30 Matching Annotations
  1. Feb 2017
    1. Lisa says she has "turned herself into a different kind of person" in order to perform, and Robin says she has learned to "fake it." Although both women are able to get good grades in their programming course, they represent casualties of this war.

      I'm an English major, so I write poems like Lisa in this example. Two of my best friends are comp sci majors, both women. Women don't struggle in STEM fields because they want to write pretty poetry or play piano instead. Not all women like those things. Women aren't incapable of logic oriented language. That's what coding is. Logic puzzles. The thrill of a code running perfectly, these friends have told me, is the thrill of knowing you're smart. Knowing that you used the tool masterfully. It is a tool. It's exceptionally validating to those that can use it. Coding language doesn't need to arbitrarily change to suit poets. And remember, this is coming from a poet. I think people like Lisa and I should hold ourselves to the higher standard of being able to sit down and do the work rather than expect the work to be done for us. And it is hard for me, sure. It's hard for everyone. But I'm not going to expect an entire field to change to suit me. That's ridiculously entitled. And saying this is the reason women have trouble in these fields is ridiculously closed minded. Lisa and Robin just have other things they like to do more than code. It doesn't mean all women don't like it. Rampant sexism in STEM fields is a way bigger deterrent than "women just want to write poetry."

    2. epistemological pluralism,

      It just means different ways of knowing things. It applies to basically everything that requires thought. I'm on to you Turkle, using big words to sound smart.

  2. Jan 2017
    1. comfortably classed.

      The vast majority of writers don't make money off of their work. Moreover, more writers come from poor and troubled households than not. While classism is an issue in contemporary fiction, blaming the starving-artists for their "comfortable" lifestyles is a little silly. The successful ones only found comfortable income after they became successful.

    2. White fans had imagined supporting characters Thresh, Cinna and Rue as non-Black, though the characters were described as having dark skin in the book, and author Suzanne Collins herself envisioned Thresh and Rue as African-American.

      An interesting aside that Hermoine from the Harry Potter series is more likely black than white, and was even intended as such by J.K. Rowling. Fans read her as white, and likely wanted her to be white on a subconscious level, so most media interpretations of the character came out white. An interesting look into reader psychology.

      See also: Jesus

    3. All this PC correct crap is really getting out of control.”

      I, Jonathon Myers, ABSOLUTELY AGREE that PC Culture is contributing to the DOWNFALL of AMERICAN SOCIETY as we know it.

      Just kidding, you're dumb. "Political correctness" is not quite the same as "socially acceptable." The latter being a social construct of what society deems as morally good, whereas the former is more so about objectivity. The two have become conflated over the years to serve different political means. Language is an ever shifting landscape, and it is up to each of us to retain objective meaning and understanding. Being nice to people shouldn't be a political statement.

  3. Aug 2016
    1. Having vanquished his adversary, Mr. Oldbuck declares his passion in the presence of the parents of his beloved.

      His "beloved" doesn't seem too happy

    2. he purchases an Arabian courser.

      Is Oldbuck meant to be a "John Everyman" type of character? Or is he supposed to be incredibly wealthy? Was this a common occurrence back then?

    3. For eight-and-forty hours he believes himself dead.

      So what, he just laid there for two days and didn't realize he was still breathing? The humor in this is pretty absurdist.