Nerd Society

Today’s post is going to be a fun one! I would like to talk about lab politics. Most lab buildings are pretty large and can have several laboratories inside of them, each working on a different project. Due to costs, all the labs share the same equipment which can often cause conflicts. Some conflicts are extremely serious; for example, centrifuges need to be classified as BS1 or BS2 which either opens up the centrifuge for use with viruses and human tissues or limits it to cells and bacteria. Some are less serious: for example, using other people’s ethanol spray bottles to clean your lab surface. To avoid potential conflicts, there is usually sign up sheet located on or near expensive machines. Lab courtesy dictates that: - One shall sign up for a slot at least 24 hours ahead of time. - The total amount of time per signed up session cannot exceed 3 hours - No other names shall be crossed out and replaces - One will not change their slots for at least 10 hours before the starting time The interesting thing is that there is technically no punishment for breaking any of these rules, other than temporary social disdain for the person who has broken the rules. Sometimes, if ethanol bottles are stolen or vacuums not cleaned out, there will also be a passive aggressive email sent out to the entire lab. That is the farthest extent of punishment received, partly because nobody knows who the guilty party is and cannot confront them directly. I honestly believe that a slightly “stricter” punishment (for example — if you scratch out someone’s name for a time slot and replace it with your own — you are banned from using the centrifuge for the next three days) may allow greater lab cohesiveness and harmony. At the same time, any stricter limitations might impede the actual science being conducted at the lab by limiting resources further. What is your opinion on this matter?