What sorts of academics should there be?

from Carl Elliott, “How to be an academic failure: an introduction for beginners”, The Ruminator Review, but also:  whitecoatblackhat.com/academicfailure/

Carl visited us up in Edmonton a few years ago, courtesy in part due to the work he was doing at the time on big pharma and also as a member of the What Sorts Network.  In addition to enjoying and learning much from his public lecture, we also had a great informal, roundtable session with about a dozen people that was focused on his then-developing work on a particular case in psychopathology that involved a senior professor who had murdered his spouse.

I also had a fun dinner with Carl in which he confessed his slight ill-ease with me.  This was caused by the fact that every time I started speaking, I managed to disappoint his expectation that I would sound just like The Dude.  “Damn it, how can that be?” he wondered aloud, almost with sufficient pathos for me to consider peppering our conversation with some of the many lines I know from heart from The Big Lebowski.  But despite the short-term fun this would have involved, I thought that this might actually exacerbate the problem in the long run, so I resisted the temptation.  “But that’s just like, your opinion, man.” I still hear a small voice inside my head say.

Here’s how his recent article, with all its sage advice on academic failure, begins:

How to be an academic failure? Let me count the ways. You can become a disgruntled graduate student. You can become a burned-out administrator, perhaps an associate dean. You can become an aging, solitary hermit, isolated in your own department, or you can become a media pundit, sought out by reporters but laughed at by your peers. You can exploit your graduate students and make them hate you; you can alienate your colleagues and have them whisper about you behind your back; you can pick fights with university officials and blow your chances at promotion. You can become an idealistic failure at age 25, a cynical failure at 45, or an eccentric failure at 65. If failure is what you’re looking for, then you can hardly do better than the academic life. The opportunities are practically limitless.

Call me arrogant, but I like to think I have a knack for failure. Having started and abandoned one abortive career, participated in the dissolution of a major bioethics center, published dozens of articles nobody has read and given public lectures so dull that audience members were actually snoring, I think I have earned my stripes. It is true that I am not an alcoholic yet. I do not have a substance abuse problem, and no university disciplinary proceedings have been brought against me so far. I am still a novice at failure. Many other people in my own field have succeeded at failing in a far more spectacular fashion than I have, some of whom are rumored to be living in South America. But I am learning. And I think I have something to contribute.  Read more

A Prequel to Gattaca?

The 1997 film Gattaca, written and directed by Andrew Niccol, portrays a futuristic society where babies are genetically engineered according to parental references.  The film features a society that consists almost exclusively of such artificially built individuals, with those who are born in the archaic, natural manner occupying the fringes of this society.  In order to protect the rights of what are referred to as the “valids” and thereby keep out the inferior “invalids,” each individual’s genetic material is constantly sampled and monitored.  Every person’s DNA is stored in a database, making multiple scans and random genetic sweeps in the workplace very efficient.  The story follows an “invalid” who has a dream of becoming an astronaut, a job open only to the genetically enhanced elite.

But my intention here is not to provide a synopsis of the film, which is very good and is certainly well worth the time it takes to watch.  Rather, I wanted to

A Couple of Edmonton Fringe Plays Worth Checking Out

At this year’s Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival, there are a couple of plays with ties to the Living Archives on Eugenics in Western Canada project.

Below is some information on how you can catch these plays.

Technical Management, the One Ronnie way

The Living Archives team may be making great strides on technical management issues, but not as much, perhaps, as Ronnie and Harry in this great skit; h/t to Maureen Eckert.

 

 

Humanities and the principle of humanity?

h/t Jo Faulkner, amongst others:

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7451115/

Back to School #1: On germs

Each will have his or her own back to school favourite pieces of wisdom.

Here’s one of mine, put as few others can put it, by Dan Ariely.

(Playing himself, … as well as the rest of us)

Sorry for the lack of captions, except via the auto-captioning service at Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apjx9jH7oFo

Taking the Australian election seriously: Every Candidate is …

Well, perhaps only taking the Australian election as seriously as it deserves to be taken, but also, for my North American friends (both of them), taking the distinctiveness of Aussie culture seriously.  What other countries have a population that could, on the whole, not only head-nod but actively sing along to the chorus of the following segment from The Chasers most recent broadcast?

h/t Pamela Lyon

On Being (a student) and (having enough) Time

There is a very funny and insightful Youtube cartoon video up by Seferin that covers terrain in philosophy that is not my own, but that raises some general issues that I’m very familiar with in graduate student education.  It doesn’t have regular captions, but some accessibility is made possible here via the automatic translation program that Youtube is still putting through it’s paces–more on this below if you want to check it out).  Here’s the video:

But MUCH funnier and insightful, and I think a minor work of genius, is Serefin’s recent follow up post:

Constructing this entirely from the comments on the first video is more than a nice touch.   To understand it, of course, you’ll have to read Heidegger’s Being and Time.  And who, really, has enough of either to do that … except a graduate student?

