My Dumbest Moment of 2026 (+ and my personal tribute to Michel Callon)

One thing I have become familiar with after spending months living in Europe is public transport delays (whether bus or train) and to complain about them. (Though I can already hear people from other European countries telling me how good I have it in NL ;)) After experiencing the worst of it in Italy, I tend to think nothing of it now. So usually, I'm not the problem when traveling, but this time I was so wrong that I can hardly believe what happened.

I recently learned about a tribute workshop for Michel Callon, who passed away last year, taking place last Tuesday at Mines Paris-PSL. It was dedicated to his contributions and furthering discussions on so-called 'market studies'. It was an one day in-person event, which had me calculating the time and money required for a trip to Paris. I finally decided to go, not because I felt I knew Callon well enough to jump into discussions with his well known friends and students. It was apposite, actually. I had an instinct that Callon’s work could provide a useful perspective and toolkit for my PhD research, however, I wasn't entirely sure how. I had always found his writing difficult and struggled to grasp how other scholars are engaging with him. So I figured the workshop would be a great overview of his contributions and a litmus test for whether I should dive deeper into his works.

I booked Eurostar ticket (Rotterdam <-> Paris) and a hostel for one night in a last-minute (a day trip was impossible). I booked an evening train for Monday so I could work as usual, come home for dinner, pack my bags, and depart by 8PM at the latest. No issues at all. Still, I rushed my bike ride to the station to catch the connecting train from Leiden to Rotterdam. I made it to the platform with plenty of time to spare.

Then, I checked my Eurostar ticket to see if it was delayed, only to realize that the Eurostar train's actual departure time was 8PM. So the train had already left Rotterdam, and I was still in Leiden. Since it was the last Eurostar of the day, there was no point in going to Rotterdam. I barely managed to hop off from my connecting train just before it departed. I stood there, spaced out for a moment, trying to process what had just happened.

Before giving in to regret, I checked if alternative transportation to Paris was possible. My only options were overnight buses or the next morning’s Eurostar, which would make me miss a third of the event. Both were quite expensive too. I was also already became tired with recent trips to Belgium for a summer school (ESSS) and a conference (STI-ENID). Attending an academic workshop that pretty sure to be difficult for me, in such a bad condition seemed like a terrible idea. Experiences have taught me that pushing myself rarely works out well. I gave up and went back home, appreciating that I had at least made the early decision not to head to Rotterdam.

I sat down to reflect on what happened, regretting not just the wasted money, but the missed opportunity to attend this monumental event in person. My brain had somehow mixed up "the train departs at 8PM" with "I should leave the house at 8PM." I thought I had added it to my calendar via the Eurostar app (spoiler: I actually did), but since it didn't show up on my immediate schedule, nothing corrected my false memory. What really struck me was how easily I could have realized my plan was impossible. I knew I was scheduled to arrive in Paris around 10:30PM, and the Eurostar takes about 2.5 hours, meaning it had to depart at 8PM from Rotterdam. A simple backward calculation could've prevented this, but I didn't.

Putting aside my FOMO, I decided to spend the whole day in Leiden hosting my own virtual tribute workshop on Michel Callon. I read excerpts from his book Markets in the Making (2021) alongside reviews, notably a three part series of essays published in the Journal of Cultural Economy last year. I had only hinted at the relevance of Callon's market studies to my conceptual framework and methodology in my research proposal. But by taking this opportunity (not sure whether it has worked better than attending the actual workshop) to have some concentrating time solely on his writings and the reviews, I gained clarity on what I can extract from this strand of research meaningfully. I will write about that in a separate piece, as this post is already longer than expected.

Later that same week, my wife had the opportunity to attend a K-pop group's world tour concert in Paris through an acquaintance. While helping her find a suitable train ticket, I opened the Eurostar app and was shocked to see that the ticket I thought I had missed was still there. I soon discovered that I had actually booked a ticket for Dec 14, not Sep 14. It's likely that I mixed them up because both dates fall on Monday.

This explained why the schedule only appeared in my December calendar and not on my September page. This also meant that even if I hadn't confused the time and made it to Rotterdam before 8PM, I wouldn't have been able to board the train anyway. (Lucky me?) So, I didn't completely blow my ticket, though I'm not sure if it makes sense to go to Paris for two random days in December without an event to attend.

I promised my wife I would publicly reflect on this so it never happens again. By posting this, I hope to turn this experience into a lasting lesson. To avoid being this dumb again: I must double-check the exact date and time on my tickets (hopefully before hitting the "purchase" button...), ensure they sync properly to my calendar, and verify everything twice.

My apologies to Michel Callon (and to the organizers at Mines Paris-PSL for the no-show registration). I couldn't be there in person for your tribute, but rest in peace. I will be sure to continue your endeavor of studying markets and contribute in my own way.