So, chimps more rational than humans in their mimicking of behavior? Well, one cheer for evolution.
Perhaps more school children should be sent on field trips to the local zoo to spend a little time in the primate section, instead of spending so much time in the zoos of pop culture and social media.
Speaking of *field* trips, apparently the DHHS in my home state has decided to ban the term "*field* worker" in its agency's communications, due to the term's "implications for the descendants of Black and Brown enslaved individuals."
Though "...the widespread use of this term is not intended to be harmful, we cannot ignore the impact its use has on our employees." Apparently,"...staff and stakeholders have raised concerns" about the term's connotations, which are supposedly racist in the opinion of some.
Ditto USC's School of Social Work, removing the term from its curriculum to help "reject white supremacy". Its Field Education Department is now the Practicum Education Department. "We have decided to remove the world 'field' from our curriculum and practice and replace it with 'practicum'."
Now, I'm all in on the rejection of white supremacy. However...
Said the new PED: "Language is powerful, and phrases such as 'going into the field' or field work may have connotations for descendants of slavery and immigration workers that are not benign."
So, field trips for the kids are probably out. But practicum excursions, maybe.
As a practical matter, I agree that language is a powerful thing. As long as it's expressed in words that allow one to know exactly what the hell is being talked about. And as another practical matter, it may be there are more than a few adults in need of a trip to the zoo, if they can find the time to decamp the ones they work and live in for a little while.
This, from a guy who spent no small amount of time sweating in the tobacco and hay fields of his youth, never in his wildest dreams imaging the people whom he sometimes broke sweat with and who didn't look like him would be in danger of being 'triggered' by the words 'field' or 'work'. Work didn't scare them any more than it did him. And the work to be done was in the fields. That was it, and that was all, for all of us.
Of course, that may be because it's only been of late that he's known the word trigger to refer to anything much more than something one squeezed when aiming at a squirrel. Or the name of a horse. Which he's watching rip the bed covers off of Bob Hope as he types this, just for a little needed comic relief. For any unfamiliar, he'd be happy to say the name of that old movie. But it might trigger something untoward.
Happy Friday the 13th. A friend posted on my wall a meme with a picture of a coffee cup and the words: It is Friday the 13th, and I haven't had my coffee yet...Be Scared. Very Scared. lol
As it turns out, though I mentioned this two days ago, and he has yet to get some or let me order it...we were out of coffee and I couldn't get any till my boss rolled in around 9:30...
It is cold and it was raining till a little while ago, when the temps dropped and right now we are getting tiny balls of snow, somewhere between actual snowflakes and hail...lol....mostly the snow belt will get hit with snow, but wind chills in the teens due to the wind coming off Lake Erie...brrrrr
I have a three day week end, most of which will be spent going through all the stuff stored in my crawl space to organize and decide if I need to give away and what to decorate the house with, now that all the Christmas is done and the books and DVD's are back on their shelves...
For whatever reason, I am not much of an imitator ( at least partly I suppose due to my fierce , this is who I am stance...lol)...there are celebrities I like , but, I have never emulated them...though I couldn't if I wanted to fashion wise...both money and body shape prohibited ...lol...
I read the full post by Henderson and although I thought he was getting a too repetitive towards the end with the "you should copy people just ahead of you not the ones at the top" career advice, I totally agreed with this:
"Young children are more likely to imitate a person that adults regard as being higher status. If you have any kind of prominence, you unavoidably become a model that others, including children, are more likely to emulate.
This, by the way, is why it has always struck me as dishonest when celebrities and others in media say kids shouldn’t imitate their behaviors."
Although it occurs to me that Henderson's own advice is trying to counter this aspect of human nature. But maybe he knows it too and that's why he spent so much time arguing that ordinary people shouldn't emulate the high status ones.
Good morning. No TSAF today. The choir has a funeral this morning for one of our members, and the science team is meeting on top of that, and then we're singing at the homeless mission tonight. And the van is in the shop. Good thing I have all these extraneous young gentlemen with drivers licenses and time on their hands.
