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anime Archaeology audience participation awesome Berlin Colony comics commentary crack current events Deutsch email post ew work fail fannish things food games GANDAMUUU geeking out Gurren Lagann Hellen is a pervert Hourly Comics Day I am right and you are wrong I like books they are my friends IM lulz I require a new host body languages life linkage loot lulz memes 'n quizzes 'n things movies music picspam politics ponderings radio randomness rant religion school stuff the batcave travel tv ucl uni weather 日本語 All Tags I drew a diary-type comic that was going to basically be half of this entry yesterday, but I just noticed my new drawing pad is bigger than my scanner, so that's not going to happen right now. It's ok, it wasn't that well-drawn anyway.
I went to London with Tim on Friday, mainly to get some revision material for the JLPT, since the revision course I'd signed up for was cancelled due to lack of interest. >_<
Read Real Japanese is a little bit above my level still, actually - lots of grammatical structures I've not come across before - but in a few months I can probably handle it.
I also watched a ridiculous documentary about Easter Island this weekend, with a full complement of stupid, notably: "'primitive' cultures are too dumb to invent stuff themselves", "aliens did it", and "Egypt is the source of all monumental architecture".
Before they mentioned aliens and I stopped paying as much serious attention, I got really irritated with some archaeologist they interviewed who was talking as if it's really weird and unusual and probably ~*mysterious*~ that people would want to build these huge apparently useless statues*. I know it was a documentary and they were trying to make it interesting, but that sort of attitude irritates me for so many reasons. Trying to smother genuinely interesting and intriguing things in pointless obfuscating mysticism, for one thing, and the suggestion that only "sophisticated" cultures are good enough to build monuments. And on a more basic level: Come on. Have you not ever looked around? Building big awesome impressive things is pretty much what we, humans, do here! I mean, by all means, be impressed that we manage it, I am constantly impressed and amazed by the crazy stuff we manage to do, but being surprised by the simple fact that we try is practically insulting.
... I may care too much about this sort of thing.
OH HEY, AND NOW I MUST BE OFF TO TEACH A SURPRISE GERMAN CLASS. Be back to explain later, if the 13-year olds don't eat me. O_O
I went to London with Tim on Friday, mainly to get some revision material for the JLPT, since the revision course I'd signed up for was cancelled due to lack of interest. >_<
Read Real Japanese is a little bit above my level still, actually - lots of grammatical structures I've not come across before - but in a few months I can probably handle it.
I also watched a ridiculous documentary about Easter Island this weekend, with a full complement of stupid, notably: "'primitive' cultures are too dumb to invent stuff themselves", "aliens did it", and "Egypt is the source of all monumental architecture".
Before they mentioned aliens and I stopped paying as much serious attention, I got really irritated with some archaeologist they interviewed who was talking as if it's really weird and unusual and probably ~*mysterious*~ that people would want to build these huge apparently useless statues*. I know it was a documentary and they were trying to make it interesting, but that sort of attitude irritates me for so many reasons. Trying to smother genuinely interesting and intriguing things in pointless obfuscating mysticism, for one thing, and the suggestion that only "sophisticated" cultures are good enough to build monuments. And on a more basic level: Come on. Have you not ever looked around? Building big awesome impressive things is pretty much what we, humans, do here! I mean, by all means, be impressed that we manage it, I am constantly impressed and amazed by the crazy stuff we manage to do, but being surprised by the simple fact that we try is practically insulting.
... I may care too much about this sort of thing.
OH HEY, AND NOW I MUST BE OFF TO TEACH A SURPRISE GERMAN CLASS. Be back to explain later, if the 13-year olds don't eat me. O_O
Comment, foo! // Comment at LJ
Tags:Archaeology; Deutsch; I am right and you are wrong; life; rant; school; 日本語
Oh god, it's so hot and humid. D: It's half past midnight, and the internet says it's 21°. That is not a midnight temperature for Durham. There was a huge rainstorm to-day and it's already as humid as it was before. The only air-conditioned place I have been all day is the Archaeology department building. I think I'll move there for the next few days.
Anyway. It's been a long day. We're back in college for the last few days, and some drunk arseholes opened my door at 3am this morning, because they were drunk, and idiots, and I didn't lock my door. When you are half asleep at 3am, realising that some drunk arseholes have just been in your room is pretty fucking creepy, and you may have to get up sleepily to make sure none of them are hiding in your closet and then lie awake for a while.
I dislike people.
I think a small insect just flew up my nose.
Anyway. I read this really interesting article this morning: Bateman's principles and human sex roles . I was actually looking for the one that this is based on, but I came across the other one first, and I obviously cannot resist an article with "sex" in the title. Don't be ridiculous.
