Skepticism

Skepchick Quickies, 2.27

  • Creationist Diorama-Rama – Visit the science fair and learn all about how dinosaurs and humans coexisted.
  • Mass Trance Affects Indonesian Women – Some insights on what can cause mass “trances,” or other mystical/religious possessions. “There appears to be a contagion element to trance, but it really requires some kind of willingness on the part of the individual.” Astounding!
  • Religion and Nanotechnology – Is nanotechnology a religiously moral issue? It appears some think so.
  • Why Women Should Rule the World – According to Dee Dee Myers. I’m not sure if I buy into the whole “women would be better/worse leaders than men” dichotomy, but she raises a few interesting points. Opinions, fellow Skepchicks?

Jen

Jen is a writer and web designer/developer in Columbus, Ohio. She spends too much time on Twitter at @antiheroine.

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19 Comments

  1. I'm kicking things off!!

    I only read the creationist diorama thingy and now I'm too depressed to read anymore.

    uugghhhh

    The only way to argue with these people is to not argue at all, and just blast their testes as hard and often as possible.

    I'll be using the bare-foot method because my poor hygiene will be quite effective.

  2. Damn. That Dee Dee Myers excerpt is waaay too long to read at work, and a large portion of the segment presented is biographical rather than targeted on the subject of WHY she thinks women would make better leaders.

    So, without having finished it, I'm just going to say that even if women somehow DID rule the world, as long as nearly half of the world is male, you'll have a lot of the same stupid "male" problems dealt with in the same stupid "male" fashion.

    Personally, however, I don't think there'd BE such a great difference…people are people, and we do pretty good for a big-headed ape, but nothing in our past or present gives me much cause for optimism! :-P

  3. Sigh, I'm a Minnesotan, so I'm a bit depressed that the creationist 'science' fair took place in Roseville. Oh well, at least we Minnesotans still have PZ.

  4. Todd Tyler,

    Systems Analyst

    "She's got a good shot, so long as no one blows her up, causing her faceplate to fall off and revealing the gears and diodes beneath."

    Anyone else misread diodes? Just sayin'….

  5. You women are going to know what it's like to be in the majority of business/law positions here in a few decades. Women are vastly outnumbering men in secondary and post secondary education in those fields.

    I honestly don't think a female majority would do any better. Look at how stupid Oprah is and compare that to Bush.

  6. Honestly, I don't think there would be a substantial difference if women "ruled the world"… There would still be wars, there would still be poverty, there would still be famine. Maybe some of the stated reasons would be different, but I'm pretty sure the real reasons would be the same – not that any of that matters a lick to the poor, the starving, or the shot-at. What matters to them is where, when, what , how, and if they'll eating again.

  7. "I'm not a person who thinks the world would be entirely different if it was run by women. If you think that, you've forgotten what high school was like."

    – Madeleine Albright

  8. About the trance article:

    "In trance, people can do and say things for which they are unlikely to be held responsible, which can be cathartic, particularly for weaker members of society, she said."

    I would be curious to see if the number of work-related trance incidents has a direct correlation to workplace morale, or lack thereof. My first job after college came immediately to mind, and the image of my chagrined manager watching the whole department lying in front of the cash register in a cathartic trance experience has a certain appeal.

  9. The unsubstantiated assumption inherent in speculation over what would happen if "women ran the world" is that someone actually runs the world now. I see no evidence to support this claim.

  10. Anyway, you'd have thought that Maggie Thatcher, Angela Merkel, and Golda Meir might have left more of an impression on people….

  11. I don't think there would be much of a difference if women were running things. I agree with her analysis that politics today seems to be more about winning the argument than fixing the problems, but I don't think that has to do with gender. Most people who make it to the higher echelons of business or politics have a desire to win arguments and are used to getting their own way.

    I think what WOULD fix this problem is teaching people to think critically of everything, including their own assumptions and beliefs. The book should be "Why Skepchicks/dudes Should Rule the World."

  12. I would be curious to see if the number of work-related trance incidents has a direct correlation to workplace morale, or lack thereof. My first job after college came immediately to mind, and the image of my chagrined manager watching the whole department lying in front of the cash register in a cathartic trance experience has a certain appeal.

    In the west, we just call that a strike. Perhaps they don't have good syndication in India?

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