professional vs social recognition: and/or?

I'm acting two levels above my substantive position these days.
Uncomfortably busy, in that I am not "in control" of my workload - I'm constantly being chased after for approving this and that and responding to management requests, all of which is pretty much brand new to me, and I suspect I've left a few of the more quiet (and hopefully but probably not less important) files behind. Combined with lack of sleep and preoccupation with renovations that are going as should be expected, I've caught myself avoiding social situations and public image-making opportunities, probably out of concern of making a stuttering fool of myself. So today I forced myself to walk around more and take ownership of my current responsibilities in a hopefully not too transparent or suspiciously desperate attempt at claiming the requisite status.
But (throwing grammatical caution to the wind), that led to the most bothersome part of my day: trying to thank one of my colleagues during her farewell luncheon, and not being able to get a word in edgewise above the general din of miscellaneous conversations of the people I am supposedly leading. Another painful reminder that pursuing rank is counterproductive to social relationships/status. The words "It's lonely at the top" have never rung more true :(

Regardless, tomorrow's a new day and a quieter one at that. I'll have more time to talk to people, get things done, and continue building relationships one step at a time.

hedonic adaptation

This makes a lot of sense:

The hedonic treadmill, also known as hedonic adaptation,
is the tendency of a person to remain at a relatively stable level of
happiness despite changes in fortune or the achievement of major goals.
As a person makes more money, expectations and desires rise in tandem,
which results in no permanent gain in happiness.

-Chris Hall's status on facebook earlier today

This also explains the usual tendency for scope creep in projects.
(Chris is a high school friend of mine and currently teaches languages at a Montreal CEGEP when he's not busy observing the world)

between a rock and a hard place

I posit that Science (as a movement and eventual public policy) was borne (in part) of the inability of religious orders and their unsubstantiated posturing to satisfy the natural curiosity and insatiable thirst for knowledge of the people.

However, I sense "the people" are starting to feel the same skepticism and frustration as our ancestors once did, only toward "science" - after so many abusive ad campaigns such as those stating that "4 out of 5 doctors smoke camels", that "BPA is harmless", that pharmaceutical X is good, global warming, etc., who can really blame them (us) for not being satisfied with the answers we're being given.

This is making it increasingly hard for government scientists to convey the importance of certain problems and the benefits of the recommended measures (yes, measures, not "solutions").

Recent press releases from US EPA contain statements like "final" assessments, "science has proven" etc - are a (desperate) attempt to reassure the public - but any such reassurance will be short-lived and they'll be worse off the next time a paper is published that indicates something slightly different, which is what research is supposed to do. The core principle of science is that it does not 'prove" anything - it merely reports on what we can observe and measure now with tools and test methods currently available. Any attempts to convince the public that the science is clear/final/conclusive/etc will inevitably backfire.

Sure makes my job interesting - and I don't even work in communications. Meanwhile, the anti-global warming groups and anti-pharmaceutical groups are having a field day, dancing circles around frustrated well-meaning scientists whose rep has been, I fear, irreparably damaged.

The scientific era is coming to a close, after causing much excitement and advancing our quality of life to the point I can sit very comfortably in my air conditioned two-story house in front of a PC, leisurely typing this away on the internet for nobody in particular to read. Meanwhile, while power generating stations blithely devour fossil fuels that were safely tucked beneath the earth's surface for millions of years, and I know nothing more about my neighbors whose help I may need in the event of an inevitable catastrophe or societal collapse. Religious orders of old are probably shaking their heads, having tried to warn us against eating the forbidden fruit. (sigh) Oh well. I wonder who's winning at Farmville tonight.