There are no two ways around it: in order to be a critical thinker, you need to have a basic understanding about how the universe works. Humans, we crafty little buggers, have developed a method by which we can describe the universe, and thereby come nearer to understanding it. That method is called science, or the so-called "Scientific Method."
There are basic tenets of science, founding principles really, which have been developed and proven in experiment after experiment for many years now. Science, much like the law (insert ironic coughing here), acts like a self-referential sounding board to not only prove these basic tenets, but to prove and refine the proof, increasing the reliability that the tenets actually describe the actual universe actually -- "peer review."
How fine the basic nature of these tenets gets depends a lot on your personal expertise. A mathematician may have cause to question, for instance, whether "1 + 1" actually equals "2," and what "1" means anyway, but that level of inquiry is inefficient for the bulk of us. On the other hand, as to most of us, the fact that the universe is expanding is enough to know, but that may not be an assumption an astrophysicist might want to make in her work.
What is the point, you may ask, of bothering to know much about science. The answer is that a knowledge of basic science can keep you from expensive mistakes. For instance, if you're wondering if someone is selling a useful (product, political system, food replacement therapy, overly expensive water purification system, religion, "alternative medicine" (aka "SCAM"), or power enhancing bracelet), a good first step is to compare the claims to certain tenets and see if the proffered thing meets the sniff test. If it does not, place your wallet firmly back into your pocket. [Interesting: google "how to stop getting ripped off" and you'll be able to spend your hard-earned money on books which teach you the same. Ironic?]
Another, related, answer is that a knowledge of science can help you navigate our technological world. Every day we're heaped with new and better stuff, gizmos, and thingymabobs. Each of them has (a group of) scientists working on the science behind them: materials researchers, computer scientists (said with feeling), electrical engineers, technical support/writers, and even packaging engineers! If you know the basis for the science behind the things you use, you can become a better consumer...besides, its just neat! (No, your iPhone does not work by magic, and is not going to give you cancer.)
Yet another reason to know these things is that it makes you a better person. Smart people are savvy people are people who can speak intelligently on all manner of topics. Smart people can make better choices because their brain is functioning, churning out neurons in an effort to keep up, making more room for more information, and (so I've heard) staving off diseases like Alzheimer's. Smart people can, for instance, differentiate between political rhetoric and political discourse. Smart people can choose the lesser of two evils. Smart people are compassionate and moral.
To come...links to the above points, and an actual LIST of the tenets of science every person should know!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Misogyny is subtle but can lead to unlawful discrimination
Recently, when Rebecca Watson recounted an encounter with a strange man in an elevator, a little firestorm broke out. In that case, the man propositioned her after having attended the same event in their common hotel bar. Although she didn't assert feeling threatened, the event caused her to comment that it's not OK. differences on that point are what caused the dispute.
The dispute involved a famous skeptic, and his opinion that a little light flirting is nothing to be upset over. However, this seems to miss the point. Where as a man might think, "I'm just asking; she can always say no," women don't have that luxury, even in our modern society. Like it or not, women remain vulnerable in our society. They're paid less, hold fewer positions of power, and are as likely to be blamed for being sexually assaulted as their attackers. Which leads to the point: it's all about context.
A proposition puts the woman in the awkward position of having to say no. If that happened in a crowded room, or from someone known to the woman, the playing field is more level. But in an unattended elevator, the woman has to decide: is this guy a creep, or is he just a jerk. Not the choice the guy was going for no doubt.
All this lead me to think about interactions between the sexes at work. When is light flirting OK? The answer is soundly: never. In every sex discrimination case I've worked on, the woman gets the short end of the stick, and the employer has to deal with the aftermath. People fall in love, have relationships, and sometimes they work. But when It comes to the workplace, that needs to take a backseat to the common need for a safe environment.
Having policies which can encompass all this is crucial. Similarly, training employees to discern acceptable behavior from misogynistic behavior can protect both employees and the company.
I'm no prude, but what is vital is context. If two coworkers want to have a relationship, a well drafted policy should account for it. But healthy relationships almost never start with inappropriate propositions. That is where the devil lies: female employees must feel safe, which is more important than the supposed freedom to flirt. Why? Because we're not males and females, but humans trying to get along. In the workplace, getting along means being set up for success to do the best job we can.
The dispute involved a famous skeptic, and his opinion that a little light flirting is nothing to be upset over. However, this seems to miss the point. Where as a man might think, "I'm just asking; she can always say no," women don't have that luxury, even in our modern society. Like it or not, women remain vulnerable in our society. They're paid less, hold fewer positions of power, and are as likely to be blamed for being sexually assaulted as their attackers. Which leads to the point: it's all about context.
A proposition puts the woman in the awkward position of having to say no. If that happened in a crowded room, or from someone known to the woman, the playing field is more level. But in an unattended elevator, the woman has to decide: is this guy a creep, or is he just a jerk. Not the choice the guy was going for no doubt.
