What I am about to discuss is actually a fairly obvious use, although I have never heard anyone else use 'jump the shark' in this context. When I tried it last week on one of my former students, I found I had to explain the term from the beginning. (He became very amused after the long preamble.)
Basically, the term 'jumping the shark' ought to be used for old scientists who used to study real stuff but either have gone bonkers and now study some combination of bullshit and minutiae. An example sentence might go as follows: "Yeah, I realize this guy won a Nobel prize, but he jumped the shark after he turned 50." Maybe the term is already used for scientists, but
it clearly needs to if it isn't already because it's just that cool.
By the way, there are several amusing things in the wikipedia entry, so I highly recommend reading that.
2 days ago
8 comments:
Mason!
I'll try to get this usage into the lexicon, but it'll take some work. You're right, that Wiki is interesting - enough to derail the end of the workday for me! Eventually found myself Wiki'ing Phil Hartman (result of looking at the Simpsons entry on jumptheshark.com).
Hey! Any plans to visit Caltech soon? When do the alums come back to play the baseball team?
You should check out today's free agent signings... you lost one of your former ace pitchers (to us).
Haha! Lurker, busted!
I was on campus back in March for the Alumni game, probably won't make it back for next year because I'll be in Durham NC working on my PhD at Duke! I'm moving in about 3 weeks, starting school in 5.
I actually, I asked this time because we exchanged e-mails last time and getting together didn't happen.
It's weird that you're starting in January. That's pretty unusual.
I vaguely remember you telling me you had plans to go for a Ph.D. I need to work on my memory.
Yup, January is definitely odd. I spoke with my advisor back in late June about starting in the Fall of '07, and he got me convinced that I should start F/06. Didn't have enough time for all that though, so we settled on Spring 07.
What's the project?
(I periodically forget that for engineering sciences, one gets the advisor first and then starts the program. In math and physics, that's very rare in the US---though my understanding is that it is often true in the UK.)
The project is funded by a (the?) NSF Arabidopsis Grant. I'll be doing genetical engineering research - specifically, I'll be tackling the engineering tasks of measuring differences (at the cellular level) between different arabidopsis seeds that have been genetical engineered. So, cellular- and nano- scale sensing applications, hopefully to work in cooperation with similar scale actuators being developed to more truly emulate biological mechanisms. Think prosthetics with true nerve networks (i.e. nearly continuous sensing path like we have in our skind) rather than the extremely discrete feedback found in current prostheses.
Yes, I know "genetical engineering" is incorrect in the extreme - but I'm a big fan of South Park, and I want to say it that way.
As long as you're doing it on purpose, it's all good. :)
Wow! Bio- and nano-. You're going to be getting a lot of funding...
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