A Chat With Dr. Linda Perry - Archaeobotanist (www.fossilfarm.org)

[Barbara]

^ You are a nicer person than I am. 

[johnb]

Your right (sorry I couldn't help myself).  But while my comment was indeed snarky, I think little indicators like that do help one get a handle on what one is dealing with, and having such information is valid and useful and should not be ignored.  In this case it does help underline that some folks (certainly not all, but perhaps the average) who hold antiscientific views of creation may be less educated that those who adhere to scientific explanations.  This may be due to differences in inherent ability or educational opportunity or both.  Your suggestion about how to proceed is, nevertheless, a good one.

[lperry]

I've just been listening to an interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson on Fresh Air.  He was asked about his "talent" for explaining complex ideas to the public. He replied that this is something he actually works at. Too many academics don't do this and, therefore, are bad at explaining what they do in ways that laymen can understand.

I agree.  It takes work to learn how to teach, however, so many people believe it is a "gift" that you either have or do not.  I'm with Malcolm Gladwell.  Put in your hours, and you can do anything well.

[lperry]

Which circles back to your comment about finding a good fundraiser.  Such a person is ultimately a salesperson and they have to have a product to sell.  Which is kind of gist of my original question - how is the Archeobotanist's "brand" in your opinion?    

With the public (?)  Quite good, I think, based upon the press we tend to get with an article in a high-profile journal.  Culinary heritage is something that just about everyone can relate to.  Maybe we need a catchphrase.  "The Real Paleodiet."  "We Are What We Ate."  "Lithic Chef."

[porcupine]

This may sound odd in this day and age, but... Linda, have you ever had to work with people who maybe didn't take you seriously because you're a woman?  (Women in technology (and gaming) is an issue/topic of discussion these days, and I'm wondering if old prejudices still exist in lab settings, too.)

[lperry]

This may sound odd in this day and age, but... Linda, have you ever had to work with people who maybe didn't take you seriously because you're a woman?  (Women in technology (and gaming) is an issue/topic of discussion these days, and I'm wondering if old prejudices still exist in lab settings, too.)

Most of the labs I've been in were run by women because the field of archaeobotany, at least in the US, is largely female, so I don't know if I can answer that or not.  I can say that we are frequently treated like technicians by archaeologists who have site projects, and I have been approached many times by someone who expected me to work on his project for free, just for the privilege of working on his project.  I do have a list of requirements for collaborative work (funding, authorship, etc.), and it weeds out about 80 to 90% of the people who approach me.  Whether or not this is gender bias, a reflection of the difficulty in gaining funding, plain, old, cheapness, or something else altogether, I can't say.

I used to see it in the classroom, and even as inappropriate comments on written course evaluations, but it's been a long time since I saw it in another professor.  At Tulane, I remember telling my advisor (a male professor of Biology) that I wanted to go on to graduate school.  He replied as if I had said something confusing with, "really?"  I replied, "really."  He looked a little bewildered, but he said, "OK, then," and he helped me.  I wonder how many other women left after that first question.

[zoramargolis]

I was led to this article this morning, by a neuroscientist friend who posts on Facebook. It sounds like a fascinating source of information for archeo/anthro biologists:

click

[ol_ironstomach]

This line of research into ancient dental calculus was also in the mainstream science news a couple of years ago, although the lede then was what the early results had revealed about diet.

http://www.insidescience.org/content/tartar-recall/622

[lperry]

Dental calculus is of interest because it persists in the record better than stomach contents or coprolites, and it provides reliable evidence for something that was definitely eaten, or at least chewed.  We make inferences from foods that are left on processing tools or in trash deposits, so having a more direct line to understanding diet is very useful.    

[DonRocks]

I hope I speak for everyone when I say that this was one of the best chats, of any type, that we've ever had (what do you all think?)

We'll be wrapping up this week - even if there aren't any more questions, as an honor to Linda, I'd like to leave this up until Friday.

Linda, you have been ... wonderful, humbling, brilliant ... I could think of a hundred other adjectives, and it still wouldn't be enough.

Applause from everyone, please? (And, of course, if there are any other questions, here's your chance.)

Thank you, Linda!

Rocks

[jayandstacey]

Applause from everyone, please? (And, of course, if there are any other questions, here's your chance.)

Thank you, Linda!

Rocks

Yes, I second that emotion.

Dr. Perry, speaking of applause, what are considered to be the highest accolades in your field?   And do they motivate you, or are they more like frosting on a cake you made under other motivations?  Are there more private accolades like this that give you a sense of pride?   Of these, which have you achieved?  Which are still to be had?

Or, is it really just all about the money and fame, as most of us suspect it is? 

