Subjective Reality

Well...the boss is back and as I suspected he is ignoring the actual data that I have in favor of his favored hypothesis. Just checked the water...still hasn't turned to wine. Our conversation was actually comical. First he looked a little disappointed that the super sexy hypothesis is not bearing true...actually said that the story that is seeming to be supported by the data is uninteresting. HUH? Its data. It is what it is. THEN he latched onto one little tiny piece of data that gave him a ray of hope...that seems to contradict what I need him to believe (it doesn't...but only if you're not really paying attention). That is when the conversation really got interesting. Suffice it to say...he doesn't want to look at the data...doesn't want to accept what people who have been working in the field for years and have far more experience working with this system than either he or I have to say about what the data means. And...as I went over and over it with him trying to explain how this is analyzed...explain what I have spent the last couple of months trying to learn and understand by speaking with people that do nothing BUT analyze this kind of data he started to get it. Unfortunately...the minute It all started to make sense to him he had to go. He was late. Par for the course and now I will need to begin explaining all of this to him from the beginning...again.

Did I mention that we already did this a couple of months ago...and he accepted it? No? Well...this is the second time I've had this conversation with him...and I'm sure it won't be the last.

What do I do? Continue plugging forward writing the manuscript the way it should be written and showing him the data for what it is over and over until he accepts it. Am I pulling this plan out of my ass? No. This is the advice given to me by his former graduate student...who had to go through the same thing.

Good times!