I frequently read a blog called Skepchick, which anyone who is reading this post probably already knows about. The blog covers a wide variety of topics, but two posts this week addressed the kind of thing I address in this blog: Why aren’t more women participating in the skeptical movement? The first, by Heina, pondered [...]
Archive for December, 2011
#35 More confrontation, less explanation.
Posted in Handy Guide, tagged mansplaining, r/atheism, sexism, skepchick, skepticism on December 28, 2011 | 2 Comments »
The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet
Posted in Books, tagged Book Review, daniel solove, the future of reputation on December 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
By Daniel J. Solove Long Story Short: This book discusses the boundaries–social and legal–between privacy and publicity, particularly at the point where the Internet has the potential to expose details to millions of people. Why I Chose This Book: I’d heard somewhere about the book The Offensive Internet but decided–based solely on the Amazon.com page–that [...]
#34 Stop evoking science to rationalize sexism.
Posted in Handy Guide, tagged nature, nurture, sexism, skepticism on December 24, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
A favorite way to avoid facing up to sexism (or racism, or other institutionalized bias) is to explain its biological origins, often with a little bonus of how such behavior helped the human race evolve. Who can argue, right, with a scientific explanation that has “evolution” in it? And biology? That’s a real science, plus [...]
#33 Understand what a feminist agenda actually is.
Posted in Handy Guide, tagged feminism, feminist agenda, sexism, skepticism on December 9, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I’m about to confirm everything you’ve suspected all along: Yes, there is a feminist agenda–in fact, more than one. Feminists rally around the idea of overturning social and cultural institutions and mores to establish a new kind of political hierarchy and redistribute power and it’s theoretical and there are college departments and journals dedicated to [...]
The Terror Dream: Fear and Fantasy in Post-9/11 America
Posted in Books, tagged Book Review, Susan Faludi, The Terror Dream on December 5, 2011 | 2 Comments »
By Susan Faludi I first wrote about this book on July 19, 2008 on Goodreads. A subsequent edition of the book has been released in since then, with a new subtitle: “Myth and Misogyny in an Insecure America.” I have not read that newer edition. As always, I really enjoy reading a Susan Faludi book. [...]
Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming
Posted in Books, tagged Book Review, Erik Conway, Merchants of Doubt, Naomi Oreskes on December 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
By Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway I first wrote about this book on May 25, 2011 at Goodreads. Why I Chose This Book: So long ago now I have moved from sadness to nostalgia, I was part of a podcast/book club that never quite launched. We took turns suggesting books, and I’d always keep [...]
Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors
Posted in Books, tagged After the Ice, Before the Dawn, Book Review, Nicholas Wade, Steve Mithen on December 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
By Nicholas Wade I first wrote about this book on May 15, 2009 at the International League of Skeptics discussion forum here. Long Story Short: This book relies heavily on scientific findings from genetic research into the human genome (and the genomes of other species) to offer insight about how the human species Homo sapiens [...]
The Mind of the Market: Compassionate Apes, Competitive Humans, and Other Tales from Evolutionary Economics
Posted in Books, tagged Book Review, Michael Shermer, Mind of the Market on December 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
By Michael Shermer I first wrote about this book on April 15, 2009 at the International League of Skeptics discussion forum here. Long Story Short: This is a book about, variously, the free market, evolutionary psychology, and economic decision-making that has only one chapter devoted to the main premise of the book. Why I Chose [...]
#32 Political correctness is just diplomacy by another name.
Posted in Handy Guide, tagged political correctness, skepticism, women on December 3, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
People fling around the phrase “politically correct” like it’s some kind of insult. Usually it’s wrapped up with some complaint about language, often within conversations that begin with being called out for using some offensive term (that never used to be accepted by the majority as offensive), and the denial that it’s a problem for [...]
A Break, A Podcast, A Return
Posted in Handy Guide, tagged podcast, sexism, skepticism on December 1, 2011 | 1 Comment »
I was all fired up and writing this summer, and then I wasn’t. I took a vacation, I read lots and lots of books, the school year started, and then bam! Months had gone by and I hadn’t written another word. Once you lose the blogging habit, it’s hard to get back into, too, at [...]