And lastly, if this hasn't been asked yet, how would you want your professional work to be remembered in 100 years?

[DonRocks]

Yes, I second that emotion.

Dr. Perry, speaking of applause, what are considered to be the highest accolades in your field?   And do they motivate you, or are they more like frosting on a cake you made under other motivations?  Are there more private accolades like this that give you a sense of pride?   Of these, which have you achieved?  Which are still to be had?

Or, is it really just all about the money and fame, as most of us suspect it is? 

And lastly, if this hasn't been asked yet, how would you want your professional work to be remembered in 100 years?

I won't answer for Linda (and I'm asking her to correct me if I'm wrong), but my extrapolation is that:

1) There are only a few dozen full-time Archaeobotanists in the world.

2) There aren't enough Archaeobotanists to have any type of organization that could organize, much less fund an "award."

3) This field is both smaller, and larger, than I thought it was when I asked Linda to do this chat.

     a) Smaller, in that there are many fewer people in the field than I first thought.

     Larger, in that I am completely moted by the enormity of this chat in its entirety.

People may remember me writing that I'm not gunning for short-term, or even long-term, financial gain; I'm going for the "500 years down the road" thing - Chaucer, Cimabue, etc.

This chat will be remembered 500 years down the road, long after my great-great-great grandchildren have passed, and at the time when *I* will be a potential subject of study in the field of Archaeobotany.

4) I fucking hate that a "b" followed by a "close-parenthesis" gets converted into a smiley face with sunglasses.

[jayandstacey]

I won't answer for Linda (and I'm asking her to correct me if I'm wrong), but my extrapolation is that:

1) There are only a few dozen full-time Archaeobotanists in the world.

2) There aren't enough Archaeobotanists to have any type of organization that could organize, much less fund an "award."

3) This field is both smaller, and larger, than I thought it was when I asked Linda to do this chat.

     a) Smaller, in that there are many fewer people in the field than I first thought.

     Larger, in that I am completely moted by the enormity of this chat in its entirety.

People may remember me writing that I'm not gunning for short-term, or even long-term, financial gain; I'm going for the "500 years down the road" thing - Chaucer, Cimabue, etc.

This chat will be remembered 500 years down the road, long after my great-great-great grandchildren have passed, and at the time when *I* will be a potential subject of study in the field of Archaeobotany.

4) I fucking hate that a "b" followed by a "close-parenthesis" gets converted into a smiley face with sunglasses.

Understood.  But even in the smallest groups, there's often some sort of recognition delivery, formal or informal.  Maybe they agree to collaborate on publishing.  Maybe they get a phone call of congratulations.  Maybe it is one mentioning another in a presentation.  Maybe it is the publication of a new study that validates your own prior efforts.  Maybe there are more formal achivements to be had from the bigger Acheologists' gang, or maybe they have a semi-joke thing, like whoever owns the 'decorated brick' for the year is "it" - and must choose who to send it to at the end of the next year.  (and if the brick shows up on Jan 1, you know you've 'made it' in that circle.)

Maybe it is a simple invitation to a dinner party, or maybe there's an 'elder' who's public opinions and private kudos amount to the highest accolades in the field.

Maybe Dr. Perry is that elder. (?)

I just can't imagine working in a field and never getting positive feedback.  A person would have to be pretty zen-like to last long.  Yet I also don't know what would make Dr. Perry feel especially proud of herself outside of an accomplishment for its own sake.  Something must, right?

[lperry]

I just can't imagine working in a field and never getting positive feedback.  A person would have to be pretty zen-like to last long.  Yet I also don't know what would make Dr. Perry feel especially proud of herself outside of an accomplishment for its own sake.  Something must, right?  

I think we all get feedback from colleagues who review our papers and grant proposals, and I am contacted fairly frequently by people who want to work with me, so I know what I do is appreciated.  I also get a great deal of satisfaction from the puzzle/problem solving aspects of the work.  Figuring out an unknown will have me in a fabulous mood for a month or so.  Seriously.  Some of my work has received public attention, and it was very gratifying to know that people outside the field are interested in the work and what it can find for us. In a nutshell, I think I do what I do because it needs to be done, I enjoy doing it, and I'm pretty good at it.

Answering the question from a couple of posts back, my original career goal was to publish in Science or Nature, and I did that, so I had to come up with a new goal, which is to advance the field and make space for those who are graduating with degrees like mine.  Hence the foundation and (eventual) research center.  I never really thought about the "in 100 years" question.  I suppose I would like to have built a decent foundation of methods and data collections for others to refine and expand, and I would like to have had a part in keeping the field alive in the US.  

[DonRocks]

Linda, thank you!

[lperry]

Thanks for hosting me. I hope people learned something new!