No, this is not another reflection on the perils and pleasures of having a birthday at this time of year; at least, not exactly. The topic did, however, come up recently in an unusual setting and somehow this led to another topic that is a rather common theme around here at the FSP blog, and I was kind of fascinated by that.
Below you will find a transcript (heavily edited for brevity, but faithfully recording the content) of a conversation I recently had as part of being "interviewed" by an official person at an airport re. the Security of the Homeland. I hope it doesn't shock anyone, but you will see below that I admit to lying (once) to this official person in this interview.
Man In Uniform (MIU): Your birthday is very close to the end of the year. That must have made your father happy, for tax purposes.
FSP: Yes. (That was my one lie: In fact, it was my mother who was happy about this; she handled all the family finances, did the taxes, and had labor induced a few days early, for tax purposes. I doubt if my father knew or cared about any of this, but I didn't see a reason to correct the MIU's assumption about my parents.)
MIU: Have we met before?
FSP: Not to my knowledge.
MIU: I think we might have met. A few weeks ago I met another female professor from your university. She works on [name of a research topic that a non-scientist might think is similar to what I do even though it's not].
FSP: No, that wasn't me. I work on X, and that's different from what that other professor works on.
MIU: Are you sure? Two lady professors from the same university, both scientists?
FSP (calmly): That wasn't me. There are more than two female science professors at my university.
MIU: I used to jump out of airplanes.
FSP: OK.
MIU: Have you ever changed your name?
FSP: No.
MIU: [long anecdote about a woman in his family who recently changed her name]. Have you ever plotted to overthrow the US government?
FSP: No.
The rest was kind of boring. Why had I traveled to Countries X, Y, and Z? What did I bring back? Who paid for my business travel? etc.
That's my Christmastime-birthday-gender-directed-weirdness anecdote. Happy Birthday Merry Christmas, and don't forget to send in your fake CV for the Academic Writing Contest of 2012.
Below you will find a transcript (heavily edited for brevity, but faithfully recording the content) of a conversation I recently had as part of being "interviewed" by an official person at an airport re. the Security of the Homeland. I hope it doesn't shock anyone, but you will see below that I admit to lying (once) to this official person in this interview.
Man In Uniform (MIU): Your birthday is very close to the end of the year. That must have made your father happy, for tax purposes.
FSP: Yes. (That was my one lie: In fact, it was my mother who was happy about this; she handled all the family finances, did the taxes, and had labor induced a few days early, for tax purposes. I doubt if my father knew or cared about any of this, but I didn't see a reason to correct the MIU's assumption about my parents.)
MIU: Have we met before?
FSP: Not to my knowledge.
MIU: I think we might have met. A few weeks ago I met another female professor from your university. She works on [name of a research topic that a non-scientist might think is similar to what I do even though it's not].
FSP: No, that wasn't me. I work on X, and that's different from what that other professor works on.
MIU: Are you sure? Two lady professors from the same university, both scientists?
FSP (calmly): That wasn't me. There are more than two female science professors at my university.
MIU: I used to jump out of airplanes.
FSP: OK.
MIU: Have you ever changed your name?
FSP: No.
MIU: [long anecdote about a woman in his family who recently changed her name]. Have you ever plotted to overthrow the US government?
FSP: No.
The rest was kind of boring. Why had I traveled to Countries X, Y, and Z? What did I bring back? Who paid for my business travel? etc.
That's my Christmastime-birthday-gender-directed-weirdness anecdote. Happy Birthday Merry Christmas, and don't forget to send in your fake CV for the Academic Writing Contest of 2012.