Some form of "progressive disclosure" for (b) would still be good: Let visitors skim the projects, let them dive deeper where a topic catches their interest.
Absolutely. And as visual and non-technical as possible.
What I COULD SEE, right today, is yourself giving a half-hour presentation, to a younger classroom setting. Practically that might be as a volunteer.
I've actually done that (successfully). Before the COVID epidemic, I had a Linux laptop triage/help session at the student lounge at the local university. (I had written the Python application that verifies the user against the Uni AD, and creates the matching local user, so that they could just hand off the laptops in bulk – sponsored by the uni for a 100€ deposit – and had direct access to the current Linux IT support staff.) Basically, I told them they could ask me anything about Linux, or about the laptops; and I could help with bugs and problems, at least by triaging them so that they'd get precise help when admin access was required (which I did not have, except for my own laptop, one of the same models and installations).
Sure, but this doesn't usually end well. For example, if you explain how you developed an autonomous mobile robot platform from scratch, then they say "Oh! I know, the neighbor's son does that thing too!" and it turns out they bought a robot and turned it on or something. And your mom won't understand the difference.
Exactly.
My question is: is this for your benefit or their benefit?
Mine, absolutely. I don't want to waste their time when they're not really interested, just want the information available if they happen to care. If they don't, and they repeat the mistake, I can point out the mistake and go on and forget about it. I don't need them to
know, I need them to have a way to find out for themselves if they want to know, and a way for me to point to if their understanding of me does not match observable results.
You know, as in "Heh, that's not it. If you really want to know, look here <showing website>" and then continue in good mood, no harm done.
Currently, that kind of mistakes stymie me, because I really don't know what is the appropriate social response/action, and leads to awkward pauses..
They soon learn at a high level where your interests lie, and that gives them some idea of where you might be able to help them. For example, I've been a hobbyist watch and clock repairer for the past 45 years, and I'm a past chairman of the British Horological Institute. That is probably the limit of what people know, and it is sufficient for them to think of me whenever they want a clock repairing, or advice on what make of watch to buy. They have no inkling of all the technical things I have achieved, what I have written, what I have innovated. They don't need to know, don't really care, and wouldn't understand it anyway.
Ah, but I have no such label myself, at all. Even though I've done subject matter courses in computational materials physics somewhere between a MS and PhD, helped about a dozen others with their thesis works, I myself have no degree, not even a BSc (a BSc wasn't necessary back when I started, one could directly go for a MS). This means only the
"They have no inkling of all the technical things I have achieved, what I have written, what I have innovated." part applies to myself.
Have you ever been interested enough in another person to ask them for a web-based portfolio along the lines you describe? I bet you haven't.
"Web-based portfolio", no. Website, yes; often. (Not Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/X and such; but mailing lists, questions and answers in public, any website on their interests if they happen to have one, definitely yes.) In fact, I do tend to look up people on the net on my own, if we share a common area of interest.
But you are on point on exactly why I want to avoid the 30-minute talks, too: I don't want to waste their time, either. It would suffice if the information useful to these non-technical family and friends and acquintances was out there somewhere so I could point to it, and avert/ignore the mistake.
What you would not want is to make her list her academic qualifications, list her five or ten highest profile cases, list her favourite wins and most dreaded losses, explain in detail what she contributes to her chosen field of work. People just don't do that sort of thing.
No, which is why I'm so adamant about this not being a CV thing, but more about .. uh, focus? interests? .. but in a way that allows them to form an opinion on my skills and knowledge.
I'd definitely ask her about what kind of disputes she finds most engaging, in the abstract. I might discuss patent law issues and EU legal stance regarding open source and such, if she was interested in that. I often end up discussing workflows and tools, and the related quirks across the globe; for example, the role of fax machines and "legal papers" in different jurisdictions. This is very natural to me, and seems to "work" well in practice.
Firstly, I, too, have been tempted to write something along the lines you describe, but only for myself.
I've tried a couple of times, but it isn't
useful enough to motivate me to do it properly.
Also, I think it is valuable to explore the things you got wrong, and even things you are ashamed of (I have loads of those). Those are the things we learn our lessons from.
Absolutely. I've even learned not to dwell on them per se, but consider what I now know and how I would handle a
similar situation
now; what the differences are and why. (This is important, because dwelling on the past is not healthy; one needs to accept history as it is, and use it as a learning experience; and, with the experience, do better now and in the future.)
Secondly, if you are anything like me, you (perhaps secretly) want to be admired and appreciated by others for your achievements. In other words, you need the admiration and respect of others as a form of validation. Knowing you are really smart and accomplished isn't enough; you need others to know it, too.
Of course!
To be precise, I do not need others to know it per se; it is more that others seem to assume otherwise, too often for my liking.
I'd like to react to that by dismissing their assumption by pointing out where they can find out if they care, and move on.
Feeling my skills and expertise
validated tends to come from helping other technical people, not from "everybody". So, while it is absolutely true that I do need admiration, respect, validation, on the skill/expertise front that comes from other technical people, not from the nontechnical family and friends.
if you leave it to them to read your portfolio if they choose, they won't read it. They aren't that interested and they wouldn't understand it anyway.
Agreed. Any kind of traditional portfolio is definitely out. And it's not something I'd tell people about unless they asked about my experience/skills/expertise.
People seem to intuit how smart you are without you having to tell them.
My experience indicates otherwise. I seem to surprise people extremely often, even with family members who have known me all my life still being surprised every now and then and telling me "I never knew you could
do that" or "I never knew you knew
that".
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