“The replacement of journalism by rumor aggregators …” (Zendegi, Greg Egan). Yes. That. Precisely.
Aug 11
Truth and Negotiation
“Caitlin knew she was not a good negotiator, not like Annelise or Rachel. Sicence didn’t negotiate truth; it tried to discover and prove it.” The Eleventh Gate, Nancy Kress
Ah. The less regard for truth, the greater one’s negotiation skills. Explains politics. The state of the world.
Aug 03
Who should pay for housework?
“In strict economic terms, the almighty free market theoretically considers the work of women in the home to be without value, to be worthless. It is recognized nowhere in the free market economic model” (The High Road, Terry Fallis).
Also true for the work of men in (and around) the home.
But I would not want to have to pay (via my tax dollars) other women for doing their housework. Just as I would not want to pay men for their incessant puttering around (my god, one of my retired neighbours has, so far, built five little sheds on his property; it’s bad enough that I’ve had to hear every single cut made by his power saw, every single screw inserted with his power drill … you want me to PAY him for it as well?
The problem is that women do so much more of the work, especially if they have kids. So the solution is for the household members to come up an equitable arrangement. Or for the man to pay the woman to be cook and maid and childcare worker and the woman to pay the man for car repair and lawn services. Or whatever.
Jul 23
“None of the Above” Ballot Idea
NANCY MOUNT BILL PASSES IN HOUSE
Proposes “None of the Above” Be Added to Ballot
Thirty Percent of the Votes Would Trigger New Election
Excellent idea. from Jack McDevitt’s The Long Sunset
Jul 11
James White’s Sector General series
James White’s Sector General series should be required reading for ANYONE assigned to first contact missions. Note in the first paragraph below (from Alien Emergencies), the inclusion of specialists in communications, philosophy, and psychology. Note the exclusion of specialists in any of the hard sciences. And the military. (Note also, the more effective way.)
“The Cultural contact people were the elite of the Monitor Corps, a small group of specialists in e-t communications, philosophy and psychology. Although small, the group was not, regrettably, overworked …
“… During the past twenty years,” O’Mara went on, “they have initiated First Contact procedure on three occasions, all of which resulted in the species concerned joining the Federation. I will not bore you with the details of the number of survey operations mounted and the ships, personnel and materiel involved, or shock you with the cost of it all. I mention the Cultural Contact group’s three successes simply to make the point that within the same time period this hospital became fully operational and also initiated First contacts, which resulted in seven new species joining the Federation. This was accomplished not by a slow, patient buildup and widening of communications until the exchange of complex philosophical and sociological concepts became possible, but by giving medical assistance to a sick alien.”
I can’t recommend White’s work enough. Finally, an intelligent approach to alien life. (Because yes, pretty much every novel I’ve read, and every movie I’ve seen, to date, has been embarrassing for its UNintelligent approach to alien. Why haven’t we discovered intelligent life out there? Because we’re too stupid to visit.)
Jun 20
Everything turned into entertainment
“Look at the world around you, David. What do you see? An endless theme part, with everything turned into entertainment. Science, politics, education–they’re so many fairground rides. Sadly, people are happy to buy their tickets and climb aboard.” The Millennium People, J. G. Ballard
May 17
Mimicry?
Read mention in a Lionel Shriver novel (The Motion of the Body through Space) about “white readers [the main, white, character read for audiobooks] pretending to talk like [members of] marginalized communities is ‘mimicry’ and … cultural appropriation” (p31).
But I can’t help thinking that if she were not to use an accent other than her own for those characters (members of marginalized communities), she’d be accused of ignoring said members’ reality, denying/ignoring the way they speak, accused of colonializing, homogenizing …
Apr 14
The Sexual Politics of Meat – Carol J. Adams
Highly recommended. The title says it all.
Among a whole lot of ‘worth mentioning’ bits, I’ll mention the reference to Irving Fisher’s study (p.43) involving meat-eating athletes, vegetarian athletes, and vegetarian non-athletes. Vegetarians, whether athletes or not, had the greatest endurance (as measured by three strength tests). “Even the maximum record of the flesh-eaters was barely more than have the average for the flesh-abstainers.”
And the book got me thinking again about why men suddenly do the cooking when it involves a barbecue. I’d thought simply it was because one barbecues outdoors: women=indoors; men=outdoors. But now, I’m seeing too it’s fire. Danger! And, of course, meat. Status. A perfect trinity.
Apr 09
Invisible Women, Caroline Criado Perez
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men is a must-read.
(And although she soft-pedals this, surely the persistent failure to consider women is evidence of what they think of us: we’re unimportant, we’re not worth consideration. Or perhaps it’s simply evidence of their persistent failure to consider anyone but themselves. Either way …)
fiction