Direct access and captioning.

What sorts on psychiatry

Here are a few What sorts posts on psychiatry

Does anyone remember “lobotomy”?

Is your dog on prozac?

Marcia Angell on Big Pharma

NYT on DSM-V

Defending Electroshock

What sorts of people?  Empathy deficit disorder–do you suffer from it?

Pride in maddness–the new visibility

What sorts of food?

Yum!   Turtles.   My favourite critters.

Bacon Cheese Turtle Burger

NB: No turtles were harmed in the research necessary for this post.

Only humans.

What a schlimazel!

Indeed.  In the usual bad taste …

h/t single dad / disabled daughter

$500,000 to Build Stronger Communities?!?

That’s the pledge made by AVIVA Canada, an insurance provider who has decided to show that they have heart by putting out a cross-Canada call for projects that will improve local communities.  The top 25 projects will have the opportunity to share in a cool half-million dollars.

The competition began on October 13th with the first round of submissions.  A total of three submission rounds were held and the top 20 entries, based on a tally of votes submitted by anyone caring enough to join the website moved on to the semi-finals.  These top 60 entries moved into the semi-finals, where the top 25 submissions would be passed on to the judging round.  At the time this was written less than 23 hours remained.

What does this have to do What Sorts?  There are some great submissions that it would be great to give a last minute boost of support to.  Here are three:

1. Helping Medically Fragile Children & Families Enjoy Better Lives. Hope’s Home seeks to improve the quality of life for medically fragile children in the community as it provides the very first medical daycare of its kind in Canada. Our mission is to help medically fragile children

What its like … to be

h/t to Graham Oddie, who tips in turn to Mason Cash, completing the Alberta-NZ-Alberta circle of truth and well-being:

This is John Weldon’s To Be, and you can also get it on Youtube directly here.  We’ve actually submitted a large-scale grant to get one of these machines, but with the economic downturn, I’m not optimistic about our chances.

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The Scientific Review Process: One Perspective

Since I was at a talk earlier today, in part, on Steve Fuller’s seemingly crazed proposals for reforming the division of labour between “public” and “private” science, with seeming implications for how peer review would be handled, I now think that this is funniest of the variations on the parody video below that I’ve seen. h/t to Cruel Mistress, who has just posted it.

Nationalized Child Care in Canada?

In the last two federal elections in Canada, there was a fair bit of umming and aahhing about improving national daycare standards. And with all the hooplah about socialized medicine from our good neighbour south of the border, this promotional video is surely timely:

h/t to Fiona Cowie

Getting Burlesque in Edmonton, May 8th

Our friends at the Alberta Public Interest Research Group (APIRG) have a fun fund-raiser coming up in Edmonton on Friday, 8th May. Bare details below. Full details over at APIRG.

[Poster for "Life is a Cabaret"; descriptive details of event below]

Poster art: Craig Campbell
With Toronto Burlesque Pioneers: Skin Tight Outta Sight
and featuring amazing local talent

A little something for everyone!
Burlesque, Belly Dance, Tribal Fusion, Comedy and Drag show.

May 8 2009
Doors: 8:30 pm Show time: 9 pm
New City Suburbs 10081 Jasper Ave, Edmonton
www.newcitycompound.com

Tickets: $20 in advance $25 at the door
COME EARLY: Limited Seating!

Gathering Storm–The choice is yours

Ok folks, help me out here. At least one of these videos strikes me as a parody. But which?  (Ah, and don’t get all confused by the titles … these are tricky people.)

Sorry, looks like no captions on either video!

Deformed Skull Suggests Human Ancestors Had Compassion

I’ve heard talk of this argument from anthropological evidence before.  I am sure that many of you have too.  Here is the latest article to be published on the idea:

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/03/skull.html

10 bits of Fun Stuff

Here are 10 of the things I reckon to be at least a little bit funny that I’ve posted on What Sorts since May, starting with

New Dawkins Vid Reveals Intelligent Design

Coming Out, by See Hear

Two Birds, One Stone

Standing Corrected: Why is there no apostrophe in “Hells Angels”?

Is your dog on Prozac?

Atoms are … mostly empty space

Gay Diver Makes a Splash

The War in Iraq: An Australian Perspective

PZ Meyers on the Enhancement of Sexual Morality

Parental Disorders