Comments on: Does (Should) Your Lab Rock?

By: Claire

Claire — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 23:14:19 +0000

There is really nothing better like loud music in the lab if you have to work at weekends (…or nights). It’s cheering everyone up (yes, you’re never alone in the lab, doesn’t matter whicht day or time it is ) and hopefully nobody outside has ever seen our “lab-dances”! The lab here are small rooms / units per group of around 2 to five people and the doors are closed, so you can hear the music loud. And with this small amount of people there is a good chance that we find music which is not only tolerable for everyone but even liked.

Even if it sounds funny but I think I would change the lab if I wouldn’t be allowed to hear music (loud or with earphones). I mean most of us are living more in the lab as being at home, there are no real weekends because there is alsways a deadline, a longtime experiment, you sweet cell pets, the overused engines and so on. So if this job depends on the own motivation and curiosity (I mean the money you get is a bad joke, like the reputation beingt a scientist. People outside the lab are a little bit wary of the “white coated” persons, so neither of this count as a reason to be a scientist) at least one should be allowed to hear music.

Beside this: The real no-go is singing loud…

By: Nick

Nick — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:27:05 +0000

Hi Lena

What problem do they think the headphones will cause? Is it in case they harbour bugs?

Nick

By: Lena

Lena — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:36:54 +0000

Earphones are banned from our lab due to safety concerns (Cat 2 lab), which I think is a bit OTT.

By: How To Make Less Mistakes In The Lab | Bitesize Bio

How To Make Less Mistakes In The Lab | Bitesize Bio — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:40:15 +0000

[...] early on in your career, errors like this can be a real drain on your productivity. As I talked about earlier, listening to music in the lab may or may not help you here, but here are 10 other ways in which [...]

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:50:41 +0000

We’ve got radios in almost every room in the lab, and we’ve got them on a “neutral” station, and nobody complains if it isn’t. Most of us use MP3 players anyway, and we keep them on the lowest volume possible. It all boils down to common sense really! If music in the lab works for people, I don’t see why not!

By: Confidential Scientist

Confidential Scientist — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:42:24 +0000

Heh, I just moved into a new lab that prohibits earphone-wearing and music in general. I am already looking for another lab because it is an indicator of other unspoken, non-sensical rules that I am sure I will trip on.

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:17:25 +0000

LOL @ “we are not 16-year-old emo kids”

We keep the music soft enough so that we can talk about our projects but loud enough that we can’t hear each other breathing. I can’t work in a musicless lab. I need something to nullify the background hum and chatter so I can focus.

By: Ranga

Ranga — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:26:42 +0000

I think music helps a lot in the lab. We agree that soothing relaxing music (mostly instrumental) played at a low volume (like how they play in lounge) is much helpful in our daily routines. Examples: Zero 7, Thievery corporation, Cafe Del Mar, Cafe Ibiza, Jack & Johnson, etc. This also creates a sense of community in the lab, and we talk to each other a lot rather than getting lost in their ipods. So the type of music played in the lab, as you mentioned is very important.

By: Nick

Nick — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:39:56 +0000

@Duygu. I suppose the drawback of headphones is that although you can of course communicate when you need to, you can miss out on the background communication. Sometimes listening in on another conversation that’s going on in the lab can spark a good discussion or a new idea. However, the are great when you have an hour’s worth of routine stuff to do and you don’t want anyone to hassle you!

@Jode. Sesame St tunes? Ouch, now that is music hell!

By: Jode

Jode — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:26:01 +0000

To me, the silence of a no-tunes lab is painful. I also think music stimulates creativity and lends energy to the lab. But I also had a labmate that loved to listen to chanting monks, Sesame Street soundtracks, and French rap (and he couldn’t speak French). No, I’m not exaggerating – I would have happily listened to “Ironic” on repeat after a day of that. After that we realized that we needed some common denominator in music selection, and hopefully it wouldn’t be the least common denominator.

I think the best route is to set up an old computer with decent speakers and stream Pandora through it. Usually the group can agree on a handful of songs that exist in the overlap of their Venn diagrams, and Pandora can then create stations around each of these choices. If the lab has a separate room for the desks or just an extra room that can be kept as a ‘quiet room’, then even better.