Talk about copying: This latest on George Santos is amazing. Summary: Not just the sleazy campaign, not just the weird expenses on which the campaign spent money, not just the lies. One person who gave him money is a well-known Holocaust artist. She met him and they talked and he talked about being Catholic, and she talked about being the daughter of survivors. Next time she heard him speak, he was talking about how his grandparents were survivors.
Trump is a former POTUS. Who can tell him he did it wrong? His behavior worked for him so there is good sense in emulating it. Now, that doesn't mean every Santos can pull it off, but he is now a Congressman and how many people can say that? Despicable (always think of Daffy Duck when I see that word) as these behaviors are, there is some logic to Trump's actions and Santos' me-too act. The same is true for Putin and every other bully. If their behavior is getting results, and they are not stopped, why not continue? Santos, and he will not be the last, is part of the Trump legacy. We allowed it to work so others will surely try to copy because they saw it work. This is why it is important to prosecute Trump to the fullest extent possible and no presidential pardon should be given. We need to try to deter others. Of course, there may be a Santos who makes a fully rational choice to give it a shot because being disgraced later might be worth it to him, but try we must to deter. They should both face the law and any other consequences. If McCarthy were a leader with any sense of moral conviction, he'd throw Santos out by whatever means he has at his disposal, as would the party. However, as in all things politics now, principle is hard to find; power is all that matters. Ugh.
As with most everything... it is probably important to limit the mimicry to the legality. For example... faking till you make it should stop prior to the actual fraud. (See SBF. "George Santos" (if that is actually his name), Bernie Madoff, Enron executives..., Donald Trump). When people tell you their truths, believe them, they are telling you who they are and they do have tells (See Leona Helmsley, Elizabeth Holmes, Anna Sorokin)--even if those tells are credit card refusals. No need to be deferential when Visa tells you they are effing liars and cheats.
Believe it’s Jessie Johnson. UK poet.
So, chimps more rational than humans in their mimicking of behavior? Well, one cheer for evolution.
Perhaps more school children should be sent on field trips to the local zoo to spend a little time in the primate section, instead of spending so much time in the zoos of pop culture and social media.
Speaking of *field* trips, apparently the DHHS in my home state has decided to ban the term "*field* worker" in its agency's communications, due to the term's "implications for the descendants of Black and Brown enslaved individuals."
Though "...the widespread use of this term is not intended to be harmful, we cannot ignore the impact its use has on our employees." Apparently,"...staff and stakeholders have raised concerns" about the term's connotations, which are supposedly racist in the opinion of some.
Ditto USC's School of Social Work, removing the term from its curriculum to help "reject white supremacy". Its Field Education Department is now the Practicum Education Department. "We have decided to remove the world 'field' from our curriculum and practice and replace it with 'practicum'."
Now, I'm all in on the rejection of white supremacy. However...
Said the new PED: "Language is powerful, and phrases such as 'going into the field' or field work may have connotations for descendants of slavery and immigration workers that are not benign."
So, field trips for the kids are probably out. But practicum excursions, maybe.
As a practical matter, I agree that language is a powerful thing. As long as it's expressed in words that allow one to know exactly what the hell is being talked about. And as another practical matter, it may be there are more than a few adults in need of a trip to the zoo, if they can find the time to decamp the ones they work and live in for a little while.
This, from a guy who spent no small amount of time sweating in the tobacco and hay fields of his youth, never in his wildest dreams imaging the people whom he sometimes broke sweat with and who didn't look like him would be in danger of being 'triggered' by the words 'field' or 'work'. Work didn't scare them any more than it did him. And the work to be done was in the fields. That was it, and that was all, for all of us.
Of course, that may be because it's only been of late that he's known the word trigger to refer to anything much more than something one squeezed when aiming at a squirrel. Or the name of a horse. Which he's watching rip the bed covers off of Bob Hope as he types this, just for a little needed comic relief. For any unfamiliar, he'd be happy to say the name of that old movie. But it might trigger something untoward.
