Getting published

Wow, a post about science - about bloody time!

I made a discovery the other day about getting published in journals which made me realise the extent of my naivete on the subject... You see, I knew that journals had to charge for access to their content in order to actually make some money, but I hadn't realised that although you give them your work for free, they actually charge for the privilege of doing so! Outrage!

So essentially they get given work for free, charge you for it, peer review it for free, then charge you for it again! Wow... they have us over a barrel here!

PhD Comics has something to say about it too... (click here)

Cheesetail and the rat race

I feel compelled to write something now, bed-bound as I am at the moment with the lurgy. I've been reading Redwall by Brian Jacques to make me feel better - one of my favourite books when I was ickle. Set in an abbey of mice it's both utterly a children's tale, but equally one of great wisdom. As a child I was drawn to the peaceful, communal way of life. Everyone having their role in the greater scheme of things, with the Abbot to oversee proceedings – a wise patriarch who could see the good and potential in everyone. I loved the foods they ate, the routine, the love that existed – and the presence of travellers who told stories and brought new knowledge. As an adult that world still appeals to me – one in which the pace of life is slow, where everyone has their part to contribute and no-one is rebuked unnecessarily for their actions. A place of safety – very similar to Hobbiton in a different tale.

On the other side to this is the evil horde – creatures who exist solely for plunder, glory and short-lived recognition. It is the same in a number of stories, and clear that when you serve out of fear rather than love, loyalty is non existent and a climate of 'every man for himself' prevails. In stories it's evident that this is preposterous – you know that the leader will filch on their promises in a pinch, that the treasures that are truly worth having will be snatched away at the last moment in a cunning move of deception. Everyone is disposable to the leader, though meanwhile the rabble try to impress the uncaring tyrant in the hopes of gaining favour, rank and spoils. This seems so preposterous when cast against the true good of Redwall Abbey, but in our day to day lives I am sure we so very easily fall into the ranks of the tyrant.

This realisation dawned on me through the storyof an able and intelligent weasel named Scragg (bear with me on this – it is a children's book!) who is press-ganged into the horde, who impresses the evil leader Cluny with his initiative and efficiency; Cluny mentally labels him for promotion. Another (less able) rat named Cheesetail (again, bear with me), envious of the positive attention this new upstart is receiving, and resentful of his potential promotion takes advantage of a situation whereby Scragg is injured, and secretly murders him. When news reaches Cluny he simply shrugs and says “if he's dead then that's that” and gets on with business.

It's a far-removed analogy, but it got me thinking – how often in life do we get pulled in to serving masters who do not care for us? We strive to look or act like people on the TV, but forget that they are trying to sell us a product. We try to achieve a certain idealistic lifestyle, but forget that being happy is actually more important than keeping up with the Joneses. We serve bosses who do not seem to care about us as people so that we will get paid, maybe get a promotion or some recognition for our abilities, but forget that they have to meet targets set by equally uncaring individuals themselves. It's a world where everyone is so hungry for praise that they'll do anything to get it, and stamping on people for short-term gain is often how it's achieved.

I remember my grandad once saying that getting your pay check should be sufficient thanks for the work you do. I also remember disagreeing with him, being an employee of the praise-hungry rat race myself at the time. My problem was that I had grown up somehow expecting that my abilities would be recognised in a Redwall-esque fashion, and that I would be given the scope to expand and develop from them. I had not factored into my life plans having bosses who were in their posts simply through sheer staying power, achieving managership by stepping into dead man's shoes after years of service - and who resented having an employee that had the potential to show them up, or get promoted above them. The Cheesetails of this world. I actually overheard a conversation about me after I'd applied for and been offered a managerial post after only 7 months with a company (I don't know if they thought I was deaf), which berated “graduates who expect to walk into a managerial post after 6 months here”. I can only reason that I would not have been offered the job had there been adequate scope for longer-serving staff to be trained and promoted into the roles. Thus was the attitude towards initiative, ambition and talent in said company. I shall say no more.

I keep thanking my lucky stars that I turned the job down and escaped the rat race at that juncture. Although I would probably now be able to afford my beloved house, I would have ended up buying it in a place that I could then not escape (assuming my enthusiasm would have been further beaten out of me...), and I would not be as happy as I am now. The rat-race is so tempting, and it's so easy to forget that even if you win – you are still a rat.

Thus I need to remember somehow to enter into jobs knowing that it is not the most important element of my life, so that I do not need the praise of my managers to give me my self worth. Also obviously to give my future employees the scope to develop their talents, and make use of them. I must never forget that at the age of 21 I knew a helluva lot more than I do now, and that graduates look at things differently to jaded souls like myself! I still have the potential to get sucked back into the monster, but just need to make sure I keep my head and remember what little 9 year old me wanted and valued in life.