All this lead me to think about interactions between the sexes at work. When is light flirting OK? The answer is soundly: never. In every sex discrimination case I've worked on, the woman gets the short end of the stick, and the employer has to deal with the aftermath. People fall in love, have relationships, and sometimes they work. But when It comes to the workplace, that needs to take a backseat to the common need for a safe environment.
Having policies which can encompass all this is crucial. Similarly, training employees to discern acceptable behavior from misogynistic behavior can protect both employees and the company.
I'm no prude, but what is vital is context. If two coworkers want to have a relationship, a well drafted policy should account for it. But healthy relationships almost never start with inappropriate propositions. That is where the devil lies: female employees must feel safe, which is more important than the supposed freedom to flirt. Why? Because we're not males and females, but humans trying to get along. In the workplace, getting along means being set up for success to do the best job we can.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
My New Road Bike
As earlier reported, I got myself a Cannondale CAAD 10. Though I'm no expert, I wanted to write a little review. As I said earlier, this is my first road bike, so take my comments with appropriate measures of salt.
Coming from my commuter bike the three things which stand out are the weight, the posture, and the ride. This new bike weighs 1/2 of what my GT Tachyon does, I swear. I'll have to do some measurements to find out. The lighter weight gives an impression of floating, a bit. Which is great and liberating, but also a bit disconcerting, especially when navigating traffic. (Its gonna be interesting in a year when I start thinking the CAAD is too heavy!) But the weight difference really lets you push and levels out the hills. Its relatively easy to achieve speeds of 20+ MPH, though it looks like I can sustain a speed of about 18-19 on the flats if I push it.
The posture's going to take some getting used to. Because of the way the body is hunched, you have to put too much weight on the handlebars. This was leading to numbness in my fingers. I asked about this in the bike shop, and the salespeople all sort of shrugged and asked if I was varying my hand position (not very helpful). However, one sales person thought to suggest tilting the handlebars slightly to alter my hand position when on the hoods, and did so. The second half of the ride from the bike shop was far more pleasant. Numbness is clearly a fact of life for cyclists, and managing it is probably the best I can hope for.
As to comfort, the more upright posture on my commuter bike is definitely more comfy, but I feel plenty strong enough to support myself on the road bike, and don't think back/neck issues will be a problem. The salesman suggested that many aches and pains would go away as my "core strength" increased. That I believe, because I noticed that when I was hovering over the saddle and pumping hard, the pressure on my hands decreased, and since I was out of the saddle, the pressure on my butt decreased, too.
Which sort of leads to the ride. The combination of unique posture and really low weight makes the bike feel a bit jumpy compared to my commuter bike. Cornering is easier, as is riding really slowly (like when waiting for a light that's about to turn green, and not clipping out). Riding fast is clearly easier, too. What seems to be harder is steering a slow to moderate speeds. The front end turns more quickly, leading to a jumpy feeling. This I suspect will diminish over time as I become a more astute rider.
Well, all that and only two rides under my belt. The weather is fine here in Sacramento. I can't wait for Saturday!
Coming from my commuter bike the three things which stand out are the weight, the posture, and the ride. This new bike weighs 1/2 of what my GT Tachyon does, I swear. I'll have to do some measurements to find out. The lighter weight gives an impression of floating, a bit. Which is great and liberating, but also a bit disconcerting, especially when navigating traffic. (Its gonna be interesting in a year when I start thinking the CAAD is too heavy!) But the weight difference really lets you push and levels out the hills. Its relatively easy to achieve speeds of 20+ MPH, though it looks like I can sustain a speed of about 18-19 on the flats if I push it.
The posture's going to take some getting used to. Because of the way the body is hunched, you have to put too much weight on the handlebars. This was leading to numbness in my fingers. I asked about this in the bike shop, and the salespeople all sort of shrugged and asked if I was varying my hand position (not very helpful). However, one sales person thought to suggest tilting the handlebars slightly to alter my hand position when on the hoods, and did so. The second half of the ride from the bike shop was far more pleasant. Numbness is clearly a fact of life for cyclists, and managing it is probably the best I can hope for.
As to comfort, the more upright posture on my commuter bike is definitely more comfy, but I feel plenty strong enough to support myself on the road bike, and don't think back/neck issues will be a problem. The salesman suggested that many aches and pains would go away as my "core strength" increased. That I believe, because I noticed that when I was hovering over the saddle and pumping hard, the pressure on my hands decreased, and since I was out of the saddle, the pressure on my butt decreased, too.
Which sort of leads to the ride. The combination of unique posture and really low weight makes the bike feel a bit jumpy compared to my commuter bike. Cornering is easier, as is riding really slowly (like when waiting for a light that's about to turn green, and not clipping out). Riding fast is clearly easier, too. What seems to be harder is steering a slow to moderate speeds. The front end turns more quickly, leading to a jumpy feeling. This I suspect will diminish over time as I become a more astute rider.
Well, all that and only two rides under my belt. The weather is fine here in Sacramento. I can't wait for Saturday!
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