I was going to tell you about it, actually, because it is, truly, very interesting, but a day of meltiiiiiing has left me way too sleepy to bother. In summary, if I remember correctly: mating strategy is based on how often you are likely to meet mates, how much effort it takes to find them, how much effort it takes to court/mate/raise offspring, and... how much the quality of mates varies from individual to individual. I think I've got that right. Basically: males are not always promiscuous and females are not always choosy, because that is a stupid idea and you should feel stupid.
Also: humans' mating strategies are not like fruit flies'. Shocker of the century. They also vary based on culture. ALSO SHOCKER OF THE CENTURY. Ok, I admit I have a bit of a bias towards culture in things like this. *social scientist* I mean, I don't think culture completely overrides biology, that would also be a stupid idea. Obviously culture builds on biology and the environment, but I find it headdeskingly ridiculous when people completely deny the existance of culture, or the fact that it affects the environment and biology in return. Co-evolution.
There was an anthropologist at the Dawson Building conference who had a diagram in his presentation that looked like this:
And while I'm obviously not as learne'd as a professor of anthropology, I think it should really be drawn like this:
Maybe Behaviour & Action should have an arrow going to Mind or Culture, as well? Also yeah, I did these in Word. I haven't got my tablet OR a mouse hooked up at the moment.
Especially after reading the article in New Scientist about the nocebo effect a while ago, and the chapter in Bad Science on placebos. These things have effects in your body, producing physical chemicals and causing reactions just because of their cultural meaning. And I think the journal article said something, as well, about culturally-affected mating strategies changing genes in communities. Or something like that. Tell me that does not indicate the influence goes both ways.
Wait until I get my cybernetic implants, is all I'm saying.
Alright, so I guess I wasn't too sleepy to bother after all. I was hoping to mention all that in a more well-thought-out and structured entry, but with the way life is at the moment it would probably not really have happened for ages.
In slightly related news, I went to one of Durham's a million and two mobile phone shops to-day because I saw the HTC Magic in their window and wanted to play with the Android operating system, and now... I own it. XD
I kept my old number (I'm going to keep this number FOREVER, srsly. This is the fourth phone I've had it on now, I think), so I have to wait a few days until the SIM card is activated and I can use the internet features and download a ton of cool apps, but it's already pretty awesome.
Also I'm on Vodafone so no roaming fees for me on the hiking trip. \o/
And now I'm going to bed.
Anyway. It's been a long day. We're back in college for the last few days, and some drunk arseholes opened my door at 3am this morning, because they were drunk, and idiots, and I didn't lock my door. When you are half asleep at 3am, realising that some drunk arseholes have just been in your room is pretty fucking creepy, and you may have to get up sleepily to make sure none of them are hiding in your closet and then lie awake for a while.
I dislike people.
I think a small insect just flew up my nose.
Anyway. I read this really interesting article this morning: Bateman's principles and human sex roles . I was actually looking for the one that this is based on, but I came across the other one first, and I obviously cannot resist an article with "sex" in the title. Don't be ridiculous.
I was going to tell you about it, actually, because it is, truly, very interesting, but a day of meltiiiiiing has left me way too sleepy to bother. In summary, if I remember correctly: mating strategy is based on how often you are likely to meet mates, how much effort it takes to find them, how much effort it takes to court/mate/raise offspring, and... how much the quality of mates varies from individual to individual. I think I've got that right. Basically: males are not always promiscuous and females are not always choosy, because that is a stupid idea and you should feel stupid.
Also: humans' mating strategies are not like fruit flies'. Shocker of the century. They also vary based on culture. ALSO SHOCKER OF THE CENTURY. Ok, I admit I have a bit of a bias towards culture in things like this. *social scientist* I mean, I don't think culture completely overrides biology, that would also be a stupid idea. Obviously culture builds on biology and the environment, but I find it headdeskingly ridiculous when people completely deny the existance of culture, or the fact that it affects the environment and biology in return. Co-evolution.
There was an anthropologist at the Dawson Building conference who had a diagram in his presentation that looked like this:
And while I'm obviously not as learne'd as a professor of anthropology, I think it should really be drawn like this:
Maybe Behaviour & Action should have an arrow going to Mind or Culture, as well? Also yeah, I did these in Word. I haven't got my tablet OR a mouse hooked up at the moment.
Especially after reading the article in New Scientist about the nocebo effect a while ago, and the chapter in Bad Science on placebos. These things have effects in your body, producing physical chemicals and causing reactions just because of their cultural meaning. And I think the journal article said something, as well, about culturally-affected mating strategies changing genes in communities. Or something like that. Tell me that does not indicate the influence goes both ways.
Wait until I get my cybernetic implants, is all I'm saying.
Alright, so I guess I wasn't too sleepy to bother after all. I was hoping to mention all that in a more well-thought-out and structured entry, but with the way life is at the moment it would probably not really have happened for ages.
