MICCAI 2016 Daily - Thursday

Prof. Clare Tempany 9 MICCAI Daily: Thursday went to the baseball games. Slowly, I started learning a lot about baseball. Now, when I go to any meeting, anytime, and they’re talking about baseball, I immediately join the conversation and talk about it. It’s silly, completely silly. Then they say, oh she likes the Red Sox. We make jokes about the teams or we fight about the teams. Ralph: So you’re one of the guys? Clare: Yes, a little bit. Seriously, find something like this that the men always talk about at work. Often it’s sports. Even if you don’t know what the sport is about, in your town, in your city, learn about the local ones. Sometimes women try too hard to talk about work, and nobody wants to talk about work all of the time. Have something neutral and safe. Not just the weather, and certainly not politics because it’s too crazy. Ralph: One of the things I hear in my interviews is that they feel uncomfortable when they are the only woman in a meeting. Clare: Yes, of course, but they have to get over that. It still happens to me today. I am still the only woman sometimes, but you have to forget this and be confident. Ralph: When I am the only man in a meeting with all women, I feel very comfortable. Clare: When you are comfortable in your own skin, you are happy talking to anyone. I can tell from your personality. That’s nice, and you like people. The world is a very scary place sometimes, and we have problems with general xenophobia or not liking people who are different. At the moment, it’s very frightening. We have to compensate for that. A person is a person. I think just be polite and friendly. Just like when you met me in the elevator. I didn’t know who you were, but you had a big smile so I said hello, and we started talking. Smile! My son is taking a course right now, on the Science of Happiness. They’re teaching him, and it sounds crazy, but a lot of it is just about smiling. The smile is the first thing that people see on your face. Not whether you are beautiful or handsome or you are well-dressed, it’s your smile. They said it’s very important to smile as much as possible. Then people are more likely to say hello to you. Ralph: I think that if I want to make people happier, I smile at them and they will feel more comfortable. Clare: Sure, and then people drop their guard a little bit. Ralph: They will like it actually: there is no reason to feel under pressure because a stranger is in your elevator. I smile in the same way to someone who is very well known in the industry and to someone who is coming to MICCAI for the first time. Clare: That’s a great way to be, but a lot of people are not like this. They’re shy, and shyness is a real problem, especially in computer science. The computer nerds are more used to screens than to people. You have to learn a little bit to come out of your shell, if you’re going to succeed in this kind of business.