-
Quickies
Quickies: RIP Katherine Johnson
Katherine Johnson, NASA mathematician, dies at 101 – Her NYT obituary opens with, “They asked Katherine Johnson for the moon, and she gave it to them.” Harvey Weinstein couldn’t reverse Me Too – “Before Me Too, the messiness of the facts in this case ordinarily would never see the inside of a courtroom; after all, prosecutors generally don’t bring cases…
Read More » -
Quickies
Quickies: Human skin textiles
Scientists grow “yarn” out of human skin cells – Yes, this is exactly as gross/cool as you think it is. The researchers say it, “…could be used by surgeons to close wounds or assemble implantable skin grafts.” A metaphor on electability – “Sure, I love apple pie, and that one has almost everything I want in a pie. I love…
Read More » -
Quickies
Quickies: Women in politics
Ayanna Pressley lends her voice to a collection of essays by sexual assault survivors – Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World is newly released, and was edited by the incredible Jessica Valenti and Jaclyn Friedman. The list of contributors is impressive and I can’t wait to get a copy. New media outlet covering the intersection of women…
Read More » -
Quickies
Quickies: The harm of Isaac Asimov
Today we’re going to start with a well-written article on a tough subject, and move on to some education and self-care. Asimov’s empire, Asimov’s wall – CN: Sexual assault. It’s old news to the sci fi literary community that Asimov was a gross groping misogynist. But we don’t talk enough about the example that he set for other authors, how…
Read More » -
Quickies
Quickies: The female burden of neurodiversity
The female burden of neurodiversity – “When I talk to non-cis male friends about their experiences with ADHD and its cousins, including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), I hear similar stories. Being perceived as “messy” or “oblivious” or “anti-social” feels like a failure to live up to the dictates of femininity, or a reinforcement of undesirable stereotypes around masculinity, in ways…
Read More » -
Quickies
Quickies: “They” is the word of the year
Merriam-Webster’s word of the year for 2019 is the personal pronoun “they” – Also, if you’re not following Merriam-Webster on Twitter, you are missing some excellent snark. Deaf student creates more than 100 new signs for scientific terms – These are in British Sign Language, specifically. “As he delved into more complex topics, and learned words such as phosphorylation or…
Read More » -
Quickies
Quickies: Bring out the guillotines
A little soundtrack for your morning reading of TeenVogue’s coverage of anti-capitalism can be found here. How the French revolution is inspiring today’s online anti-capitalists – “On social media, a tone-deaf tweet or Facebook post from any wealthy CEO or out-of-touch politician is invariably met with a sea of guillotine gifs, calls for retribution against predatory billionaires, or otherwise vitriolic…
Read More » -
Quickies
Quickies: Koalas are not “functionally extinct”
No, koalas are not “functionally extinct” but they are in trouble – There’s been reporting that due to the wildfires in Australia, koalas have lost 80% of their habitat, making them functionally extinct. See this twitter thread on the actual losses, as well as the unnecessary hyperbole of the current reporting. Yes, the wildfires are terrible and destructive and climate…
Read More »