Currently, I'm applying for fellowship programs in Oculoplastics. I'm a little past the halfway point of the interview season, and can't help thinking how much it feels like a surreal series of first dates. Behold:
- I'm interested in them. They're interested in me.
- We arrange a place and time to meet.
- I dress up and try to smell nice.
- We have conversations with varying degrees of awkwardness.
- They gaze at me intensely.
- They buy me lunch.
- I wonder what they think of me.
- I proceed to wonder if we'd be compatible and happy together. Are they The One?
- I go home hoping they will ask me out again. Or, more accurately, hoping they will ask me to move to their town and spend 70 hours a week with them for two solid years.
So, while I was thinking about the weird parallel to dating, a segment came on NPR about analysts who look for useful correlations within massive data sets. They talked to a guy who used to crunch data for an online dating site called Ok Cupid. Apparently, Ok Cupid gives each user a huge personality quiz when the user first registers with the website, then feeds their responses into an algorithm that matches them with compatible users.
According to the analyst, one interesting finding that shook out from the Ok Cupid data was that a couple is a whopping 8 times more likely to be compatible if they both gave the same responses to the following three questions. (It doesn't matter whether their answers are yes or no, it just matters that they both answer all three questions the same way as each other):
1. Would you ever leave it all behind and go live on a boat instead?
2. Do you like horror movies?
3. Have you ever traveled abroad alone?
For my remaining fellowship interviews, I wonder if we could just skip the small talk about research and clinical skills in order to just cut to the chase about the important stuff like how we feel about houseboats and slasher flicks. At the very least, it would make the interview conversations way more zesty.
Hey, we're compatible! :) (Although I'm pretty sure I regret my solo trip abroad.)
ReplyDeleteExcept that in your case, question 4 is probably "Is she Asian?" ;p
DeleteWhat do you regret about your solo trip abroad?
Mostly the solo part. I loved the freedom and that I didn't have to tend to anyone else, but it was very lonely. I thought that because I was in Ireland--a foreign land where no one knew me, and a place known for very friendly people--that I would have no problem socializing with strangers. But I went into ultra-introvert mode. I think if I had someone there with me, even another introvert, I would have been a lot more free to strike up random conversations. Hopefully with Irish girls.
DeleteWould you rather travel abroad solo or with someone?
I see where you're coming from about the freedom and flexibility of traveling solo, but it's definitely lonely. With every new experience, I'd find myself wanting to tell someone about it; to have someone else experience and understand it with me. Journaling, blogging, or emailing it just isn't the same.
DeleteLOL! Is that a screen capture from Attack of the Killer Tomatoes??
ReplyDeleteYou crack me up!
Indeed.
DeleteBe on the lookout for killer tomatoes. No grocery aisle is safe.
:)
No, No, Yes!
ReplyDeleteNo wonder we're friends!