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mountainguy
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« on: October 18, 2009, 08:48:33 PM » |
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I think every program has at least one of them . . . that person who won't shut up about how great they are and how everyone is calling in favors for them. I just got sucked into a half-hour conversation with this colleague (actually, it was more a monologue of him talking and me listening). Some choice snippets: - "My dissertation is going to be published as a book" (he hasn't written most of it yet).
- "Professor X said at the XYZ Conference that he'd hook me up and get my article published in [Big-Time Journal]." (I've interacted with Professor X on at least four or five occasions and highly doubt he ever said this).
- "I'm really excited about applying for the job at [Dream U]! The last time I was in [Dream City], I got so drunk at this really awesome bar that I forgot how I got back to my hotel."
- "I'm gonna do whatever the bare minimum is that I need to do to get tenure."
Clearly, this person is delusional. I'm not worried about competing with him, but he is really getting on my nerves. Other than sheer avoidance, any ideas about how to cope with people like this? I'm trying to follow the cardinal rule of STFU, but I fear that I'm going to eventually lash out and say something that I regret. |
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« Last Edit: October 18, 2009, 08:49:17 PM by mountainguy »
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prephd
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« Reply #1 on: October 18, 2009, 08:51:06 PM » |
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Just laugh.
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Prephd, in all that black, you are like the anti-pink-me. Freewill is a beeyaaatch
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midwestgrad
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« Reply #2 on: October 18, 2009, 08:56:49 PM » |
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You've already said what you need to do. STFU. Avoid.
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goldfinch
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« Reply #3 on: October 18, 2009, 09:00:57 PM » |
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Yes, what they said. It looks like you already know that folks who say this seldom live up to the hype. Laugh and pick up pointers on what not to do. Try to have fun with it if you can!
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msparticularity
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« Reply #4 on: October 18, 2009, 10:30:43 PM » |
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This is clearly a Wodehouse moment; you need a green baize cloth to put over his head (as if he were an annoying parrot).
Just imagine yourself doing this, and smile enigmatically.
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"Once admit that the sole verifiable or fruitful object of knowledge is the particular set of changes that generate the object of study...and no intelligible question can be asked about what, by assumption, lies outside." John Dewey
"Be particular." Jill Conner Browne
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systeme_d_
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« Reply #5 on: October 18, 2009, 10:58:51 PM » |
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Oh yes, MG, you've got to see the humor in this!
Although your laughter really should take place outside of the earshot of Genius Colleague, don't beat yourself up too much if you unwittingly let a smirk show, or accidentally allow a tiny giggle to escape your lips.
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« Last Edit: October 18, 2009, 10:59:30 PM by systeme_d »
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Systeme_D is right. <rah rah RESEARCH!> |
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larryc
Hu hatin'
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 17,565
Eschew the hu.
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« Reply #6 on: October 18, 2009, 11:54:52 PM » |
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Take notes. This goes in the novel.
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profxfiles
I Am Not, Nor Have I Ever Been A Card-Carrying
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 1,287
I am the grading Jedi
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« Reply #7 on: October 19, 2009, 06:45:53 AM » |
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Start calling him AHAstar behind his back... Heck, start calling him that to his face!
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"Personally, I liked the university. They gave us money and facilities, we didn't have to produce anything... You've never been out of the university. You don't know what it's like out there! I've worked in the private sector...they expect results."
--Dan Aykroyd in Ghostbusters
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grasshopper
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« Reply #8 on: October 19, 2009, 06:50:22 AM » |
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Get down on bended knee and thank him for being your competition on the job market.
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mountainguy
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« Reply #9 on: October 19, 2009, 09:37:05 AM » |
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Love the ideas! It never occurred to me to see the situation as humorous, but I think I can definitely find some humor in the situation. I'm imagining what would happen if he actually got invited to a campus interview at Dream U.
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lotsoquestions
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« Reply #10 on: October 19, 2009, 10:56:31 AM » |
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Surely there's a practical joke out there that would be fun for a guy like that -- a letter or two you guys could write up and send him telling him that he's won a Pulitzer, the Nobel Prize for literature or something of that ilk? Convince him that CNN wants to interview him about his research? Perhaps you could start a fan club complete with t-shirts? Make a contest out of how many times each of you can cite his "unpublished manuscript" in each paper that you write this semester? A blog devoted to his genius? Maybe you could get him some groupies? You could all dress up like him for halloween. .. The mind boggles.
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carebearstare
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« Reply #11 on: October 19, 2009, 11:01:23 AM » |
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If it's any consolation, the person like this from my program still hasn't filed the diss and seems to have all but given up on getting a doctorate. Karma is a b!tch.
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Well, some posters were being naughty here.
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grasshopper
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« Reply #12 on: October 19, 2009, 12:21:53 PM » |
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It never occurred to me to see the situation as humorous
Excuse me, what? This guy deserves his own sitcom. In fact, I'd be surprised if Hollywood hasn't already honed in on him. |
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peppergal
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« Reply #13 on: October 19, 2009, 12:44:22 PM » |
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If it's any consolation, the person like this from my program still hasn't filed the diss and seems to have all but given up on getting a doctorate. Karma is a b!tch.
The person like this from my cohort never finished. Kind of dropped off the face of the earth when the rest of the cohort started filing and getting interviews, while the grandstander didn't get any interviews and didn't seem to be anywhere close to filing. The person like this from the cohort behind me wised up and reined in the ego eventually, and is currently in an excellent job. Just to say it can go either way. |
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toothpaste
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« Reply #14 on: October 19, 2009, 12:51:11 PM » |
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It never occurred to me to see the situation as humorous
Excuse me, what? This guy deserves his own sitcom. In fact, I'd be surprised if Hollywood hasn't already honed in on him. Grad students aren't interesting enough for Hollywood. |
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Oh, this is how you get a signature line.
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