Quickies

Quickies: New CERN Director, Jian Ghomeshi and the Open Secret, and Abortion Study

  • I Knew About Jian Ghomeshi – “So did a lot of people in our Toronto scene. We never said anything. Are we complicit in his alleged abuse?” This narrative sounds so familiar.
  • The Story of a Mormon Family Who Embraced Their Transgender Daughter – “Eri Hayward was born and raised in Utah as a boy. Her slow, painful journey to be recognized as a transgender woman lasted years. As she prepares for sex reassignment surgery, this short documentary explores her relationship with her family, her body, and her conservative Mormon upbringing. ‘Being LDS was our life,’ she says. ‘It’s one of the reasons I didn’t find out about what being trans was until I was an adult.’ “
  • Study: Women are less likely to tell pro-life friends about their abortions – “Study author Sarah K. Cowan found that because women are more inclined to keep their stories from pro-life or anti-choice friends, American attitudes toward abortion have been able to stay relatively stable for several decades. Cowan, an assistant professor of sociology at New York University, relies on the contact hypothesis in her research, which postulates that when a person learns a stigmatizing secret about a close friend or family member, his or her attitudes toward that secret might be more likely to change. But when those secrets aren’t shared, existing attitudes remain in place.”
  • MST3K‘s Turkey Day Marathon Returns To Save Your Thanksgiving – “Look, we all know the worst part of Thanksgiving is dealing with your family. So if you’re not into watching football, then you should be happy that MST3K‘s Turkey Day marathon is returning on the show’s official YouTube channel, including special intros from creator/star Joel Hodgson!” Hell yeah!
  • CERN appoints first female director – “Gianotti, who is also a serious pianist, says she was inspired to embark on a career in science when she read a biography of Marie Curie when she was 17-years-old. ‘Diversity is really a richness for mankind,’ she has said. ‘We will have to remain very vigilant’ that young women scientists are give the same chances as men.”
  • The Most Popular Passages in Books, According to Kindle Data – “Below, you’ll find passages from Austen, Tolkien, the Bible, and every tome of Harry Potter. (With some spoilers—though don’t worry, it’s not that section of Half-Blood Prince.)”

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Mary

Mary Brock works as an Immunology scientist by day and takes care of a pink-loving princess child by night. She likes cloudy days, crafting, cooking, and Fall weather in New England.

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3 Comments

  1. Glad you brought up the Salon Gomeshi story (tip: take an antacid before looking at the comments).

    Many men writers and artists have been examining their consciences publically about enabling Gomeshi, and this story links to a few of them. Helping a student at my library a few days ago unearthed at least fifteen. And it happened so quickly.

    While I don’t want to downplay that Gomeshi shouldn’t have been enabled, I am glad– and unsurprised— to see that so many guys in creative fields are willing to examine their behavior and trying to be honest. The culture of their vocations encourages that.

    The contrast with the much smaller number men in science and the skeptical movement doing the same is unpleasant. When it comes to harassment, the skeptical movement is more akin to the NFL than the professional arts & humanities.

    Anyway, thanks for linking to this, and thanks to the skeptics of all genders who are doing the right thing. After losing sleep over last night’s election, I kind of want to appreciate some good where I see it today.

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