Kind of a frustrating week in terms of engagement. A couple of things I worked pretty hard on got little to no response, which always ticks me off. Of course, the high-traffic alternative involves either being a more aggressive dickhead about making my points, or just putting in less effort and allowing errors to creep in, both of which just lead to stupid fights.
On the more upbeat front, I got some positive personal news that will be shared at the appropriate time. And I’m in the process of preparing for a trip to the DC area next week, my first work-related travel in over a year (since I did a similar DC run in June of 2020), which is a bit nervous-making, but also fun. I like travelling, and miss it.
Me on Substack:
— A Limited Defense of Weed-Out Classes: A common suggestion for reducing race and gender gaps in STEM courses is “just get rid of weed-out courses,” but I think that’s a little too glib.
— A Plea for More Forward-Looking Nobel Coverage: Every year, we get pieces running through the list of women who were overlooked by the Nobel Prize; it would be healthier for everyone if we could complement that with a list of women who might still win.
— Finding the Next Project: Some thinking out loud about two possible ideas for my next book.
— Pledges and Podcasts: A flurry of Joe Rogan news got me thinking about how it would be good to better understand the appeal of both his podcast and Greek organizations on campus.
Links Dump:
— The Other Kind of Exposure by Matt “Dean Dad” Reed: A nice response to the weed-out class post above.
— The Extremely Weird Politics of Covid by Ross Douthat: I don’t usually read Douthat’s stuff, but this one struck a chord. I remember thinking back at the start of the pandemic that some of the public health measures being proposed would involve powers that I wouldn’t want the Trump administration to wield, and it was really strange when leftists started demanding them.
— On The Toll Of Living In An Age Of Endless, Ubiquitous, Exhausting Bullshit by Jesse Singal: A kind of cathartic dispatch from this week in the stupidest timeline.
— There's real long-duration energy storage now. Can it find a market? by David Roberts: Some fairly optimistic news on the green energy front.
— Mass Effects by Brian Potter: A fascinating look at the trade-offs around mass in construction projects.
Pseudo-Random Photo of the Week:
This would almost work as a “How It Started/ How It’s Going” meme except it’s three pictures, as The Pip ripped a line drive right at me where I was coaching first base and also photographing the “sandlot” game. (He fouled off two or three more, and then drilled one into right field for a double.
Pseudo-Random Song of the Week:
One of my favorites from Sermon on the Rocks, an album title I still can’t believe Craig Finn didn’t get to first.
And that was the week that was. Here are some buttons:
And the comments will be open.