EVOLGEN has a great post on the people at your department seminar. It is worth checking out and bringing with you next time you go to a seminar. Even better than looking around — choose which one fits you the best. Up until a few years ago, I was definitely the pre-schooler
The pre-schooler: This dude uses the departmental seminar as his nap-time. He sits in the back, and when the lights go out, he’s nodding off faster than River Phoenix in My Own Private Idaho. Someone get this guy a good-night’s sleep.
I simply could not stay awake in any seminar so I would have to sit at the back. Now that I have kids, I am used to sleep deprivation and only rarely nod off in a seminar. I am no longer sure which one I am …
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Jonathan Eisen's Lab 
Very funny post. I’m a nodder: my teenage daughter once told me that I look like one of those drinking birds because I nod so much. (We were listening to college reps talk about the admission process.) I do disagree with the author’s reasoning about why I nod:“The nodder: This guy affirms every part of the talk with a nod. The background information — he gets it. The data — he gets it. The conclusions drawn from arm waving and rampant speculation — he gets it. In reality, he’s just trying to show off how smart he thinks he is. With every nod, he’s saying, “Look at how smart I am. I understand all this stuff. Do you? I bet you don’t.” At the end of the talk, I’d like to make sure he gets it. And by “it” I mean my fist. And by “get” I mean square between the eyes.”My nodding is more of a mommy thing, I nod to encourage the speaker that some one is listening to them and is getting what they say (a type of visual feedback). I don’t nod if I’m totally lost or if I think the seminar is crap. Now that I know I’m irritating my colleagues, as well as my daughter, I’ll try to cut back on the nods.
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