Science

Love — and Science — Takes Time

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “The blog is late today. She must be working on the LSE/BO!”

And you are wrong.

Sorry, but once again the LSE/BO has been postponed due to a forgetful Motoko. She promises to follow through next week, so in the meantime you’ll all just have to be held on the edge of your collective seats, trembling in anticipation as to the final outcome of the cell phone/remote experiment. If she doesn’t have it on Monday, I’m pinning a note to her shirt.

This is why science is hard. A true seeker of knowledge must be patient above all else, whether one is hiding in a bush waiting to snap the perfect pic of that ivory-billed woodpecker or just badgering a coworker into remembering your stupid pet project. I had dinner the other day with a friend who is a researcher at Harvard (mentioned previously). He studies yeast, and puts in so many hours that my poor nine-to-five brain can’t handle it. In fact, he had left the lab to meet me for sushi and drinks around 8pm, and when we were finished hanging out around 9:30, he got back on his bike and rode back to the lab for more work. A large part of his life revolves around what a tiny little dish of fungi is doing at any one moment, and he’s been waiting quite a while for the gunk to do what he’s hoping it will do. When it happens, then comes the papers, the presentations, the fame, the fortune . . . well, the fame anyway. Until then, he’s a slave to the yeast.

When you put things into perspective, I suppose it’s not too tough to wait a few more days to test an urban legend. Right?

Right??

Rebecca Watson

Rebecca is a writer, speaker, YouTube personality, and unrepentant science nerd. In addition to founding and continuing to run Skepchick, she hosts Quiz-o-Tron, a monthly science-themed quiz show and podcast that pits comedians against nerds. There is an asteroid named in her honor. Twitter @rebeccawatson Mastodon mstdn.social/@rebeccawatson Instagram @actuallyrebeccawatson TikTok @actuallyrebeccawatson YouTube @rebeccawatson BlueSky @rebeccawatson.bsky.social

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7 Comments

  1. Input sentence: “The blog is late today. She must be working on the LSE/BO!”

    …run through lysdexia filter…

    "The blog is late today. She must be working on the LESBO."

    Admit it. You're doing this intentionally!

    And while we're on the subject, those of you who have institutional subscriptions to medical journals might like to check out Whitley, Bernard E., Jr.; Wiederman, Michael W.; Wryobeck, John M. "Correlates of heterosexual men's eroticization of lesbianism." Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality 11, no. 1 (1999): 25–41.

    Although heterosexual men tend to perceive lesbianism as erotic, little research has been conducted on the correlates of that perception. We investigated potential correlates of the perceived erotic value of lesbianism in a sample of 219 heterosexual college men. Replicating the results of previous research, we found that the perceived erotic value of lesbianism was correlated with less negative attitudes toward lesbians.We found perceived erotic value itself to be related to a cluster of variables which appeared to primarily represent interest in, and comfort with, sexuality in a variety of forms: recent exposure to pornography, lack of endorsement of traditional sexual values, preoccupation with sex, erotophilia, greater sexual experience, and acquaintance with lesbians. However, perceived erotic value was unrelated to two variables that we had expected to mediate its relationship with recent exposure to pornography: perceptions of lesbians as bisexual and as interested in sex with men. Implications of these results for understanding heterosexual men's perceptions of lesbians are discussed.

    Now that is serious science.

  2. Well, it does make sense that guys who aren't accepting of homosexuals would be — or at least claim to be — disgusted rather than aroused by lesbianism. So we can reasonably expect the converse to be true.

    Was this "Motoko" the person who passed the silly cell phone / keyless entry story in the first place? If so, sounds like she knows it won't work but doesn't want to lose face by admitting it or having it proven.

  3. Motoko has the keys, Napoleana made the claim, Coco wants to see the results, and Otis the Sneeze makes us transpose the E and the S.

  4. Now now Rebecca, I know it's not your fault but, I've been talking to friends about your experiment and I'm waiting with anguish to read the results and be able to tell them of the outcome!! You certainly do know how to keep some suspense on your blog!! ;-)

  5. Aha. Thanks for the clarification, Max. I apologise for the suggested slight against Motoko. (Not that she'll read this, as far as we know, but still.)

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