drunken teenage...mice

Yesterday's presentation on my drunken teenage mice in lab meeting went well. Apparently better than I thought. I definitely didn't think it was all that great when I tapered off to my acknowledgements.

The usual chain of events: Presentation given, fielding usually small questions during the talk and larger ones along with suggestions and ideas immediately afterword. In the several hours after leaving the conference room one usually hears a polite "good job" or "nice talk" from the people they talk to on a regular basis. This means the talk wasn't unbearable. By the end of the day everyone not directly involved in the same research has forgotten about it. If wasn't very good, well, experience and confidence nearly inevitably improve ability.

So at first I assumed the compliments were simply everyone being really nice. We work in an oddly supportive yet ambivalent little culture (I chalk it up to being socially awkward science types). Then I was getting compliments from people I've barely interacted with and now I'm really wondering if it was actually really good. The PI usually has the most scathing comments. Not this time. Sue's only complaint was completely minor involving choice of line color. Yet, I didn't walk away feeling confident. So did I fool them, or are they fooling me?