Finding Time to Blog

They are asking another question of us. They have also changed their name -- just remember where you first saw that gimmick. Anyway, on to their question:

How is it that all the PIs (Tara, PZ, Orac et al.), various grad students, post-docs, etc. find time to fulfill their primary objectives (day jobs) and blog so prolifically?

Who says we fulfill our primary objectives? For that matter, who says we blog prolifically? This question is rife with unwarranted assumptions. It's not like I've got an impressive publication record. How do you know I'm not just a crappy scientist who doesn't do jack shit, blogging to fill the time and look busy?

Enough self deprecation. Most of my longer posts concern research articles that I would be reading even if I didn't have this stupid blog. Writing up the blog entries ensures that I pay attention to the articles rather than passively skim the contents. As for my more educational posts (for instance, my series on Detecting Natural Selection), they act as a way for me to work on my teaching skills. Someday, I hope to improve them to the point where they can be referred to as mad skillz. And if you couldn't tell by now, I can't write for shit. Hopefully, through blogging, my writing skills (not yet mad skillz are they) will reach a serviceable level.

More like this

Maybe we could get a certificate:

"So and so in the process of blogging and teaching has a achieved Mad Skillz..."