In slightly related news, I went to one of Durham's a million and two mobile phone shops to-day because I saw the HTC Magic in their window and wanted to play with the Android operating system, and now... I own it. XD
I kept my old number (I'm going to keep this number FOREVER, srsly. This is the fourth phone I've had it on now, I think), so I have to wait a few days until the SIM card is activated and I can use the internet features and download a ton of cool apps, but it's already pretty awesome.
Also I'm on Vodafone so no roaming fees for me on the hiking trip. \o/
And now I'm going to bed.
Comment, foo! // Comment at LJ
Tags:awesome technology stuff; Durham; geeking out; humans suck; I am right and you are wrong; life; science is my favourite rock band; weather
Apparently some people never paid attention in biology class in elementary school and have no fucking clue what a vaccination actually is. Oh no, don't get shots, instead go to your friend's house when they have chicken pox!
...What. The. Hell.
(And then later on they advertise a concert to raise funds for mobile breast-cancer screening units. So that is ok, is it? Maybe because it's not Making A Decision For Your Dear Little Children Ooooooh. Ahahahaha. STAY OFF MY CONTINENT, CRAZY BASTARDS.)
PS: I keep wanting to add things to this as I listen to more of it. OH GOD SHUT UP YOU IDIOT, NO CHILDREN DO NOT DIE OF MEASLES BECAUSE THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEMS ARE WEAK BECAUSE OF HYGIENE. IF THAT WAS THE CASE THEN NO-ONE WOULD EVER DIE OF IT IN POORER, LESS HYGIENIC COMMUNITIES. EVEN I KNOW THIS.
I might have to listen to a TED talk or something after this just to remind myself not everyone is an idiot.
...What. The. Hell.
(And then later on they advertise a concert to raise funds for mobile breast-cancer screening units. So that is ok, is it? Maybe because it's not Making A Decision For Your Dear Little Children Ooooooh. Ahahahaha. STAY OFF MY CONTINENT, CRAZY BASTARDS.)
PS: I keep wanting to add things to this as I listen to more of it. OH GOD SHUT UP YOU IDIOT, NO CHILDREN DO NOT DIE OF MEASLES BECAUSE THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEMS ARE WEAK BECAUSE OF HYGIENE. IF THAT WAS THE CASE THEN NO-ONE WOULD EVER DIE OF IT IN POORER, LESS HYGIENIC COMMUNITIES. EVEN I KNOW THIS.
I might have to listen to a TED talk or something after this just to remind myself not everyone is an idiot.
Comment, foo! // Comment at LJ
Tags:I am right and you are wrong; wtf world
(I'll get tired of the unrelated one-word titles eventually)
Man, my lecturers' ineptness at PowerPoint irks me sometimes. Especially when they don't even try and just go "Oh, it always does that, I don't know why, haha." Like it's the program's fault. Ask someone how to fix it. Hell, ask me! I can tell you that the N at the end of ILLUSTRATION is on a new line because you wrote it as ARECHAEOLOGICALILLUSTRATION. All you need is one click and a press of the spacebar, ffs. But no, being told how to do it right would undermine your position, or make you feel stupid, or something.
Or when they can't find the slide-show button and instead decide they have to resize the window until it looks sort of like it's full-screen. Don't you ever see other people's presentations and see how it's meant to look? Why is it so hard to listen to "it's that button" instead of doing it in a laborious inefficient way. What has convenience ever done to you? It's not hard! It's fucking Office. I don't see why they don't take two seconds to learn how to use it. Argh, laziness!
I am increasingly convinced that all the people who complain about technology not being as good/time-saving/etc as they expect are just doing it wrong. Possibly because they enjoy complaining and/or to spite me personally.
XD Yes, I get annoyed at petty, petty things. It is my hobby.
Man, my lecturers' ineptness at PowerPoint irks me sometimes. Especially when they don't even try and just go "Oh, it always does that, I don't know why, haha." Like it's the program's fault. Ask someone how to fix it. Hell, ask me! I can tell you that the N at the end of ILLUSTRATION is on a new line because you wrote it as ARECHAEOLOGICALILLUSTRATION. All you need is one click and a press of the spacebar, ffs. But no, being told how to do it right would undermine your position, or make you feel stupid, or something.
Or when they can't find the slide-show button and instead decide they have to resize the window until it looks sort of like it's full-screen. Don't you ever see other people's presentations and see how it's meant to look? Why is it so hard to listen to "it's that button" instead of doing it in a laborious inefficient way. What has convenience ever done to you? It's not hard! It's fucking Office. I don't see why they don't take two seconds to learn how to use it. Argh, laziness!
I am increasingly convinced that all the people who complain about technology not being as good/time-saving/etc as they expect are just doing it wrong. Possibly because they enjoy complaining and/or to spite me personally.
XD Yes, I get annoyed at petty, petty things. It is my hobby.
1 Comment // Comment at LJ
Tags:I am right and you are wrong; rant; uni