Many years ago I worked for a professor who allowed me into weekly meetings which were mostly of touring faculty, presenters, or academics on the job market.
The audience was always a pretty stable group of multidisciplinary, world-class faculty. Most of them were cordial but there were a few aggressive ones too. I remember a statistician who drove real hard. I didn't know any of the words he said, but the room felt electrified every time he started.
It was like intellectual UFC, but hero vs mob. I felt for the speakers, but as a fly on the wall, it was amazing. I haven't experienced anything like it since.
The audience was always a pretty stable group of multidisciplinary, world-class faculty. Most of them were cordial but there were a few aggressive ones too. I remember a statistician who drove real hard. I didn't know any of the words he said, but the room felt electrified every time he started.
It was like intellectual UFC, but hero vs mob. I felt for the speakers, but as a fly on the wall, it was amazing. I haven't experienced anything like it since.