So I’m watching Daily Planet on the Discovery Channel and there’s a neat feature on these cool little microsatellites being developed at MIT’s Space Systems Lab under Dr. David Miller. Basically they’re like those little balls that float around space stations in Star Wars; very small and capable of highly precise motion. Anyway, they cut to the lead scientist, Alvar Saenz-Otero, and it caught my eye because he’s quite heavily pierced:
Among other things he’s got a bridge piercing, which is also known as the “Erl Piercing”, although that name is not that common these days. The name comes from the first person to popularize the piercing, Erl Van Aken, also known as one of the scientists that developed the lunar rover for NASA… Anyway, even if OfficeMax won’t hire visibly modified people, MIT and NASA (and in this case, DARPA) certainly don’t mind if you’re good at what you do. Personally I’d rather work for NASA than OfficeMax.
(My apologies for the terrible screenshots; I just took photos of my TV because I don’t have anything installed that can capture!)
Comments
154 responses to “Modified Scientists”
Yay, as I just quit my job of going on three years because my boss doesn’t appreciate my newly added labret. Too bad for him I guess, he even proclaimed me to be the best server there :-/
Yay, as I just quit my job of going on three years because my boss doesn’t appreciate my newly added labret. Too bad for him I guess, he even proclaimed me to be the best server there :-/
Looks like he has a resume here: http://www.mit.edu/~alvarso/
Looks like he has a resume here: http://www.mit.edu/~alvarso/
Yeah, I’m just finishing up my undergrad degree in chemistry, and although my research adviser likes to playfully give me shit about my labret because this is an engineering school (And one with a pretty good rep at that), I haven’t had any problems having visible piercings in a professional capacity because anyone I deal with knows I know my shit regardless of how much metal is in my body.
Yeah, I’m just finishing up my undergrad degree in chemistry, and although my research adviser likes to playfully give me shit about my labret because this is an engineering school (And one with a pretty good rep at that), I haven’t had any problems having visible piercings in a professional capacity because anyone I deal with knows I know my shit regardless of how much metal is in my body.
Some people are so smart and good at what they do that an employer would be dumb to deny them. the employee knows this, so they can get away with whatever they want.
My pops says that when they have these big important business meetings, everyone is dressed in suits and clean cut, except for the super intelligent people who have long hair and beards w/ t-shirts and jeans.
Some people are so smart and good at what they do that an employer would be dumb to deny them. the employee knows this, so they can get away with whatever they want.
My pops says that when they have these big important business meetings, everyone is dressed in suits and clean cut, except for the super intelligent people who have long hair and beards w/ t-shirts and jeans.
i wonder if hes an IAM member.
i wonder if hes an IAM member.
That’s the approach that I am using!
Currently I have over 5/8″ lobes, visible tattoos, collar bone surface piercings, vert labret, bridge, septum etc. and am finishing up a PhD in Neuroscience. There was a fair bit of discrimination when I started the degree but through working my butt off I have successfully proved that appearances have no relation to ability, and the naysayers have no choice but to look at me as a fellow scientist. I regularly teach undergraduate lectures and refuse to ‘hide’ any visible mods for any reason: whether speaking at conferences, teaching or otherwise presenting my research.
From what I have seen in graduate school, visible mods in physics and computer sciences type fields (vs more traditional laboratory fields) are comparatively commonplace. I think it has something to do with mavericks in those fields have a long-standing reputation of good work, whereas in most other fields mods are a new thing. I’m trying to do my part to change that though! So far it’s twice the work for half the recognition, but that will change if fewer bright modified students stand tall, refuse to make compromises, and let their research do the talking.
That’s the approach that I am using!
Currently I have over 5/8″ lobes, visible tattoos, collar bone surface piercings, vert labret, bridge, septum etc. and am finishing up a PhD in Neuroscience. There was a fair bit of discrimination when I started the degree but through working my butt off I have successfully proved that appearances have no relation to ability, and the naysayers have no choice but to look at me as a fellow scientist. I regularly teach undergraduate lectures and refuse to ‘hide’ any visible mods for any reason: whether speaking at conferences, teaching or otherwise presenting my research.
