Posted by Adam on February 11, 2001, at 14:19:21
In reply to Board for oldtimers -- and other carrots, posted by Dr. Bob on February 10, 2001, at 3:30:18
Yes, experts are busy. Where I was in college, one of the nicest little traditions we had (and perhaps this goes on in many other places) were student-teacher "fireside chats". Basically, a teacher had a particular subject of interest (like the Vietnam War, illicit drugs (the facts and the fiction), genetics, poetry, you name it), everyone gathered in a lounge (plus or minus the fire, depending on where it was), and we just talked. There was no lecture. We discussed. These were busy people and busy students, spending some quality time. I think the professors who set aside time for these chats found themselves feeling as rewarded or more rewarded than the students, judging by the looks on their faces, and how animated they appeared compared to, say, their typical lecturing demeanor.
On "carrots": This term can have a somewhat negative connotation, sort of a "bribe" or a "treat" meant only to exert influence on another to get what you want. As does allisonm, I like carrots too. They're tasty and they're very good for you. I don't think anything negatively about carrots, and never meant to give that impression, if that was what was taken.If the idea isn't too much work for you, Dr. Bob, I think it would be cooler than cool. Yeah, a separate board, maybe "Psycho-Babble Fireside Chat" (to be thoroughly unoriginal), one that's open to members for posting during certain periods of time.
I think perhaps volume could be a concern. Maybe questions could be submitted to an online form, like this window, where the questioner's online identity could be displayed but no other info. revealed except to you, the host, as per the usual. From these questions, some could be selected (to keep things relevant, appropriate, and avoid repetition), the expert would answer them, and the questions and answers would be posted on the board. Then maybe there could be a period of "open" discussion, where the board acted more-or-less just like this one.
Then it would shut off. The previous threads would be closed, and we would await the next volunteer. When he/she "arrives", the process would begin again.
I dearly hope you have somone who can help you with such tasks. A volunteer student or something. Otherwise what I'm describing would probably be a very tall order, and I don't mean to sound too demanding. I'm just tossing out ideas, and, of course, I know some may or may not be good ones.
Thanks, again, for all your efforts on psycho-babble, and for your receptiveness to this particular idea! It means a lot to me.
Adam.
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> Experts tend to be busy, but this is an interesting idea. Last year, I set up a mailing list on which our Grand Rounds speakers could respond to questions, but that never took off. What if I asked them to interact in some way here? Would those topics be of interest? It would be nice to connect these two projects in some way...
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> http://psychiatry.uchicago.edu/grounds
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> Or I suppose you all could request particular experts and I could approach them. Hmm, or maybe I could try to assemble a panel that would take turns...
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> Bob
poster:Adam
thread:619
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20001124/msgs/637.html