Month: July 2013

the verdict

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by russell hey, what the hell, i'll go there. i'm not, remotely, surprised by the verdict.  i'm also not particularly sure it should have gone any other way.  murder, of whatever degree, is a heavy charge, and really deserves ironclad proof.   when the evidence is one person's word against another's, and the other guy … Read more

Why Is Measles a First World Problem?

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by Doctor Science In my previous post, I said that I’d been surprised to find that vaccine-controllable diseases are one of the few areas where the US health system does a better job than other “First World” countries — because we have stricter and more intrusive government regulations. I already knew that measles had become … Read more

Your shotcrete Saturday open thread

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by liberal japonicus Perhaps you, like me, weren't expecting discourse about the construction considerations of underground tunnels at Talking Points Memo, but there was this: Specifically, they are covered in what’s known as “shotcrete”. Shotcrete is nothing more than concrete mixed at a standard 3000 to 4000 psi, but with a very high slump so … Read more

Stop Jenny McCarthy Before She Kills Again

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by Doctor Science Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy reported that Jenny McCarthy is negotiating to be a co-host on the ABC talk show The View. As Plait says: McCarthy is the most famous face of the anti-vax movement. More than perhaps anyone else she has mainstreamed the incredibly dangerous claims of the anti-vaxxers, saying vaccines … Read more

Apocalypse R&D

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Charlie Pierce noticed an article by Andy Walker at the BBC about 1913: When Hitler, Trotsky, Tito, Freud and Stalin all lived in the same place — that place being, of course, Vienna. I was surprised that Walker didn’t use the quintessential quote about Vienna of this period: “the research laboratory for the end of … Read more

Creepers: How To Spot One, How To Be One

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by Doctor Science

Currently there’s a huge discussion going around science fiction & fantasy circles about (sexual) harassment at cons. Ground zero is Reporting Harassment at a Convention: A First-Person How-To by Elise Matthesen, which has been posted at John Scalzi’s blog, Jim Hines’ blog, and Mary Robinette Kowal’s blog, among others.

In brief: Mattheson was harrassed[1] at WisCon by a fairly prominent professional editor, reported it to his employer and to the con, and they listened. Her article is a discussion of the procedures she and the people she dealt with followed, with advice for other people who might find themselves in a similar situation.

Mattheson did not say so, but the harasser was Jim Frenkel. Apparently, he is known for inappropriate behavior of the sort colloquially known as “creeping”, but while there have been informal complaints before this no-one has been willing to make a formal record.

What kind of thing is covered by “creeping”?

Pamela

Illustration by Joseph Highmore of a scene from Richardson’s Pamela:

Pamela and Mr. B in the Summerhouse … Unfortunately, one day while Pamela was sewing in the summer-house Mr. B approached and told her he wanted her to stay, then began to try to seduce/rape her. She is pictured here resisting his advances.

But it was OK! because he married her in the end.

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Do monosexuals exist?

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by Doctor Science

Andrew Sullivan has been doing one of his mostly-reader-email series, this one on What Is a Bisexual, Anyway?. In honor of Pride Day and Brenda Howard, a bisexual activist who was one of the main organizers of the first Gay Pride parades, I’ll chime in with my opinion as a scientist and a bisexual.

I’m using this headline because I have often seen people ask, “Do bisexuals really exist?”, to which my reaction is: I’m standing right here, what part of my existence is difficult to believe in? It’s much more difficult for me, personally, to believe that monosexuals[1] really, truly exist.

I’m not *actually* saying that there’s no such thing as monosexuals, I’m just saying that the evidence doesn’t point in the direction of monosexuality being the default for humans. You accept my existence — and the validity of my experience — I’ll accept yours.

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