?