Social Media Values Clarification

There's little doubt that the Internet and social media in particular has changed our culture. And while there are some up sides I am pretty sure that it has helped to replace reasoned discussion for ranting and demagoguery. It did not do it single-handedly of course - it has had a big assist from our politicians and conventional media. We talk at each other rather than with each other. Media tries to tell us what to think rather than provide us information and a variety of viewpoints.

My wife has recounted times in her career where a patient requested to enter the "quiet room" when they felt they were edging out of control. Following the 2016 election I felt compelled to take a break from Facebook because of the rancor and just crazy talk that folks whom I had otherwise judged as rational people were engaging in. I needed some time apart lest I start to respond in kind and then later feel embarrassed by my words. It gave me time to reflect on social media in general and how to keep it as a more positive than negative force in my life.

So before logging back on, some notes to myself:

Time box it. This stuff gets addicting - seriously. You mindlessly scroll and refresh to see the latest affirmation of your life, of you as a person. And it's not like there aren't better things to do with your time. Read a book, balance the checkbook, write an email to a friend, figure out a new recipe to try, maybe write a blog entry. To help achieve this I'll continue to avoid any "alerts" to my phone and keep my aggregate daily time on social media to under 30 minutes.

Understand the value proposition. To me the value of social media is facilitating catching up on what is happening with my friends and family. Seeing pictures of my adorable grandson, catching Phil's early morning shot of the crescent moon and Venus, knowing I need to add a friend struggling with an issue to my prayer list - that is where it excels.

Drop the rope. No social media promotes debate, only ranting. People do not wish to read more than 140 characters (if that). Most folks do not want an exchange of ideas, they want you to validate their opinions. Recognize trolls and pass on by. Recognize ideologues and pass on by. If on occasion you wish to add to a thread do it politely, honestly, and singularly (no running posts trying to have the last word).

Owners are not without agendas. FB and others are certainly willing to manipulate us, from filtering what hits the news feed to promoting the idea that to mute or unfriend someone makes you a shallow person. And let's certainly not forget that the breadcrumbs of our likes and dislikes here are vacuumed up for big data's consumption. Be skeptical of the medium and its desire to influence you.

So I guess it's time to emerge from my self imposed exile to see if things have calmed down (although I doubt it). And I guess if it is still triggering even with trying to adhere to my observations I can decide to give it up for 40 more days over Lent.

A Crisis of Scientific Confidence

Recently National Geographic's cover story focused on the "War on Science", i.e. the failure of a growing segment of the population to take scientific findings at face value. The article was a bit disappointing in that rather than providing an analysis it appeared to have more of an agenda to it (namely promoting climate warming).

The author cites quite a variety of scientific theories that are not universally embraced. On one side of the spectrum are the cases where people reject findings that are backed up by a lot of impartial evidence such as that we have landed on the Moon or that fluoridated water cuts tooth decay. On the other side of the spectrum we have Achenbach's assertion that doubting climate change induced by man's increase of CO₂ emissions is equally misguided. Undoubtedly the author hopes that by placing skeptics of homo sapien induced climate warming into the same category as deniers of the Moon landing or parents withholding vaccinations out of fear of autism that they will change their mind or at the very least silence them out of embarrassment.

The conspiracy fringe will always be with us. Whether it be the Kennedy assassination or the communist plot of fluoridated water, there are people who just love a good controversy even when none exists. You might as well be shocked that some people love to gossip. But the real story here that did not get the attention it needed is that science is experiencing a doubting population because it is appears bought and sold. There is no more potent ally for that new tax or regulation if only it will agree with your point of view. The CEOs and politicos won't let science be science and follow the scientific method. Science now seems to be increasingly pulled by the purse strings that can come with the correct findings. One camp will not share data with the other for fear they may find a flaw. Objective scientific analysis is replaced by turf wars. Perhaps as the author suggests this mistrust of science is only people "subconsciously clinging to our intuitions—what researchers call our naive beliefs".

The prime directive of science - to test your hypothesis through well designed experiments - is subjugated to cries of we need to shut off any debate or discussion because "the matter is settled". How many times, especially with an issue with so many complex variables as climate prediction, has science been sure of one thing only to discover it was wrong. To quote Agent K from MIB, "1,500 years ago, everybody knew that the Earth was the center of the universe. 500 years ago, everybody knew that the Earth was flat. And 15 minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow."

Until science can gain some insulation from the influencers and reaffirm the scientific method which never closes discussion, the crisis in confidence will likely malinger.

Adieu VJC

We've been waiting, hoping against hope that they'd change their minds, but now they've gone and done it. This week Villa Julie College became a university and with it abandoned their name in favor of the insipid "Stevenson University".

"We" is my family - which includes three VJC students/alumni - as well as lots of other students, alumni, and parents. We supported the institution obtaining university status, but this goofy idea that somehow the name was hurting them because it was feminine - what a bunch of nonsense! If ever there was a solution in search of a problem dreamt up by some high-priced consultants justifying their services, this is it! You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out what attracts students to enroll at a college. Do you offer a degree in what interests me? Do you have a solid academic program that will enable me to succeed upon graduation or in my graduate studies? Are the facilities modern? And yes, how's the campus social life? The name of the place is pretty far down the list.

Villa Julie had steadily risen in recognition over the last decade, focusing on a solid education in a small setting with faculty that really cared about their students. The US News & World Report rankings had them 13th for Northern schools offering a baccalaureate. Other online ratings showed an above average opinion of the school. Reputation of graduates in the business community was also increasing thanks to the adherence to a mission statement embodied by their "design your career" motto. And they certainly did not have a problem attracting applicants.

