Andrew Sullivan's Blog, page 2575
September 6, 2010
About My Job: The Engineers
by Conor Friedersdorf
We'll begin here:
I'm an engineer. Specifically, an aerospace engineer by education and a software engineer by vocation. There's a lot that the media gets right about my profession. (We have Scott Adams to thank for that.) There are still a few things that usually go overlooked. One thing in particular stands out to me: engineering is often portrayed as a boring, lifeless job. No magic.
Not true! It's one of the best things about it. I love the alchemy that takes the stuff...
Falling Fast
The Guardian reports:
We know this. At around 120,000 feet, on the fringes of space, the air is so thin that a falling human body would travel fast enough to exceed the speed of sound. A skydiver, properly equipped with pressurised suit and a supply of oxygen to protect against the hostile elements, could feasibly jump from that height and, about 30 seconds later, punch through the sound barrier – becoming the first person ever to go "supersonic" without the aid of an...
Pretty Lies
by Conor Friedersdorf
This song is making the rounds.
Insofar as it's a couple of guys with guitars trying to add their voices to the national conversation I applaud their initiative, though I'd prefer if Americans cut out this nonsense where showing oneself to have been insulted is a propaganda tactic. Implicitly signaling to celebrities that their most inane political analysis matters is a foolhardy move.
Especially unfortunate is invoking a celebrity who says the Tea Party Movement doesn't ...
About My Job: The Rocket Scientist
by Conor Friedersdorf
A reader writes:
I am a rocket scientist. The one thing people always fail to understand about my job is that rocket science is, in fact, quite simple. The laws of physics that govern the behavior of rockets have been known for centuries, and are really not that complicated. So, next time you consider using the phrase "it ain't rocket science", please consider substituting "it ain't brain surgery" instead. I've never met a brain surgeon, but I imagine that that job...
Can't Get That Damn Song Out Of Your Head?
by Chris Bodenner
The Internet is here to help.
People - Chris Bodenner - Recreation - Computers and Internet - United States
Deep Fried Hangover
by Zoe Pollock
Baylen features beer as the "latest thing that shouldn't be fried but is." While totally gross looking, the beer filled raviolis seem a fitting "toast" to the end of summer and American ingenuity at state fairs...
Beer - Recreation - Food - Drink - State fair
The Sexism Of Ladies Night
by Chris Bodenner
Last week a judge in New York struck down a lawsuit alleging that club managers who lure women with discounted drinks are violating the equal protection clause - against men. Tracy Clark-Flory calls out her fellow feminists:
Roy Den Hollander, the man who brought the suit, is not the most sympathetic character -- Jezebel's Irin Carmon referred to him as "Russian wife-abusing, Women's Studies' program-suing, young-lady-preying Roy" -- but there is so much about ladies nights...
Plays Well With Others
by Zoe Pollock
A new study shows that for problem solving, two heads are usually better than one, unless any involved are incompetent and incapable of admitting it:
If one person in the team has flawed information -- or is less competent -- then the outcome can be negative and perhaps you should completely ignore them...
Bahrami's study tells us that what's important for successful collaboration is the ability to estimate and report our own ability accurately. However, this is not always...
Strange Metaphors
by Conor Friedersdorf
Marvel at the opening paragraph in Tom Friedman's latest column:
In recent years, I have often said to European friends: So, you didn't like a world of too much American power? See how you like a world of too little American power — because it is coming to a geopolitical theater near you. Yes, America has gone from being the supreme victor of World War II, with guns and butter for all, to one of two superpowers during the cold war, to the indispensable nation after...
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