From what I have seen in graduate school, visible mods in physics and computer sciences type fields (vs more traditional laboratory fields) are comparatively commonplace. I think it has something to do with mavericks in those fields have a long-standing reputation of good work, whereas in most other fields mods are a new thing. I’m trying to do my part to change that though! So far it’s twice the work for half the recognition, but that will change if fewer bright modified students stand tall, refuse to make compromises, and let their research do the talking.
and by “fewer bright modified students”, I of course meant MORE bright modified students.
Give me a break, I’m a neuroscientist, not a linguist!
and by “fewer bright modified students”, I of course meant MORE bright modified students.
Give me a break, I’m a neuroscientist, not a linguist!
It feels really good to see things like this. I also now refuse to buy anything from office max ever again.
It feels really good to see things like this. I also now refuse to buy anything from office max ever again.
You just made my day… fuckign awsome!
You just made my day… fuckign awsome!
it seems everytime i go for a job interview i have to ‘defend’ my appearance in order to even be considered for a position. it’s so nice to see this cos it shows that slowly (very… VERY slowly) the stereotypes about us people with mods are starting to go away. hopefully soon no one will give a fuck about who has what done to them. i just hope i’m still around to see that day.
it seems everytime i go for a job interview i have to ‘defend’ my appearance in order to even be considered for a position. it’s so nice to see this cos it shows that slowly (very… VERY slowly) the stereotypes about us people with mods are starting to go away. hopefully soon no one will give a fuck about who has what done to them. i just hope i’m still around to see that day.
I used to work at OfficeMax…
And I was then and am now visibly modified.
Hurray for store managers that don’t give a fuck!
I used to work at OfficeMax…
And I was then and am now visibly modified.
Hurray for store managers that don’t give a fuck!
Friggin’ awesome! Hooray for modified professionals! Now I’ll just have to see if I can be the first visibly modified Social Worker. Although since I work with people so much it might be more difficult. Well, hopefully I’ll kick ass enough to break down those barriers. Modified people can help you too!
Friggin’ awesome! Hooray for modified professionals! Now I’ll just have to see if I can be the first visibly modified Social Worker. Although since I work with people so much it might be more difficult. Well, hopefully I’ll kick ass enough to break down those barriers. Modified people can help you too!
That is great to see. I currently have 9/16″ lobes and a chest piece and plans for more visible tattoos in the future. I am currently a research scientist for a major ag processing company. It really has not had much effect on my job at all. I get lots of questions but not a lot of people looking down on me. I have not seen a lot of moddified people in my work but I don’t think it would have much impact on getting hired if you can prove that you are worth hiring in the frst place. We pretty much just slave away in labs no one ever sees us 😉 I am definetly encouraged by this though any help breaking a stereotype is awesome.
That is great to see. I currently have 9/16″ lobes and a chest piece and plans for more visible tattoos in the future. I am currently a research scientist for a major ag processing company. It really has not had much effect on my job at all. I get lots of questions but not a lot of people looking down on me. I have not seen a lot of moddified people in my work but I don’t think it would have much impact on getting hired if you can prove that you are worth hiring in the frst place. We pretty much just slave away in labs no one ever sees us 😉 I am definetly encouraged by this though any help breaking a stereotype is awesome.
well actually I think that the problem about visible modificated people is not to be accepted in places where a high “intellectual” level is requested and where people are “supposed” to come from a special very intellectual community, that “is supposed to” be openminded since its all about being clever enough to discover “big things” and its not to be “beautiful/good looking” enough to have relations with other people…
I think the main problem is to be accepted in roles where for example you, as a worker, represent a model for someone else, for example in the educational system: in this cas,e I think that still, a pierced elementar school teacher will not be accepted that easy…isnt it?
or maybe, in jobs where you have to get in touch with people and you have represent other people you work with (public relation jobs for example..)..
uhmmm I hope you got what I said, my english is crap. I just wanted to point out that these are great results, but things are still hard and bad for “normal” jobs, and society has a lot to do to be really ready to accept people with a different aesthetical taste from the mainstream ones.
