Well will you look at that. Today I began blogging as a contributor to Friendly Atheist, where my beat is politics. I’ve already got my first post up, about one GOP House Member’s meddling in scientific research. Teaser: It has a fantastic metaphor featuring violence done to podiums. Obviously, the reach of Friendly Atheist is far greater than any other outlet I’ve blogged for, especially this one, so I’m really excited to see what kind of damage I might do... Read more
I don’t know if Mitt Romney’s cruelty toward those he perceived as weak in high school is relevant to how he would handle the presidency. But I know this: I was bullied mercilessly in school. Middle school alone was so traumatic, so totally full of verbal abuse, shunning, mockery, and occasional beatings, that I nearly didn’t make it, and it’s damaged me badly to this day. High school allowed me to find some safe niches, but the cruelty persisted nonetheless.... Read more
Charles Wheelan gives some unconventional commencement advice, that, while welcome, I feel misses where the pain and anxiety really sit. He writes: We are systematically creating races out of things that ought to be a journey. We know that success isn’t about simply running faster than everyone else in some predetermined direction. Yet the message we are sending from birth is that if you don’t make the traveling soccer team or get into the “right” school, then you will somehow... Read more
If I had a dollar for every time someone complained about wage discrimination against women, I’d be a millionaire. Unless I were a woman, in which case I’d have $770,000. Read more
Stephen Fry, with a hat tip to Kylie Sturgess: A concerto is an argument between an individual and the state. Between an individual and society. It is an individual voice crying out and trying to make a statement of some kind. And it’s often drowned out by the orchestra, and it fights back. And the orchestra fights back. And it fights back. And the dynamic of listening to that is like nothing on Earth. Read more
I am highly wary of anyone who would write a book entitled You Are Not a Gadget; oh here we go, a Luddite screed about how Goog-Face-Pads are making us lonely/stupid/lazy. So it was with trepidation that I delved into a lengthy interview at The Edge from last year with Jaron Lanier on what the hell it is we’re all supposed to do with this whole Internet thing we’ve found ourselves swimming in. I’m glad I did, particularly as someone... Read more
I am in the midst of reading James Gleick’s The Information (and I think I’m the last person left who hasn’t), and I was startled by his retelling of the initial reactions to the introduction of the telephone. See if it reminds you of anything. The next year, in England, the chief engineer of the General Post Office, William Preece, reported to Parliament: “I fancy the descriptions we get of its use in America are a little exaggerated, though there... Read more
There is a tension that exists between introverts and the extroverts who love them. Extroverts feed off live, in-person human interaction — it refuels them and provides a spark that drives them. For introverts like myself, that spark is a rare, not-looked-for thing. Socializing exhausts us, drains us of energy, of emotion. It’s a necessary evil. But we do find a version of that spark in social media. I have frequently said that I find the friendships I have made... Read more
It’s a long story, so I won’t bore you with it, but suffice it to say, I wanted to spread my own bloggy wings and fly out of the nest so generously provided me by Dawnne. I thought Squarespace would be able to handle this simple move from one platform to theirs, but they botched it severally, and I gave up. They meant well, but they just couldn’t get their shit together for me. What’s that mean? It means I’m... Read more
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory just figured out that gamma bursts have nothing to do with cosmic rays, and that means no one knows where they come from. Via io9: …the telescope was able to conclusively contradict 15 years worth of previous predictions while still under construction, and now it’s pretty much demolished one of the leading theories of extra-galactic physics. Really, all the IceCube data serve as a good reminder of how much science relies on disappointing non-results just as... Read more
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