Author: Gary

There is a subject that I’ve wanted to broach on this site but have been avoiding doing so. To have a starting point for this conversation, read this article first.

Now, with that out of the way, let me establish my limited bona fides on this subject. I have degrees in economics and political science. I’ve spent 20 years in the world of speech and debate and have had the opportunity to do loads of research in the social sciences, philosophy, and law. I know lots of people who have gone to grad school and have earned PhD’s in the humanities and social sciences.

I’m now in the beginning stages of the other side of academia. I wouldn’t dare call myself a scientist yet, but I’m living, sort of, in the culture and am getting deeper in it by the day.

At this point I can safely say that there is a significant culture gap between the hard sciences and non-sciences. The author of the above article has it dead on the money. People in the hard sciences are …….. nicer.
In fact, I’m probably the biggest dick I’ve come across so far.

It’s not just the people and the social climate either. There is a relevance to even, what at first may seem like, insignificant research. If you’ve ever read the Foundation trilogy by Isaac Asimov, in the second book there is a scene where someone at the second foundation is shown the big cube of all the knowledge the second foundation has created. The narrator was responsible for one tiny part of what was a giant mass of tiny text projected onto a wall. Hard science research feels like that, where as most research in the humanities in the social sciences and humanities seems very ephemeral.

There is a ton I could write on this subject of the hard sciences vs. the non-sciences, and I’m not sure I’m at the point where I can coherently say everything I want to say. I will certainly have more to say on the subject which will probably piss off a great many of the people I know.

I’ll end for now by posting a link to an article written by Noam Chomsky on why the obscure language used by post-modernists is not the same as technical language used by scientists. (I’m not a big Chomsky fan, but he’s on the money on this issue)

With the exception of brief bursts of gym activity, I have never paid too close of attention to my physical fitness. A busy schedule, with a good dose of sloth mixed in is the culprit.

It’s something I need to work on and I’m going to (hopefully) start the process very soon. The U of M has a fitness center that I can use as part of my tuition. I have yet to set foot in the door, but as soon as my car is fixed (my car is broken BTW. I think it’s the alternator) I’m planning to start going after classes are done in the late afternoon.

I’ve had health club memberships in the past. My problem is, when I do something I tend to go overboard in doing it. I’ll go religiously for a month, see significant improvements, then the visits start to taper off once something comes up.

I purchased a pedometer this weekend. It was a $3 cheapo one from Wal-Mart. It’s interesting to see how far you walk in a given day. I have read that you should shoot for taking 10,000 steps during the course of a day. Yesterday, without going out of my way to walk, I took about 6,800. As of this moment (about 9am) I’ve taken about 2,000. Most of that is the trek across campus from Coffman to Pillsbury Hall. It’s actually sort of fun carrying it around and checking the distance between locations.

10,000 steps aren’t as much as I thought it would be. I think the national average is about 5,000/day. Hopefully with whatever I can do at the gym, I should be able to average that on a weekly basis.

Today on slashdot I read that most of the Panera Bread stores in the US have free wireless access.

So, I’m writing this update from the Eden Prairie Panera Bread. I haven’t been here in over a year, but I’ll probably come here more often now that I know this.

Starbucks and Barnes&Noble should take the hint.

FYI, the chicken noodle soup is good.

What is the top technology city in the US according to Popular Science?

Minneapolis

I quote: “The city fell above the 50th percentile in every category measured, a broad-based showing of tech savvy that set it apart from the competition. With everything averaged together, there is no city in America where a culture of high technology has a more pervasive presence. “

Could have foooled me.

My back still hurts. The pain has moved to just over my left shoulder blade. It’s like the muscles in my back have gone spastic on me.