oh r-e-a-l-l-y..?

[Walden]

Why are you leaping to the conclusion that this was funded with public money?

Why are they leaping ot the conclusion that it was funded at all?

It was entirely volunteer, eh?

[Wombat]

Why are you leaping to the conclusion that this was funded with public money?

Why are they leaping ot the conclusion that it was funded at all?

It was entirely volunteer, eh?

Precisely. I was thinking of something like this.

After the conference, Professor Groper and a dozen graduate students found themselves in a small, seedy, bar off Main Street. After half a dozen tequila sunrises, Groper came up with a stunningly novel hypothesis that stung the graduate students into immediate action ......

Lots of research doesn't need much funding. Some doesn't need any over and above the continuing salary of the academic doing the research. And the academic would get the salary even if he or she hadn't undertaken the research.

[Denny]

Why are they leaping ot the conclusion that it was funded at all?

It was entirely volunteer, eh?

Precisely. I was thinking of something like this.

After the conference, Professor Groper and a dozen graduate students found themselves in a small, seedy, bar off Main Street. After half a dozen tequila sunrises, Groper came up with a stunningly novel hypothesis that stung the graduate students into immediate action ......

Lots of research doesn't need much funding. Some doesn't need any over and above the continuing salary of the academic doing the research. And the academic would get the salary even if he or she hadn't undertaken the research.

So you're buying?

[s1m0n]

Why are you leaping to the conclusion that this was funded with public money?

Why are they leaping ot the conclusion that it was funded at all?

Exactly.

This is the kind of study that could be carried out by sending a half dozen grad students to bars with a notebook and a pencil. Grad students go to bars anyway, and these ones would have to stay sober enough to make good observations, so it wouldn't cost much at all.

And while this is going on, the student is also learning 1) how to observe human interactions 2) how to design a valid study and 3) that academia doesn't have to take itself so seriously all the time.

Seems like lesson #3 is in short supply.

[Wombat]

It was entirely volunteer, eh?

Precisely. I was thinking of something like this.

After the conference, Professor Groper and a dozen graduate students found themselves in a small, seedy, bar off Main Street. After half a dozen tequila sunrises, Groper came up with a stunningly novel hypothesis that stung the graduate students into immediate action ......

Lots of research doesn't need much funding. Some doesn't need any over and above the continuing salary of the academic doing the research. And the academic would get the salary even if he or she hadn't undertaken the research.

So you're buying?

Well, a grant to help out with the drinks and the taxi would be nice.

[harpmaker]

What numbskull funded this project?!?

Seriously, this money could have gone to research in something important, like curing diseases.

Or developing a lite beer that actually tastes good....

[peeplj]

What numbskull funded this project?!?

Seriously, this money could have gone to research in something important, like curing diseases.

Or developing a lite beer that actually tastes good....

Chorus:
Three-Oh-Seven Ale, me boys! 307 Ale!
The finest drink that any bar has ever had for sale!
It'll lay your whole damn world to waste,
It'll make you fit and hale!
There's nothing that you'll ever taste
Like 307 Ale, me boys! 307 Ale!


It started down at MIT, one lazy summer's day,
When a couple of the techie fratboys started in to play;
They'd caught up on their classes with a couple hours to kill,
So they fitted out a cylcotron and made themselves a still.

They measured choice ingredients to brew a little brew,
But they didn't know the wires were crossed on chamber no. 2;
A tiny bit of space got folded, things were looking queer,
They pulled the spout and then came out the world's first Hyper-Beer!

It bubbled and it burbled and it glowed a fizzly green,
And what it did to test equipment frankly was obscene;
It took a while to find a vial it would'nt burst to flame,
Then they measured out it's potency and that's how it was named.

There're many drinks you'll drink, me lads, but this one beats them all:
One-hundred-fifty-three-and-one-half percent alcohol!
A beer brewed in a tesseract that'll shoot you through the roof,
And if you don't believe me I've got lots and lots of proof!

"307 Ale" by Tom Smith

Somehow this just seemed to fit.

--James

[dwinterfield]

At the risk of lending a bit of credibility to what appears to be a silly study, years ago, I had a prof who used to do this sort of research. He was a statisitician who developed controlled study models for sociology research. In a typical example he would select 100 undergraduate men from a group of volunteers. This would be a relatively uniform group in terms of social and economic demographics. One at a time, the subjects would go into a class room where a grad student was sitting at the teachers desk. Using exactly the same language each time the grad student would explain that the individual was required to take a test. The test would be simple and on something like current events, local sports etc. The variable would the grad student. In some cases white, in other cases black. In some cases male, in other cases female. In some cases "attractive", other cases "unattractive" as determined by some set of standard criteria. The result was that after controlling for everything else, the physical appearence of the grad student had a consistent, predictable effect on the preformance of the students on the tests. For example when a white male grad student handed out the tests to white male undergrads, they would do significantly better on the test than when a black male grad student handed out the test to a white male students.

My prof's interest was in race relations and the impact of unconscious attitudes on performance and behavior. The generally depressing outcome of all this was that the superficial characteristics (race, gender, attractiveness etc.) of people in our immediate vicinity have a significant effect on behavior.

The moment I saw Dale's post, I though of this guy. He would have figured out a study model about attractiveness and one night stands with photos and questionairres in which no one gets laid and would have relished that it looked like one thing but was about something else entirely.

[I.D.10-t]

He would have figured out a study model about attractiveness and one night stands with photos and questionairres in which no one gets laid and would have relished that it looked like one thing but was about something else entirely.

The thing is that attractiveness is not just physical perfection. I have seen people that were able to be models that could not catch a second glance because they were repulsive, and homely people be the star of the crowd just because they were happy, fun loving individuals, and very attractive.

Attractive to me means that you are drawn in.

[fearfaoin]

Or developing a lite beer that actually tastes good....

12oz of Guinness only has 25 more calories than 12 oz. of Bud Light!
(almost thrice the carbs, though...)

[Denny]

The article.

[I.D.10-t]

The article.

Thanks!

I find it fascinating that researchers are so often drawn to undergrads for experiments (prisoners rating as a close second).

[Denny]

The article.

Thanks!

I find it fascinating that researchers are so often drawn to undergrads for experiments (prisoners rating as a close second).

If ya have a whistle and you don't have a flute...do you play flute?

[gonzo914]

I find it fascinating that researchers are so often drawn to undergrads for experiments (prisoners rating as a close second).

Undergrads are handy because you can pay them in grade points rather than actual, real money.

[Cynth]

"Although men and women are similarly motivated in choosing short-term sexual relationship partners, they differ in their willingness to actually engage in such relationships, the findings indicate. As a result, "Higher-quality men often hook up with lesser-quality, though reasonably attractive women," Li says. "

What is it that makes the lesser-quality person?

Oh, wait, I get it. Since the really good looking women don't go in for one night stands as often as the really good looking men, the higher quality (YEAH!) men are forced to turn to lesser quality (I guess their quality is lesser because of their looks), but still reasonably attractive women for their one night stands. Yuck!!!!!! This whole thing is just gross!

The was just recently a Nature on PBS about a baboon troop. It was amazing to see the similarities between their behavior and ours.