Comments for Alexander Brown .info

Comment on Translational Metaphysics by Multiplying Dimensions at TEDxCERN | Do you speak science?

Multiplying Dimensions at TEDxCERN | Do you speak science? — Sat, 04 May 2013 18:42:15 +0000

[...] of unjustifiable claims being made, such as those of that unrelenting peddler of spiritualist nonsense Deepak Chopra made during his appearance at the TED-MED conference in [...]

Comment on I have written a thing about words in other tongues by Why do kidneys need cells? | Do you speak science?

Why do kidneys need cells? | Do you speak science? — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 22:42:31 +0000

[...] their work in simple terms. Being on such a restricted list meant people had to get creative. For instance, I wrote one about the notion of "false friends" in languages. Unfortunately for me, "language" was not among the 1000 allowed words. Instead, I had to use the [...]

Comment on Inspirastronomy by Periodic Table of Etymologies: Sunstuff | Do you speak science?

Periodic Table of Etymologies: Sunstuff | Do you speak science? — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:18:46 +0000

[...] the world, so they are not so surprising. The same is true of the unique local animals. Someone who takes an interest in such things can even brace themselves for the stars being in the "wrong" places in the night sky. But the [...]

Comment on I fucking hate sexism in science by Marianne

Marianne — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 13:37:54 +0000

Perhaps stop and think about why people make stupid ‘gay’ comments at men. Because men displaying feminine traits is looked down upon, because being a woman, or feminine, is sub-par. It’s misogyny. It’s the same dish in a different style.
Misogyny is harmful to men as well – no one is denying that. But the root of it is an unequal footing; people placing men above women by default. Both men and women do this, because it’s the done thing in our culture, and that’s what speaking out is about – challenging this, and trying to make things equal for everyone.

You cannot achieve equality without acknowledging and challenging injustices. Claiming men are hard done by (or rather, harder done by, or being ignored, or whatever it was you were trying to say exactly) only serves to derail the cause. You are ignoring history, cultural context and a hell of a lot of actual lived experiences by claiming that it is men who need help to solve these issues; it is misogyny that needs addressing, and you will likely find the problems you note, and ascribe to anti-male prejudice, disappear.

Comment on I fucking hate sexism in science by Flora

Flora — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:40:10 +0000

Totally agree. It’s all about stereotypes in the origin. The fact is how they all shape the way recruits are done. https://vimeo.com/63223466 its what our association is all about. We’re not specifically for women in science. We’re just here to try and change the way we see things. I’d be glad to exchange more.

The last point is that the women in science community is incomparably huge compared to the men in psychology community. This is what makes the debate unbalanced.

Comment on I fucking hate sexism in science by Discriminated by women.

Discriminated by women. — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 11:39:41 +0000

I just wonder why it is only a problem if it is done towards women and nobody sees an issue if it is done otherwise. For example during my studies on psychology there were 80% women students. Still all the free courses, addional scholarships and so were for women only. To equalize their chances of course… Why having less than 50% of women in physics is an issue and why having 10% of male students in linguistics is not? Can someone explain it to me? Do you think that males in such under represented studies do not get sexist remarks or abuse constantly? Like: “Are you gay? Why did you chose a studies for females, failed exams for IT”? etc. I wonder why people are not against sexism and discrimination in general but are only against discrimination of women. I assume that discriminating men is just fine isn’t it? At least that is the impression I get from reading all of this…

Comment on Guest Post: Science, It’s Not A Girl Thing Yet by Virginia Greco

Virginia Greco — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 09:17:20 +0000

Thank you for your comment, PGMChem. Of course I completely agree with you. Abilities and interests developed during the childhood are determinant. My brother is less than two years older than me. When we were children, I used to throw away dolls (I got bored quickly) and play with legos with him. So my parents understood what I liked and didn’t buy me dolls any longer, but other kind of toys. Nowadays -even if the roles are less defined and apparently the social pressure is less strong- when it comes to toys, clothes, advertisement, it is worse than when I was a child. Distinctions between male toys and colours and female toys and colours are very strong, almost shocking.
As you say, parents should play an important role here (and teachers too, for what they can).
Virginia

Comment on Guest Post: Science, It’s Not A Girl Thing Yet by Alex Brown

Alex Brown — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 20:54:59 +0000

Thanks for your comment, PGMChem. I agree, “Men ar efrom Mars, women are from Venus”-type thinking gets us nowhere.

Comment on Guest Post: Science, It’s Not A Girl Thing Yet by PGMChem

PGMChem — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 20:39:17 +0000

I completely agree with the last paragraph.
It is during childhood, by playing, that you develop strong abilities that become assets, and toys like Lego or Meccano develop the target skills that are stereotypically ‘male’: eye-hand coordination, reading instruction scheme, building a mechanical system, three-dimensional representation… leading to DIY, assembling Ikea furniture and reading a map (exagerated on purpose).
I’m getting angry when I hear (from men or women) that men are all football and cars, and women all clothes and shopping.

The thing is, most parents are not helping either. Choosing toys according to stereotypes is already giving a handicap to the child’s future skills and interests.

Comment on Ursa Matilda by Periodic Table of Etymologies: Sunstuff | Do you speak science?

Periodic Table of Etymologies: Sunstuff | Do you speak science? — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 11:56:16 +0000

[...] is a weird place, at least for an outsider. As I have previously written elsewhere, there are a lot of differences which strike a visitor. How easy they are to adapt to is partly a [...]