just venting - (Jun/11/2012 )

yes, but these guys do not wear any, they just seem to be afraid of talking to people..........

gebirgsziege on Fri Jun 15 15:45:06 2012 said:

Afraid of talking to people or afraid talking to you?

When working in an environment that involves so many other people (different PhD students, researchers, lab heads, technicians etc) around you, you will meet the occasional anti-social ones. But we can't judge them straightaway as you would know what PhD does to you. I know people who are so stressed that they turn anti-social and start slaving in the lab. Some students were under so much pressure that they just had no time to talk.

Doing research is more than doing good science, it is learning to work within a team setting or office area. It trains us in ways to tolerate, understand, communicate with others. Which I reckon is an important skill for the future.

pito on Fri Jun 15 20:01:11 2012 said:

hmmm pito, we have never met in person have we? You would remember, me the big green monster with the sharp teeth and the crazy look that makes you think I am just waiting for you to blink to bite your head off

but serious now - I do not want to hear peoples live story, do not expect them to make small talk, but when I enter a room I say hello - what is the problem of saying hello as well, especially if you are the only other person in this room
and it is not the occasional one who is antisocial or the occasional being stressed out type of antisocial I would not even mention these here, it seems as if the majority of the 200 or so people working in my institute are inpolite or not able to speak and/or hear. Before I moved to the UK I really belived the storys about the English being very polite.......now I start to doubt this

gebirgsziege on Mon Jun 18 08:01:57 2012 said:

If we would have met in person, would I still be able to tell it....?


And about the "saying hallo".
True. And I think that even if they dont need to talk about their life stories.. I think you should be able to chitchat a bit with people you see every day..
You can like all of them... but still...

But in general: isnt this a typical phenomena/behaviour in this time and age?
You see it on the streets too and in general: people are less "social". People hardly say "hi" to people they meet in the street (ok, I can get the idea you dont want to say hi to total strangers.. but often people dont even say "hi" anymore to their neighbours or people they often see eg at the train station..)

One more thing: its your "new" lab.. but whats new? I can imagine that if you are the new kid on the block.. people are less likely to say hi.. but this should change normally. But not sure how new you are.. so if you allready passed this "being new phase" its horrible to work in such place.

pito on Mon Jun 18 13:01:02 2012 said:

probably not

oh, I am here long enough to have seen that this seems to be the standard behaviour here - and also most people I got to know so far complain about this as well (which is somehow weired) - but the whole working atmosphere is everything but social because everything is too big and people are passing through too quickly. So often once you get to know somebodys name they are already on the move again.....however, this is tj rant and not mine and I like my new working place and group, so I do not want to create the impression that I am lost and unhappy here - I am just annoyed if people are not able to show "common social behaviour" like saying hello.

And maybe you are right - that those people are just a mirror of London - although my neighbours all (also the shopkeepers along the street - whom I would not expect to remember me from passing by) say hello when we meet.......but probably this is the green ugly me, and they are just more daring