The Importance of Travel

As most of you who read this know, I was in New Orleans a couple of weeks ago for Experimental Biology. I have now done some work, and I'm back on the road for the Pediatric Academic Societies' Annual Meeting.

Travel is an important component of life in academia. It's how new ideas get spread and, most importantly, how you make the contacts that will promote your ideas.

We can now do a lot of information exchange through the internet, conference calls, and other high-tech platforms. So why do we still put up with the annoyances of travel? Because, ultimately, there is no substitute for face-to-face interaction. We are social creatures, and hanging with someone in a bar or restaurant leaves a more lasting impression than a phone call.

I did miss my son's baseball game tonight, and I hear that he & his team kicked butt. But there will be another game when I get back next week, and I will have learned something new. And eaten some crab cakes.