posted by SumThing @ 5:39 PM
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A brief reenactment of a few scenes from a few weeks ago:
Scene 1, the kitchen:
Grandmother: *screaming from the kitchen* BLOODY MURDER! BLOODY MURDER!
Me: What’s wrong?
Grandmother: The sugar won’t come out of the container.
*Note* we have one of those diner-style sugar container dealies
Me: Lemme take a look at it *tries pouring sugar and fails*
Me: hmm… *unscrews cap expecting to find hard sugar*
Me: This sugar is…sorta sludge-like. If you want to use it, just use a spoon to dig it out. I’ll figure it out in the morning
*grandmother screws cap back on and proceeds to attempt to pour sugar*
Grandmother: Why isn’t it pouring?
Me: I don’t know. In the meantime, just unscrew the cap again and pour it out, I’ll figure something out tonight.
*Grandmother unscrews cap and pours sugar*
Scene 2, the bedroom in which I bitch to people on AIM about why the world nearly ended:
Me: The sugar is getting hard. Got any recommendations?
Friend: Put rice in the sugar. That will dry it out.
Me: Really? I will try that. *goes to the kitchen, gets paper towels, puts rice in said towels, wraps neatly and inserts in sugar containers.*
Scene 3, the next day:
Grandmother: *panicked* Did you…did you put something in the sugar?!?!?!?!?
Me: Yes?
Grandmother: *panicked* what was it?!?!? Rice? It looked like rice, but I didn’t know what it was, or who put it there, so I threw it out. I dunno…
Me: the rice was supposed to dry the sugar. It’s been kinda humid lately. That’s why I put it in paper towels, and put it in there; to dry it out.
Grandmother: Well, I didn’t know how it got in there
Me: How could it have gotten in there if I didn’t put it in there? It was neatly wrapped in paper towels and conspicuously placed.
Grandmother: Well, I didn’t know what it was…
Me: …you know I love you right? I’m your grandson…
Grandmother: I know…
posted by SumThing @ 9:36 PM
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Origins…
At some point in time, the US became hostile towards Math, and the natural sciences. Some suggest origins as early as the time of the Scopes trial in which John Scopes was convicted of teaching evolution- a crime under the laws of Tennessee. Others claim a somewhat later origin, sometime after WW2. Whatever the exact origins, interest in math and the natural sciences wasn’t cool.
Extroverted students who were good in math and the sciences were encouraged to stay away from these fields and instead use their skills in more respectable fields, such as medicine, law, and politics. Scientists and mathematicians were supposed to be secluded individuals who would seldom speak to anyone. As often happens, the stereotype became self-perpetuating. Intelligent extroverts believed that they couldn’t find pleasure in the natural sciences and mathematics, and intelligent introverts believed they couldn’t function in any sort of field where they might have to talk to anyone.
Definitions…
I’ve narrowly described the nerd. There are plenty of intelligent people who may also find themselves labeled as nerds because they find themselves the victims of general anti-intellectualism. It all depends on the circumstances. Theater geeks, band geeks, pretty much anyone who shows talent with something even vaguely intellectual may find themselves with the label. The stereotype is very focused towards math and sciences though. Nerds are typically introverts who are interested in Math and/or the natural sciences. However, there is a great deal of discussion about whether or not introversion is a substantial part of being a nerd. The stereotype says nerds are introverted, yet there are many extroverted nerds in real life.
Parting thought:
People make a lot of assumptions about people who are interested in math and the natural sciences. It’s very odd.
posted by SumThing @ 9:56 PM
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For those of you who don’t keep up with the news, There have been riots in France for over a week now. Poor Arab and African people throughout the country have been expressing anger against the system by destroying both their, and other communities.
The incident was sparked when 2 youths running from police were electrocuted while hiding in a power station. The police deny that they were chasing the youths.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/11/06/france.riots/index.html
Some hateful bloggers and newscasters have made a point of repeatedly reminding us that these people are followers of Islam in an attempt to blame the religion for the actions of the youth. The reality has little to do with their religion. Like most immigrants, the Arab and African people who came to France were looking for jobs and a better life. What they found was high unemployment and discrimination. France has enacted a number of laws aimed at undesirables. Immigration laws specifically target Arabs and people from Northern Africa. France recently enacted a law that prohibited all religious wear (head coverings, necklaces, etc) in schools. Many believe the law was intended to stop Muslim youths, like the kind who are Arab and/or from North Africa, from expressing their religion.
Much of Europe is dealing with these kinds of issues. Many people are firmly of the belief that citizens of their country should all act a certain way and engage in certain customs. This is especially true of France, which has an organization devoted to keeping the French language…French, lest it become a perverse mishmash of words from other languages, like English. Some Europeans are upset at the idea of an American custom, Halloween, becoming more popular in their countries. Many European countries have moved away from the idea of nationality by birthright, and instead towards nationality via bloodline. This makes it even more difficult for immigrant communities to become integrated, since they will always live in the country at the whim of the government.
The best way to solve this problem seems to be learning to accept people who are different. Simple to say, hard to practice…
posted by SumThing @ 9:37 AM
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A Delicious blog for people that want to hear my insane thoughts.
