Comments on: Links: A Few Notes During a Moment of Quiet http://www.geekstudies.org/2008/05/links-a-few-notes-during-a-moment-of-quiet Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:01:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Church http://www.geekstudies.org/2008/05/links-a-few-notes-during-a-moment-of-quiet/comment-page-1#comment-1396 Church Sat, 24 May 2008 00:20:42 +0000 http://www.geekstudies.org/?p=280#comment-1396 I should have seen this coming: http://leetac.manufacturer.globalsources.com/si/6008808486073/pdtl/Novelty-phone/1003483077/Nostalgia-Wooden-Telephone.htm I should have seen this coming:
http://leetac.manufacturer.globalsources.com/si/6008808486073/pdtl/Novelty-phone/1003483077/Nostalgia-Wooden-Telephone.htm

]]> By: Jacob http://www.geekstudies.org/2008/05/links-a-few-notes-during-a-moment-of-quiet/comment-page-1#comment-1387 Jacob Wed, 21 May 2008 22:30:35 +0000 http://www.geekstudies.org/?p=280#comment-1387 The original research in the Globe article appears to be fairly straightforward, showing that women who would educationally and cognitively be able to work well in IT are not. Using the term self-selection is perhaps a biasing, as acknowledged in the article there is little evidence one way or another how this choice is being made. But more bothersome here is that the study focuses on IT, but then the article makes a fast leap to women in science and technology. IT is not science, and this says nothing about the more interesting and important question of why many women drop out of science before establishing meaningful careers. Furthermore, following "women often leave technical jobs because of rampant sexism in the workplace" with "a certain amount of gender gap might be a natural artifact of a free society" is freewheeling bullshit. There's an implicit claim that sexism is a necessary component of a free society. Hooray! Pinker's research appears at first glance to be underdone. First, she's not accounting for family economic issues; countries that supported a single-earner family should be expected to have had fewer working women (assuming an initial bias towards men in the workplace). Second, their are significant outliers in the countries she lists. Soviet Russia strongly encouraged working women in a way that most countries did not. Japan is still relatively discriminatory towards women in the workplace. I suppose my point, with the caveat that I haven't read her book and thus this is all handwavy middle-fingering, is that she fails to compare her data with overall gender splits, and then fails to look for other more meaningful sources for any gender discrepancies. Bad science, hmrpth. I suppose I shouldn't be looking for anything more than dripples of news in the science pages of the Globe, but ending the article with some boring platitudes, musing about the possible end of feminist history or somesuch rubs me the wrong way. And avoiding the interesting questions along the way makes me angry...why not ask "what effect does paternity leave have on women's lack in careers requiring long-term intense working commitments" or "and so what is the evidence for cognitive difference as a result of sexual dimorphic physiology?". That article isn't bad; its really quite good as science reporting goes. But it is not good enough, and is a subject that would be better addressed with more depth. And less Pinker (family grudge, yo). The original research in the Globe article appears to be fairly straightforward, showing that women who would educationally and cognitively be able to work well in IT are not. Using the term self-selection is perhaps a biasing, as acknowledged in the article there is little evidence one way or another how this choice is being made. But more bothersome here is that the study focuses on IT, but then the article makes a fast leap to women in science and technology. IT is not science, and this says nothing about the more interesting and important question of why many women drop out of science before establishing meaningful careers.

Furthermore, following “women often leave technical jobs because of rampant sexism in the workplace” with “a certain amount of gender gap might be a natural artifact of a free society” is freewheeling bullshit. There’s an implicit claim that sexism is a necessary component of a free society. Hooray!

Pinker’s research appears at first glance to be underdone. First, she’s not accounting for family economic issues; countries that supported a single-earner family should be expected to have had fewer working women (assuming an initial bias towards men in the workplace). Second, their are significant outliers in the countries she lists. Soviet Russia strongly encouraged working women in a way that most countries did not. Japan is still relatively discriminatory towards women in the workplace. I suppose my point, with the caveat that I haven’t read her book and thus this is all handwavy middle-fingering, is that she fails to compare her data with overall gender splits, and then fails to look for other more meaningful sources for any gender discrepancies. Bad science, hmrpth.

I suppose I shouldn’t be looking for anything more than dripples of news in the science pages of the Globe, but ending the article with some boring platitudes, musing about the possible end of feminist history or somesuch rubs me the wrong way. And avoiding the interesting questions along the way makes me angry…why not ask “what effect does paternity leave have on women’s lack in careers requiring long-term intense working commitments” or “and so what is the evidence for cognitive difference as a result of sexual dimorphic physiology?”.

That article isn’t bad; its really quite good as science reporting goes. But it is not good enough, and is a subject that would be better addressed with more depth. And less Pinker (family grudge, yo).

]]> By: Church http://www.geekstudies.org/2008/05/links-a-few-notes-during-a-moment-of-quiet/comment-page-1#comment-1385 Church Wed, 21 May 2008 18:19:56 +0000 http://www.geekstudies.org/?p=280#comment-1385 I'm sure that one of those links mention it, but to see the overlap of hippie and geek culture you need only look at the Whole Earth Catalog, and it's offspring the WELL. That Richard Morgan link is a spiked article on steampunk (although I imagine it is unedited.) The one that the NYT ran is completely different. And to bring it back around, I think that the steampunk aesthetic is a celebration of the DIY culture that Makers Fair embodies. The often non-functioning bric-a-brac acts as camouflage for the non-user-serviceable devices underneath, allowing us to imagine that there's nothing there that can't be serviced with a tiny pipe wrench. I’m sure that one of those links mention it, but to see the overlap of hippie and geek culture you need only look at the Whole Earth Catalog, and it’s offspring the WELL.

That Richard Morgan link is a spiked article on steampunk (although I imagine it is unedited.) The one that the NYT ran is completely different.

And to bring it back around, I think that the steampunk aesthetic is a celebration of the DIY culture that Makers Fair embodies. The often non-functioning bric-a-brac acts as camouflage for the non-user-serviceable devices underneath, allowing us to imagine that there’s nothing there that can’t be serviced with a tiny pipe wrench.

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