Recently, a Lady Gaga parody called Bad Project, performed by the Zheng lab and posted on YouTube, caused quite a reaction. If you haven’t seen the video, or want to revisit it, here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl4L4M8m4d0&feature=player_embedded
Recently, a Lady Gaga parody called Bad Project, performed by the Zheng lab and posted on YouTube, caused quite a reaction. If you haven’t seen the video, or want to revisit it, here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl4L4M8m4d0&feature=player_embedded
Initially, the majority of scientists just enjoyed the video and its clever take on a bad project. The attention to detail is wonderful, which I expect only scientists will probably appreciate; from the outfits with waste bags and pipettes, tubes labeled with Lady Gaga, and the very funny wording about having a bad scientific project. The video even appealed to non-scientists, and may have helped prove that not all scientists are geeks.
But there was then a backlash about how the participants were wasting their time which should have been spent researching. So, who is correct? Was it an enjoyable process which has given the group a wonderful team building exercise and lots of people across the globe a laugh? Or was it a complete waste of valuable time?
According to the information provided with the video, it was made for the Molecular and Human Genetics retreat at Baylor College of Medicine in 2011 by the Zheng lab. It was therefore made specifically for a science event, ergo not a waste of time. Retreats are designed to promote interactions between groups in departments, and videos such as this may help “break the ice” and promote discussions. Plus the group involved had to work closely together as a team which ended with a very successful result.
I guess that the atmosphere within the Zheng lab is very cordial with no communication issues. Opportunities like this help to maintain a pleasant working environment. If there was no benefit to encouraging laboratories to perform or participate in retreats, large internationally regarded institutions like Baylor College would not promote them. It is similar to the team building events that large business corporations provide, except that possibly academics are not used to such things and are therefore doubtful of their worth.
I applaud the Zheng lab’s efforts and think it is wonderful how quickly the video was seen around the world. It is a testament to the connections between scientists, forwarding it on to friends or posting it on websites, which all helps us stay in touch with our network. I wonder how many of you reposted this and didn’t even consider that you were networking?
If you are given the opportunity to participate in something like this, please don’t consider it a waste of time. Try to concentrate on the benefits to yourself, the group, the department and maybe even the world!!
