Quickies
Skepchick Quickies 7.11

- There’s no sexism in gaming – I love this brilliant article that Mary found.
- We should all be feminists – Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie speaks at TEDxEuston. Absolutely worth a listen, beware the comments. From Hilary.
- The startling sense of smell found all over your body – From Amy.
- Gaming Mr. Darcy: What Jane Austen teaches us about economics – From Paul.
- AI poses as 14-year-old girl to detect pedophiles in chatrooms – From Donna.
Amanda,
I enjoyed that we should all be feminists video. Thanks for sharing it with us.
I wasn’t all that impressed with the “Gaming Mr. Darcy” article. Marriage has always mainly been an economic proposition. And it’s hardly news that, for most of history, people chose their spouses (or had them chosen for them) based on an unromantic evaluation of the social and economic benefits (and costs) of the candidates. Isn’t that what “a good catch” means? It was especially so for women in those times when women’s fortunes (except maybe those in the poorest classes) depended utterly upon the ability and willingness of their husbands to provide for them. (Edith Wharton’s _House_of_Mirth_ comes to mind.)
Economic considerations still play a role. The main reason you see so many unwed mothers among the poorest classes (at least in the USA) is that it doesn’t make economic sense for them to marry. Both partners are better able to provide for themselves, and the mothers for their children, if they _don’t_ hitch themselves to someone else.