Dear Person Seeking Training

It matters very little whether you are an undergraduate seeking a brief “experience’ in my lab, a potential graduate student or a post doc. Even a person seeking a technical position. You who have just emailed me. Yes, you.
Look, just about every source of information available tells you not to do it. Just about every professor blog (that’s what you kids read these days, right?) has a post like this one. Every other postdoc blog has these comments for the undergraduate assistants and trainees. Any etiquette book I’ve ever read tells you the same thing.
Do not send me a generic form mail.

Circular logic of scientific quality

Jonathan of Working the BENCH describes a visit from a BSD teh awesomest evah scientist type. Career advice was provided:

“Many of the applicants we accepted came from labs where I knew their mentors. Not that I planned it that way – but good applicants come from good labs; and I know the heads of those labs. I know I can trust their letters of recommendations.”

I’m sure you can.