I was recently on a call where a PhD student mocked a solution in a paper - he went on in enough detail that I quickly realized that he was commenting on my work - and perhaps because I was last author - he did not connect the dots.
I responded by laughing and commenting that he was mocking my paper.
The student looked at their screen, had a classic oh shit!, and looked like they wanted to be anywhere but on camera.
I kept laughing and shared it was ok bc fields move forward, our solution was more general & there was a need for more nuanced work.
The call moved on and we will design an experiment that probes the limits of my published work.
There were no hard feelings.
I think the student will likely share that story at the bar in conferences for years to come.
At one time, someone #disparaging my work would have crushed me - no matter their rank or record.
It took a lot of shots against me and learning to cope with them - to develop a healthy approach to handling #academiccriticism.
So how do you do it? How do you effectively cope with sharp words? And stay sane?
First, remember the source.
Many academics are not #sociallyapt. They forget the person behind the work. The shots you are hearing are not about you, they are about a your work.
Second, separate your work from your sense of self.
Because we are close to it, it is hard to separate the sense of self from our research. Learn to do so early in your career. You are much more than the sum of your research - you are a friend, a teacher, and more.
You will find biting remarks less painful if you are confident in yourself - and you are not your research!
Third, remember your #publishedpapers are your past.
Criticisms of published papers are comments in what you thought years ago. They don’t reflect the present.
You will find it’s easier to let go that way.
Fourth, remember your #conferencepapers are your future.
Criticism at a #conference helps you build that.
Be pragmatic and use the shots to improve.
Finally, learn to let go.
If I was angry at every person who didn’t like my published work, I would not have very many friends.
Eventually, if you stay in the game, you will have dozens of papers, that can be criticized.
Someone won’t like something about them - from the method to the theory to the implications.
In the immortal words of Elsa, let it go!
You will be much happier.
I’ve learned by remembering the source, focusing on my present, and letting go of criticism of my work, that I am a lot happier in academic life.
I have also found it a lot simpler to forge new working relationships- bc often the interesting bits of new projects revolve around addressing flaws in my own work.
Best of luck!
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