well, lets work on it! 😀
well actually I think that the problem about visible modificated people is not to be accepted in places where a high “intellectual” level is requested and where people are “supposed” to come from a special very intellectual community, that “is supposed to” be openminded since its all about being clever enough to discover “big things” and its not to be “beautiful/good looking” enough to have relations with other people…
I think the main problem is to be accepted in roles where for example you, as a worker, represent a model for someone else, for example in the educational system: in this cas,e I think that still, a pierced elementar school teacher will not be accepted that easy…isnt it?
or maybe, in jobs where you have to get in touch with people and you have represent other people you work with (public relation jobs for example..)..
uhmmm I hope you got what I said, my english is crap. I just wanted to point out that these are great results, but things are still hard and bad for “normal” jobs, and society has a lot to do to be really ready to accept people with a different aesthetical taste from the mainstream ones.
well, lets work on it! 😀
Thanks Shannon, I needed that.
Thanks Shannon, I needed that.
meltbanana: I’m in education. I actually pondered aloud about how they might feel about me having more than the typical visible mods (again, I’m not really extreme) and they were quick to point out that they don’t care. It’s high school though.
My wife is elementary ed and says that there are some teachers and para-educators that are slightly more than the norm modified, but I do still live in Vermont, a slightly more rural than most states, and rural tends to not be all that progressive with stuff like this.
I do notice a woman (maybe in her 40s) who works at the Hannaford in the town I work (overly conservative “W” type town) who has a neck tattoo. It makes me happy everytime I see her.
meltbanana: I’m in education. I actually pondered aloud about how they might feel about me having more than the typical visible mods (again, I’m not really extreme) and they were quick to point out that they don’t care. It’s high school though.
My wife is elementary ed and says that there are some teachers and para-educators that are slightly more than the norm modified, but I do still live in Vermont, a slightly more rural than most states, and rural tends to not be all that progressive with stuff like this.
I do notice a woman (maybe in her 40s) who works at the Hannaford in the town I work (overly conservative “W” type town) who has a neck tattoo. It makes me happy everytime I see her.
I agree meltbanana. I definitely think that jobs revolivng more around service (teaching, social work) have a harder time accepting people who look so unlike the average person. I’m still keeping my fingers crossed that my skills will outweight my mods in their importance.
I agree meltbanana. I definitely think that jobs revolivng more around service (teaching, social work) have a harder time accepting people who look so unlike the average person. I’m still keeping my fingers crossed that my skills will outweight my mods in their importance.
I’ve said this for years – more modded people who are in power positions need to break the trends. I’ve met modded people who are manager types who hide their mods, so I wouldn’t expect them to have respect for someone who won’t hide their mods.
I had this jackass dissing on the corset piercings talk about never hiring someone who has visible mods (he runs a LAWN WORK operation), and justifying it by him having been pierced at one time and having customers not like it. Yeah, he’s a real gem.
I’ve said this for years – more modded people who are in power positions need to break the trends. I’ve met modded people who are manager types who hide their mods, so I wouldn’t expect them to have respect for someone who won’t hide their mods.
I had this jackass dissing on the corset piercings talk about never hiring someone who has visible mods (he runs a LAWN WORK operation), and justifying it by him having been pierced at one time and having customers not like it. Yeah, he’s a real gem.
a friend of mine works in a bakery. one day this woman came in to order a sandwich and pitched a fit because my friend has a visible tattoo on her forearm. the woman went into a long rant about how she shouldn’t be preparing food because she was tattooed. my friend remained courteous but the woman only got angrier and demanded to speak to the manager. my friend who actually is the manager told her that she was allready speaking to her. so the woman demanded to speak to the owner which my friend promply brought out. after listening to the woman’s rant the own rolled his sleaves up and show her his “sleaves”
stuff like this makes me LOL^^
a friend of mine works in a bakery. one day this woman came in to order a sandwich and pitched a fit because my friend has a visible tattoo on her forearm. the woman went into a long rant about how she shouldn’t be preparing food because she was tattooed. my friend remained courteous but the woman only got angrier and demanded to speak to the manager. my friend who actually is the manager told her that she was allready speaking to her. so the woman demanded to speak to the owner which my friend promply brought out. after listening to the woman’s rant the own rolled his sleaves up and show her his “sleaves”
stuff like this makes me LOL^^
i remember when i had my interview for the current job i have, when the interviewer asked me if i had any questions for her, i asked ‘do my visible facial piercings hinder my chances of getting this position? and if i do get the position, would i have to remove them to work?” and she simply said to me “absolutely not. that would be such a huge form of discrimination in my eyes. my staff needs to feel free to be comfortable here and be themselves”
i have never felt so accepted by someone who i would never have really thought would undersatnd…and remarkably enough, i work at shoppers drug mart! (to those that don’t know what shoppers is, its a huge huge chain of drug stores in canada)
i am now a front end supervisor after only 4 months of working there!
