My mother died this Sunday. By which I mean: The human entity which gave birth to me more than half a century ago left this mortal coil. She’d been in assisted living for several years. Late last year, she was classified as being in hospice. Last December, just after Christmas, my brothers and I (as…
Category: Other essays
Trans Rights and One Way Empathy
Here is a belief that is not a fact: All people are born “biological male” or “biological female”. Here is a fact: In the US and most other countries, when an infant’s birth is registered with the appropriate authorities, they are assigned “male” or “female” based on their genitals. In some cases, where the genitals…
On Smells and Danger
This is about a stress event that happened last week at work. It’ll take a detour first, though. It is a half million years ago. Protohumans are actively evolving, living in small groups. The world is full of dangers: Toxins in the environment, cliffs and rocks that can break bones, predators that can eat us,…
Some Thoughts on AI
NaNoWriMo is under fire for suggesting that AI tools might be acceptable under certain circumstances. Here’s my position. It is unethical to use AI tools to create works that you then sell as your own product. That is plagiarism. It is unethical to use AI tools to create works if you have the financial resources…
The Paradox of Intolerance
It’s a common thing to say: We cannot tolerate intolerance. But, in reality, we not only can, but a healthy society must tolerate intolerant beliefs. In our quest to be pithy, we are missing an important distinction: We cannot tolerate intolerant actions. I am queer. There are people who, because of their personal beliefs, think…
Update Your Language: Transgender Issues
The language concerning transgender issues has evolved in recent years, and you may well be using outdated language. Confusing this issue is that even some transgender people are using outdated or imprecise language, either out of habit or out of a desire to be understood. Language change is rarely instantaneous: Instead, it spreads around over…
Dude, Where’s My Referent?
It’s common these days for people to insist that “dude” (and “buddy” and “guy”) is gender neutral. “I call everyone and everything ‘dude’. It doesn’t matter.” Then comes the reply: “‘Dude’ is a male-coded word. Its use for non-men is part of the masculine default nature of language. It’s still a male-coded word.” Both claims…
A Literal Metaphor
I teach mathematics. In mathematics, we have a thing called “literal equations”. When I first met this term, and indeed for a long time afterward, it confused me. Isn’t every equation literally an equation? What makes some equations more equation-y than other equations? The issue here is that “literal” means something different in mathematical argot…
No AI was harmed in the writing of this
We, educators, have brought the AI crisis on ourselves. For decades, certainly throughout my entire childhood and well before it, we have created and honed a myth that getting good grades is the same as mastery, and that hence the purpose of education is to get high grades. Education, the learning of new things for…
Autism Acceptance Month
April is Autism Acceptance Month. Because our understanding of Autism is rapidly evolving, so too is the language we use. In this article, I’ll discuss current best practices for language and address some of the common misunderstandings around Autism. Autism is a neurological status (“neurotype”) characterized by differences from Neurotypical brains. To qualify for a…