Will Shetterly's Blog, page 153
May 13, 2013
the problem with "problematic", and an apology
I was reading someone's post recently, and when I got to the word "problematic", I clicked away without finishing the sentence.
"Problematic" usually means "I can't identify the problem, but I suspect there is one, and if I'm right, someone will rant at me unless I stick in a pre-emptive 'problematic'." It's the first word I would put on a list of empty words loved by people who want to sound smarter than they are. If you know the problem, say so. If you don't, be brave enough to say you don't...
"Problematic" usually means "I can't identify the problem, but I suspect there is one, and if I'm right, someone will rant at me unless I stick in a pre-emptive 'problematic'." It's the first word I would put on a list of empty words loved by people who want to sound smarter than they are. If you know the problem, say so. If you don't, be brave enough to say you don't...
May 12, 2013
the wisdom of Terre Roche
The Hitless Songwriter - NYTimes.com: "I’ve given up on the idea of writing a commercial song. And when I did that, I entered into a deeper, more fulfilling relationship with songwriting, unencumbered by the demands of the marketplace."
Some people will think this sounds like sour grapes. But it's only a hard truth that's good to learn.
Some people will think this sounds like sour grapes. But it's only a hard truth that's good to learn.
May 9, 2013
May 7, 2013
Longest-lasting marriages: white men and black women?
Interracial marriage in the United States - Wikipedia: "White wife/Black husband marriages show twice the divorce rate of White wife/White husband couples by the 10th year of marriage, whereas Black wife/White husband marriages are 44% less likely to end in divorce than White wife/White husband couples over the same period."
That's based on ’’But Will It Last?’’: Marital Instability Among Interracial and Same-Race Couples (PDF).
h/t Cowboy Don, in comments at interracial romance in co...
That's based on ’’But Will It Last?’’: Marital Instability Among Interracial and Same-Race Couples (PDF).
h/t Cowboy Don, in comments at interracial romance in co...
May 6, 2013
May 1, 2013
conspiracy theories can be fundamental attribution error: more on the rationalizing animal
Moon Landing Faked!!!—Why People Believe in Conspiracy Theories: Scientific American: "The great philosopher Karl Popper argued that the fallacy of conspiracy theories lies in their tendency to describe every event as 'intentional' and 'planned' thereby seriously underestimating the random nature and unintended consequences of many political and social actions. In fact, Popper was describing a cognitive bias that psychologists now commonly refer to as the “fundamental attribution error”: the...
April 30, 2013
I (don't) need a cult that will pay me to rant
I was thinking recently about people who make a lot of money telling their audiences what they want to hear. I would love that gig, but there's no choir in search of a preacher that would have me. Which might be my salvation.
That notion was inspired by noticing too many people who think complaining on the internet is "social justice", but also by this, from On the Streets of Oakland:
That notion was inspired by noticing too many people who think complaining on the internet is "social justice", but also by this, from On the Streets of Oakland:
For a taste of local entertainment, I went to a Tourettes without Regrets show. Hugely popular with t...
April 29, 2013
Links: There Are No Saints Online and How Anti-racism lessons increase intolerance
There Are No Saints Online - Stephen Marche on Internet Hate - Esquire:
In February, a long-term study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Psychiatry established that bullies and their victims both have a higher rate of mental illness for decades afterward.Science magazine reported on the effects of nasty comments about science stories online: Not only do they fail to improve debate, they also make people stupider. The "nasty effect," as the researchers...
Class links: Family income is now a better predictor of children’s success in school than race, plus Meritocracy and Border Crossers
No Rich Child Left Behind - NYTimes.com: "Family income is now a better predictor of children’s success in school than race."
Normally, I would rant about this, but I've been ranting about the priority of class in the USA for a decade or more. So I'm simply posting it in the hope some identitarians will take note.
Critical Literacy in Working-Class Schools | Working-Class Perspectives:
Normally, I would rant about this, but I've been ranting about the priority of class in the USA for a decade or more. So I'm simply posting it in the hope some identitarians will take note.
Critical Literacy in Working-Class Schools | Working-Class Perspectives:
Meritocracy starts with the assumption that, by and large, all American children start kindergarten or first gr...