fuck office max
this guy is a hero
i remember when i had my interview for the current job i have, when the interviewer asked me if i had any questions for her, i asked ‘do my visible facial piercings hinder my chances of getting this position? and if i do get the position, would i have to remove them to work?” and she simply said to me “absolutely not. that would be such a huge form of discrimination in my eyes. my staff needs to feel free to be comfortable here and be themselves”
i have never felt so accepted by someone who i would never have really thought would undersatnd…and remarkably enough, i work at shoppers drug mart! (to those that don’t know what shoppers is, its a huge huge chain of drug stores in canada)
i am now a front end supervisor after only 4 months of working there!
fuck office max
this guy is a hero
Im emailing this article to my mother right now, as everyone else has said, its great to see people being imbraced for what they’re good at, rather than discriminated against for what they look like.
im lucky enough to work in a restraunt where the majority of the employees have visible mods. i serve customers, cook, work till, and do deliveries.
i worked there for a year, have had probably 5 different un-natural hair colours, including 3 different sets of colourful synthetic dreads. I’ve had a bridge piercing, cheek piercings, nostril piercings, high gauge tongue piercing, labret piercing, and half inch ears. all my tattoos are (as of right now) hidden by the uniforms we wear, but i know they wouldnt be a problem if they were visible.
i was accually given permission by my managers to kick out anyone who gave me slack about my mods ( i havent had to yet, accually i’ve ONLY had positive responces, and curious questions.)
im now in the process of opening up a fine dining restraunt with my manager, and all my mods (as well as future high guage facial work) get to follow me there.
its all about finding the oppertunity, not putting up with a lack there of.
Im emailing this article to my mother right now, as everyone else has said, its great to see people being imbraced for what they’re good at, rather than discriminated against for what they look like.
im lucky enough to work in a restraunt where the majority of the employees have visible mods. i serve customers, cook, work till, and do deliveries.
i worked there for a year, have had probably 5 different un-natural hair colours, including 3 different sets of colourful synthetic dreads. I’ve had a bridge piercing, cheek piercings, nostril piercings, high gauge tongue piercing, labret piercing, and half inch ears. all my tattoos are (as of right now) hidden by the uniforms we wear, but i know they wouldnt be a problem if they were visible.
i was accually given permission by my managers to kick out anyone who gave me slack about my mods ( i havent had to yet, accually i’ve ONLY had positive responces, and curious questions.)
im now in the process of opening up a fine dining restraunt with my manager, and all my mods (as well as future high guage facial work) get to follow me there.
its all about finding the oppertunity, not putting up with a lack there of.
Love the OfficeMax reference. 😉
Love the OfficeMax reference. 😉
this is absolutely amazing.
this is absolutely amazing.
To #37 … go for it. I work as a House Manager in a domestic violence shelter (social work). No one there has ever questioned my modifications (at one point in time, I had 15 visible ear piercings). Like many others have said already, your work will speak for you.
To #37 … go for it. I work as a House Manager in a domestic violence shelter (social work). No one there has ever questioned my modifications (at one point in time, I had 15 visible ear piercings). Like many others have said already, your work will speak for you.
One small step for man, one large step for mod-kind?
This makes me so happy it hurts. I’ll be showing this to just about everyone I know.
One small step for man, one large step for mod-kind?
This makes me so happy it hurts. I’ll be showing this to just about everyone I know.