2023 Lafferty debate
Thursday, December 21, 2023 at 11:22AM The Lafferty debate is, for me, always the highlight of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Immunology annual meeting. The comedic faux-scientific debate is always a huge amount of fun, and is part of what creates the community feeling of immunology within Australia and New Zealand.
Being asked to take-part in the debate, 20 years after leaving Australia, was, by contrast, petrifying.
Debates have always felt like something I should enjoy doing, but actually the need to argue one side, regardless of how logic pans out, it something extremely foreign to me. To do so in a funny manner, in front of hundreds of my colleagues, on the big moment of the year... that is just not me.
I'm up on stage, giving talks and fielding questions, so often that I should have felt comfortable with the "let's wing it and have fun" approach of my team members. But for whatever reason, anything other than a scientific talk triggers my performance phobia, and this really made me anxious!
A huge relief that both teams of the debate played off each other so well, the comedic timing landed, and the whole event was actually really enjoyable! I'm not sure I'd ever sign up for it again, but I am really glad that I was a part of such a key event with talented and funny immunologists.
science communication
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