Insiders and Autopilots: How a House, a Wedding, and a French Bulldog Improved My Empathy for New Researchers

Abstract

Lulu was struggling to breathe. Like many French bulldogs, my friend’s new puppy was experiencing brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BAOS) and her vet was recommending surgery. Given a choice between scalpels or lasers, my friend was lost and trying to make a significant decision without really understanding the context or knowing how to choose. Swap that medically complex pup with a looming research assignment and many of us could spot similar fear in our students. Writing a good research paper isn’t the same as sending a beloved pet into surgery, of course, but this isn’t the distress Olympics. Fear, frustration, and doubt don’t care about the context that’s triggering them when they stomp all over us and block our path to a decision.