Overheard at the Eastern
An open thread to report those funny or odd things one tends to overhear at gatherings of philosophers, for folks at the Eastern Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association.
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Not yet overheard, but I’m trying to get John Corvino to perform “How Do You Solve A Problem Like My Vita?” (to the tune of
West Side Story‘s “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?”), which he wrote with Thomas Williams, at the smoker. The lyrics (with permission):How do you solve a problem like my vita? How do you find a job that’s tenure-track?
What should I call myself here on my vita? A metaphysician, an ethicist, a quack?
Many an area I’ve claimed to cover. Making up research goals can be a chore.
But if they only knew, the “Papers Under Review,” have been rejected sixteen times before . . .
Oh, how do you solve a problem like my vita? How do you keep from feeling like a whore?
[Quickly:] At the smoker I feel sick, sipping free beer much too quick, And this polyester suit is getting warm.
Unpredictable professors, awkward talkers, tacky dressers: It’s the pure apotheosis of bad form.
Did my interview go well? From their questions I can’t tell.
But the chair was looking at me very odd. When he started turning red, I should not have plowed ahead. I’m a moron. I’m a genius! I’m a fraud.
How do you solve a problem like my vita? How do I stand out from the current crop?
How do I look as a potential colleague? An arrogant jerk, a scatterbrained dork, a flop?
What if they ask me how I’d teach aesthetics? How can I fake an interest in Descartes?
The salary is poor, the teaching load’s 4-4, But at the APA you play the part.
Oh, how do you solve a problem like my vita? How do you make a charlatan look smart?Report
That would be The Sound of Music, I think.Report
Here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-VRyQprlu8Report
Yeah. Whoops. Thank you.Report