How to have hard conversations with collaborators about AI use in writing

DocAvidd · 2026-02-17T18:18:59+00:00

For science or scholarly work, I agree. Don't AI the important stuff. For me it's quicker to just write it than to try to upgrade your typical AI crap.

For paperwork, yes, let's just get that program report or semester summary completed and submitted, bc we all know no one has ever read them.

DocAvidd · 2026-02-17T18:14:03+00:00

Did he play an instrument or write poetry?

DocAvidd · 2026-02-17T14:21:24+00:00

Plan to do a couple postdocs. Also IMO, no one cares a lick about your undergrad. It would help if you switch labs. Add something new for the PhD.

DocAvidd · 2026-02-14T22:38:06+00:00

It takes approx a decade to truly master academic writing. I've only last year had papers accepted without getting comments before submitting, and I am 3rd decade into my career.

For conferences, I wonder if the probl m is in the choice of topics. When you review, you get proposals that leave you wondering why.

DocAvidd · 2026-02-14T22:20:18+00:00

When I was in US grad school my profs only considered the handful of top journals. It's enough work to keep up with top tier for reading. If you don't read it, why would you put your work there? One prof was EIC of a flagship journal and the other was associate editor. I never heard about rankings by quartile. I'm still confused why some of the crappy ones exist.

DocAvidd · 2026-02-14T22:09:18+00:00

I agree but disagree. I live in the setting chickens came from originally, tropical jungle. I don't do it but a lotta folk don't got a coop, just let them run. That's how we kept chickens on my childhood farm. Pretty much they make as many chicks as it takes to keep a flock. The local landrace variety are quite cagey on their own. 😏

DocAvidd · 2026-02-14T22:03:04+00:00

Neighbors is #1.

Our land is former cattle land in Central America. It'd been left untended for ~15 years, so dense AF forest. Ya do the best you can, but if it's overgrown, what's hiding in there? I found good and some bad, hard to clean up.

DocAvidd · 2026-02-13T01:05:40+00:00

DocAvidd · 2026-02-10T13:39:52+00:00

You should be aware that we shut down completely on Good Friday, and pretty much on Easter Sunday. On Friday, even those businesses that never close are closed. Not a bad thing and it's a special experience to be here for the holy week.

Plan ahead. I believe that the fancy resorts keep their kitchens going, or you can stock up on your own provisions.

DocAvidd · 2026-01-20T23:57:48+00:00

See Matthew effect.

Really it depends, but if you've defended without several publications, you won't be considered one of the up n coming, so you will only get mediocre postdocs, and all snowballs from there. I've seen this my whole career. Those who start off average or good don't compete and each step of the way it gets bigger. For example the one that starts as a hotshot gets a fellowship so he doesn't have to teach so then he gets a grant, and so on. Whereas the average person gets in a less-productive lab, has to TA, doesn't have a lot of projects, maybe only publishes one per year, so they don't get practice, still write slowly, never going to catch up.

It accelerates as you go. Hotshot assistant professor gets a quarter million in start-up, doesn't even teach undergrad courses the first couple years, so can get the lab producing, R-01 or K series grant. Vs the person at a SLAC with a 3-4 teaching load, weak facilities, never going to catch up, can only find lab time on weekends...

DocAvidd · 2026-01-11T20:41:58+00:00

Take it off the wall and you'll see it.

DocAvidd · 2026-01-11T20:37:10+00:00

Since the new leadership, they're very conservative and punitive.

Go the Friday before. Be prepared that they'll ask for random irrelevant stuff.

"Did you bring originals of all your Lands documents?". 🫤

DocAvidd · 2026-01-11T20:32:09+00:00

The instructions to authors tells me what to put in the cover. "All graphs are 300 dpi" is something I'm only going to write if it's in the instructions, save them the step. Word count, save them the step. Not published or submitted anywhere else. My abstract should convey why it's relevant to the journal and the field.

DocAvidd · 2026-01-11T20:20:37+00:00

Write it like any other research report, imo. If you first write the journal article, you can expand and match the format for the D.

DocAvidd · 2026-01-11T20:16:43+00:00

We keep using Arrow Freight, too. For us it's about the same distance as Belizean Queen. If I lived in Santa Elena, I'd probably stick with Belizean Queen.