Happy Friday the 13th. A friend posted on my wall a meme with a picture of a coffee cup and the words: It is Friday the 13th, and I haven't had my coffee yet...Be Scared. Very Scared. lol
As it turns out, though I mentioned this two days ago, and he has yet to get some or let me order it...we were out of coffee and I couldn't get any till my boss rolled in around 9:30...
It is cold and it was raining till a little while ago, when the temps dropped and right now we are getting tiny balls of snow, somewhere between actual snowflakes and hail...lol....mostly the snow belt will get hit with snow, but wind chills in the teens due to the wind coming off Lake Erie...brrrrr
I have a three day week end, most of which will be spent going through all the stuff stored in my crawl space to organize and decide if I need to give away and what to decorate the house with, now that all the Christmas is done and the books and DVD's are back on their shelves...
For whatever reason, I am not much of an imitator ( at least partly I suppose due to my fierce , this is who I am stance...lol)...there are celebrities I like , but, I have never emulated them...though I couldn't if I wanted to fashion wise...both money and body shape prohibited ...lol...
I read the full post by Henderson and although I thought he was getting a too repetitive towards the end with the "you should copy people just ahead of you not the ones at the top" career advice, I totally agreed with this:
"Young children are more likely to imitate a person that adults regard as being higher status. If you have any kind of prominence, you unavoidably become a model that others, including children, are more likely to emulate.
This, by the way, is why it has always struck me as dishonest when celebrities and others in media say kids shouldn’t imitate their behaviors."
Although it occurs to me that Henderson's own advice is trying to counter this aspect of human nature. But maybe he knows it too and that's why he spent so much time arguing that ordinary people shouldn't emulate the high status ones.
Good morning. No TSAF today. The choir has a funeral this morning for one of our members, and the science team is meeting on top of that, and then we're singing at the homeless mission tonight. And the van is in the shop. Good thing I have all these extraneous young gentlemen with drivers licenses and time on their hands.
Talk about copying: This latest on George Santos is amazing. Summary: Not just the sleazy campaign, not just the weird expenses on which the campaign spent money, not just the lies. One person who gave him money is a well-known Holocaust artist. She met him and they talked and he talked about being Catholic, and she talked about being the daughter of survivors. Next time she heard him speak, he was talking about how his grandparents were survivors.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/muckraker/inside-george-santos-madcap-campaign-things-were-not-on-the-up-and-up
Trump is a former POTUS. Who can tell him he did it wrong? His behavior worked for him so there is good sense in emulating it. Now, that doesn't mean every Santos can pull it off, but he is now a Congressman and how many people can say that? Despicable (always think of Daffy Duck when I see that word) as these behaviors are, there is some logic to Trump's actions and Santos' me-too act. The same is true for Putin and every other bully. If their behavior is getting results, and they are not stopped, why not continue? Santos, and he will not be the last, is part of the Trump legacy. We allowed it to work so others will surely try to copy because they saw it work. This is why it is important to prosecute Trump to the fullest extent possible and no presidential pardon should be given. We need to try to deter others. Of course, there may be a Santos who makes a fully rational choice to give it a shot because being disgraced later might be worth it to him, but try we must to deter. They should both face the law and any other consequences. If McCarthy were a leader with any sense of moral conviction, he'd throw Santos out by whatever means he has at his disposal, as would the party. However, as in all things politics now, principle is hard to find; power is all that matters. Ugh.
As with most everything... it is probably important to limit the mimicry to the legality. For example... faking till you make it should stop prior to the actual fraud. (See SBF. "George Santos" (if that is actually his name), Bernie Madoff, Enron executives..., Donald Trump). When people tell you their truths, believe them, they are telling you who they are and they do have tells (See Leona Helmsley, Elizabeth Holmes, Anna Sorokin)--even if those tells are credit card refusals. No need to be deferential when Visa tells you they are effing liars and cheats.