But that's all history now. My diploma, my alumni vanity license plates, my alumni' decal, my VJC tumblers, etc., etc., - all are rendered quaint anachronisms thanks to president Manning. Time will tell just where the university is going in this rush to become something else. The only thing I can do is shake my head and wonder why the school was so uncomfortable in its own skin, while at the same time so many of us who attended it grew to love it and were immensely proud of it- feminine name and all.

The Real Climate Crisis

We went to see Ben Stein's movie Expelled over the weekend. The film is basically a documentary that explores how academic circles have reacted to the idea of Intelligent Design (ID). For those who are not familiar with it ID basically says that certain features of the universe and life are better explained by an intelligent agent than an undirected process. If you consider the ever unfolding complexity of cells and the second law of thermodynamics (things naturally become more chaotic in the absence of an external force) it certainly seems a rational hypothesis that something intelligent (God, Zeus, Martians) had a hand in setting up life.

It is natural and appropriate that educators and academia guard against bogus science that has a religious agenda. But Expelled exposes that scientists who desire to explore the validity of ID are meeting a firestorm of PC that is costing them credibility and in some cases their jobs. It seems that ID is being viewed as an attempt to bring Creationism into the classroom. While an instructor with a creationist agenda could possibly use ID to promote it, that should not be reason to brand anyone researching the topic as a religious zealot to be ostracized. In short, scientists should be able to explore the theory and publish their findings for peer review in an environment that is free of reprisal. That is the heart of science - making observations and determining how well a theory predicts them.

Of course ID is not the only arena that is suffering from this stifling of scientific discussion. Our current study of global climate changes is a critical point in case. Climate science, like cell biology, is an incredibly complex field in which our understanding is far from perfect.

If you get the chance I'd recommend that you see Expelled. We need to have an open academic climate where scientists can present their findings for review so that, through debate and review, we can hopefully arrive at the best decision. PC has no value in science.

Banking on Apathy

A couple of weeks ago it came to light that Bank of America had quietly started marketing a credit card for illegal immigrants. The card carries a significant interest and requires a deposit, but social security number is optional. The obvious target audience is the flood of undocumented workers that have invaded this country whom would have no verifiable SSN.

I've really had it with this issue, one that the majority of Americans agree has to be fixed, yet our two political parties basically thumb their noses at us. The Republicans are loath to angry big business which loves having cheap labor, while the Dems look at it as a ticket to power (if only they could figure out how to let them vote - give 'em time, I'm sure they'll make the case for it). For the stability and security of this nation we have to stop this uncontrolled stampede of people into the country and replace it with a sound guest worker program.

But in the meantime Bank of America is betting on our apathy and hoping it all goes away. They've spun their their motto to "bank of opportunity". Right --- come on guys, the only opportunity you're interested in is making a buck, whether at our expense or the person being charged the card's rates and deposit fees. But I'm not apathetic about this issue, and like a lot of others we cut up our BoA "LLBean" cards this week, sending one half to the bank and one half to L.L. Bean letting them know of our unwillingness to patronize institutions that put profits ahead of the welfare of this country. It'll cost our family a little - there were some nice perks associated with the card - but unless we all start demanding more of our politicians and corporations, we're going to pay a hell of a lot more down the road.

Baltimore Blues

It was a few years ago when I began working in Upper Marlboro that I first noticed it one evening. Heading northbound from I-97 approaching the Harbor Tunnel one has a sweeping view of Baltimore. Amid the glittering lights there were a couple of intensely blue sparkles. It might not catch your eye as there were only a few, and being football season I attributed it to someone displaying Ravens colors. A couple of months later I figured out that they were likely security cameras that the city had installed as part of their crime effort (article).

Last Thursday I attended the Vista launch in Washington so it was already night by the time I began the trek home. The city is now thoroughly punctuated with these neon-like blue points of light - even a casual observer would have to notice it now. It's a sad statement on how crime continues to plague cities like Baltimore, but even more distressing perhaps is this method of "combating" it. We continue to cede our privacy in frighteningly Orwellian ways, growing more accepting of government and industry's desire to monitor (and influence) our lives. While I can't define a solution to our crime problem, I really doubt that security cameras are going to offer any true security for our citizens. More likely they mainly offer security to our politicians who can point to them as tangible evidence of their concern for our safety at election time.

Stellar Flimflam

Just when I think they've gone out of business, there they are on the radio again - the "International Star Registry", offering to let you name a star in honor of a loved one for the unheard of low price of $54 (of course, if you really care to send the very best you can spend $139.00 plus shipping and handling for the ultimate star naming package). True adherents to Barnum's "there's a sucker born every minute", these folks offer to give you a certificate declaring that some obscure star in the heavens is named after you. Of course somewhere in the small print it's stated that no one really will know that it's "your" star - they'd be locked up for fraud if they didn't.

Why should I care? Because as an amateur astronomer, when doing street corner astronomy or outreach, we inevitably come across someone who has purchased a star and wants to see it. We're left with two choices - perpetuate the illusion or break it to them gently. I'm left to clean up the mess. So when the holidays come and these hucksters emerge from the woodwork hawking their modern day snake oil my stomach tightens into a bit of a knot.

Do me a favor - if you know anyone who's even thinking about doing this folly - please enlighten them their $54 really will mean more if donated to a worthwhile charity in the loved one's name rather than purchasing a piece of paper from this outfit.