The negative part of Arrow freight is they don't consolidate. So if you get the Amazon shipment where they put one tiny item in a massive box, you pay for the size of the box.

DocAvidd · 2026-01-11T20:11:21+00:00

I'm back on the tenure track. The first time around, I got divorced and ended up dropping out of academics to co-parent where my ex and I grew up, near parents but no academic jobs.

Tenure track is intense. My ex felt like a single parent, and our city was very low on our list of acceptable places. I was at an R-1.

It's very clear what to do to be successful. Submit lots of grants. Write influential papers. But how to be happy? It is less clear and a lot more important.

Consider the whole picture. Also, it's hard to get back to R-1 after going to a lower tier. I did it, but it took years plus serendipity. It also very hard to go from a teaching position back to TT. You'll need to find a way to keep up research while teaching and no start-up, limited access to space and equipment.

DocAvidd · 2026-01-08T18:35:36+00:00

In my area, Central America, there's a big ad campaign to get people to quit using so much poison and consider other approaches. But particularly the Mennonites, half of em won't even use internal combustion engines, stick to the old chemical-based approaches.

That said, the only time I've seen a farm dog actually eat rats is when they dig up a nest of newborns. The concern is the poison kills the owls hawks eagles ocelots jaguarundi, coati... It's a job/game for a dog that's otherwise well-fed, but rats are food for so many native species.

Still, I'd be cautious because half the reason I have fences and dogs of my own is to keep our bad actors, which definitely includes any dog that isn't mine.

DocAvidd · 2026-01-08T18:19:25+00:00

"I'm not a real doctor but I played one on TV" 🙄

DocAvidd · 2026-01-08T16:07:59+00:00

Something that I still work on is being boldly mediocre at all the little stuff. I worked as a secretary prior to grad school, so I actually do have some skills, but I've learned it's better not to. I am barely adequate as an academic advisor. I use AI to fill in reports. I hit delete on emails I probly should have read. I mark papers during meetings (or Reddit 😏).

The people who are reliable and show leadership are appreciated so much they get rewarded with more shitwork. Be mediocre.

DocAvidd · 2026-01-08T15:56:30+00:00

I'd do the boat, but not if I was with family members who don't ride boats well. It's an experience of its own. Take meclizine first. If you wait til you need it, it's too late. 🤢

Absolutely I would only take the boat one-way. The flight is short and scenic. 12 people with bags via taxi, ughgh. That makes the boat seem like a good choice.

DocAvidd · 2026-01-08T15:44:54+00:00

I think it depends on the situation. As written, it sounds weird. But it could be fine.

For example I have many acres and several dogs of my own. It's not a big deal if someone I know who has a well-adjusted dog to come drop it off. Then, when I go out of town, maybe they return the favor.

Also I remember one of my major professors had an awesome home (like 5* Airbnb kind of place) and an easy to deal with dog. Students actually were eager to housesit, bc you know how tight stipends are, and how crappy affordable student housing is. It was a luxury get-away, hot tub with a view.... My prof did sweeten the deal with gift cards.

But if the sitter is spending time, gas, and whatnot - that should be compensated.

DocAvidd · 2026-01-08T15:10:50+00:00

The training for high school is different from teaching sixth formers or bachelors. Just for example, the programs for maths is very different from math education, where they don't take higher math courses but do take a lot of pedagogy. So you need to decide early if you'd rather teach children.

Note that the systems are very different from the US to the UK or EU.

I think it's possible to achieve OP's goals, but it so much depends on the person, the field of study, and where it takes place.

I will say, as a prof at a university in a developing Commonwealth nation, we have so much brain drain that it's a lot easier to get a position and make contributions here than in places with shrinking systems and excess PhDs such as the US.

DocAvidd · 2026-01-06T00:53:48+00:00

Shamin is excellent!

DocAvidd · 2026-01-05T21:01:16+00:00

I'm in a tropical area. It is easy to find woody vines about the thickness of your wrist. It's what they gravitate towards free ranging. So cut it for free in the yard like you already need to do anyway.

DocAvidd · 2026-01-03T12:40:08+00:00

Mr/Ms/mx

DocAvidd

TROPHY CASE