Must all good things come to an end?
That is the question I found myself thinking about on the walk back to the hotel tonight. AEESP 2019 has come to a successful close and, like the others I’ve attended, it feels like it only started moments ago. I would be incredibly surprised and somewhat saddened if I found out I was the only one who didn’t want to keep some of the magic from fading away.
Magic may be a whimsical word, and it may not even be a very correct one for a professional blog post, but I challenge you to find a better one that describes:
- wandering through posters while thinking either ‘oh cool!’ or ‘damn, I wish I’d thought of that!’
- finally meeting people face to face after reading their work, and even corresponding, for years
- making so many #newfriends
- rekindling hope that maybe the world won’t burn with so many caring and competent people working on it.
Not every conference is like that. I think the difference here is what I’ve been writing about these past few days - we’re not just in it for the NSF grants, we truly try to be inclusive, we’re working on problems that matter. We try to act with civility, humility, and even humor. The amazing tamales don’t hurt either.
So, I ask again, must all good things come to an end? Certainly we neither can nor should huddle in Tempe forever - we have research to conduct, families to reunite with, and humidity to get used to. But that’s just a physical ending. The real stuff, the important stuff can continue. And I don’t mean a touchy-feely ‘spirit of goodwill’. I mean solid, practical things. Staying in better contact with colleagues across the continent and beyond. Trying out new things we learned here. Actually following up with ‘oh we collaborate on X, let’s get in touch later’. I personally am going to try to continue to interact with colleagues on social media and continue blogging (don’t worry, there will be hard-headed technical posts,too), rather than let my activity dwindle as I deal with the vicissitudes of daily life in the lab (e.g. treasonous peristaltic pumps).
Remember, we face big, difficult problems. None of us are going to solve them on our own. And as the problems get bigger and more wicked, we are going to need not only to form, but also maintain solid working relationships based on mutual respect and common values. So, my answer is: No, all good things need not come to an end. In fact, some good things must not come to an end.