The Open Author

An extremely interesting piece from RadioLab (a public radio program and podcast) talking about the “Obama Effect”. A researcher gave subjects a questionnaire before Obama gave his inauguration speech. He found that whites scored slightly higher than blacks. After the inauguration a second group was given the test, but they were first shown the speech. The results were that the disparity between whites and blacks completely vanished.

A similar study showed a slight difference in math scores between males and females. However, before administering the same test to new subjects, the researcher told the students ‘while you may have heard men normally score higher on math tests compared to females, this particular test shows no gender differences.’ All differences dissapeared.

One last example they gave–researchers brought in subjects and gave them a putting (as in golf) challenge. When they presented the experiment as a ‘test of athletic intelligence‘, they found blacks did about four strokes worse than their white counterparts. But when they presented it as a test of their ‘natural athletic ability’, those scores were reversed. Whites scored 4 strokes worse than their black counterparts.

In other words we learn about stereotypes in life, and even if we don’t believe them, we often end up ‘fulfilling’ those expectations. So the next time you think to yourself, “I’ve never been good at math,” or “My writing is not that good,” knock it off. If you say it too many times, you’ll start acting the part.

The audio I linked to above is about 15 minutes, but well worth your time. Thanks to Emily for pointing me to this.

One more reason to buy an Android (or an iPhone, you fan boys).

Look at this image of comments on this Digg article.

What exactly do you call this? Spontaneous, crowd, lyric recitation?

Bizarre.

I know what you’re all thinking. You’ve probably heard that USU is forcing all of its employees to take a mandatory furlough. And you’re worried about me. Sure I get spring break off, but I don’t get paid.

But worry not. This is actually a good thing. It’s a way of spreading the pain around. Instead of a few unlucky souls at USU getting kicked in the teeth, everybody at USU just gets poked in the chest.

As for me, taking time off without getting paid doesn’t seem quite right. Luckily we’re allowed to do ‘contract work’ during this time so I plan on leasing myself out to the highest bidder. If you’re interested I can be bought in 1 hour chunks, and I’m willing to do anything as long as it’s a) moral, and b) legal (I can actually bend a little on both of these, depending on the thrill factor).

So starting March 9th, if you need a thirty something instructional designer who is good at raking carpets, melting ice, sharpening forks, counting lego, or pressing the tilde button, give me a call.

Hurry up before my week is filled.

Bidding starts at minimum wage.

So, we’ve changed up the white house, now it’s congress’s turn. Tired of special interests dictating the policies here in America? Tired of Disney locking up tens of thousands of books by lobbying congress to extend the copyright act? Then head on over here and pledge NOT to give any more money to congress. Come on, in these tough economic times, everybody can make a promise not to spend money.

http://change-congress.org/

Robert McHenry, a former Encyclopedia Editor-in-Chief once said this about Wikipedia.

“The user who visits Wikipedia to learn about some subject, to confirm some matter of fact, is rather in the position of a visitor to a public restroom. It may be obviously dirty, so that he knows to exercise great care, or it may seem fairly clean, so that he may be lulled into a false sense of security. What he certainly does not know is who has used the facilities before him…”

That makes today’s news seem particularly funny… That’s right, users can now make edits on Encyclopedia Britannica’s articles.

I’ve gotten back into running. I haven’t run since October or so. I quit because, well…I’m a sissy. I hate cold weather. I don’t want to run in it.

So why am I running now? Well, when you’re used to 80 degrees, and it drops down to 50, that is harsh. But when you’re used to -8 weather, and suddenly it’s 40–well, that is a heat wave. So three times a week, I’ve started running home. It’s been nice…kind of.

Monday I went running and it was exhilarating. It was below freezing, but I had a tuque, I had my tunes, and I tore through the neighborhood like a cheetah–a cheetah in a cage being pulled in a red wagon, but still–it was great. It felt good.

Compare that today. I forgot my tuque which wasn’t too bad, except for the fact that the wire on my iPhone iBuds freeze up, and when I bounce they come right out of my iEar iCanals. So I couldn’t listen to Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me. Instead all I heard was my lungs gasping for oxygen.

And then for some reason–and this gets a mite personal–my underwear was giving me a super-wedgie. I felt like I was a freshman in high school again (and a sophmore, and a junior). Every three steps I had to adjust my nether regions. All of this made me mad, and so I would run faster because the world is so unfair, and my running fast would teach the world a lesson, by golly. But actually all it did was make me more tired, and give me a wedgie–the likes of which have not been seen for a good decade. By the time I hit home, I was wiped.

I hope I have a better experience on Friday, or I may just take up parcheesi.

Oh how I wish I had my digital audio recorder with me on our family date tonight. If me and the boys had asked out my wife on a date, I think we’d have a hard time talking her into a second one. She’d probably be busy ‘washing her hair’ or something, the next time we called. We were nerds of the highest order.

It started by me coming up with the idea of starting 4 free accounts to World of Warcraft, and letting all of the kids play at the same time. Kind of a family excursion into nerdiness.

Well, of course the kids went ballistic, and that is all they could talk about all night. Here is how just part of the conversation went at the local malt shop. I’ve removed the names to protect the innocent.

———–

We need a hunter. A hunter and a Warrior.

Which races have warriors?

All of them.

I don’t think they all do, do they?

No, he’s right. Every one of them.

I want to be a chicken.

What about the undead, they don’t have warriors.

Yes, they do.

Yeah, I have one.

You do?

Yeah.

You’re sure? Is it really a warrior, or does he just look big.

I’m going to be a chicken. And I’ll have a piggie.

Mom can be a mage.

Yeah, she should be a blood-elf mage, definitely.

How come?

Never mind.

So that gives us our DPS, right?

Yeah, we’ll need 3 dps, a tank, and a healer.

I’m a chicken!

I’ll be the tank.

Are you sure you want to be a tank? That’s the hardest job in the game, next to healing.

Healing isn’t hard. I don’t want to be a healer, they’re boring.

What! Healing is the most important part of the party. If a dps dies, the party can still make it. But if the tank dies, we’re all toast. If the healer dies, we’re all toast. Two most important parts of the game.

Whatever.

Hey! The garbage is glowing purple.

You’ve got ice cream on your ears.

Now, let me tell you a bit about aggro…

————–

Yep…chips off the ol’ block.

I just got back from Borders–my son had a gift certificate from his birthday and he wanted to buy some books.

The card had $10 on it, which–when I was a little boy–would buy exactly that, ‘some books’.

He was quite discouraged to realize that this card could buy him very little. The newer books he wanted were all in hardback, and were $20-$25. Newer paperbacks ran $15. Old stuff (including things in public domain) were a more reasonable $8-9. But my son wasn’t really interested in Pride and Prejudice.

As an author, it disturbs me to see prices so inflated, especially because I know how much–or rather how little–the author actually sees.

Of course it’s not the publisher’s fault either, it’s a broken model. Stores can buy books, try to sell them, and if they don’t, they send them back for a refund. Very few other industries follow such a model (print media does as well, and look at how well they are doing).

I think we’re already starting to see new models emerge, but I for one can’t wait to see what changes lie ahead.

As for my son, we ended up going to the clearance rack and buying some mad-libs. That, and some candy. My son is a voracious reader, but the library is free.

Ah, I see what you did there. Very clever.