Jerry might want to expand his icebreaking topics for men. Personally, I don’t own a gun and have fired one on only a couple of occasions. I have never hunted and don’t intend to. I go fishing about once a decade, always with borrowed or rented tackle. As far as beverages go, I am mostly a beer and red wine guy, with a whiskey ginger tossed in occasionally as well.
On a different and completely self-generated topic, the following article was in today’s Tribune.
The subject of the article is not important, but this line was included in the text:
“Serpico also employed the particularly colorful Chicago phrase “jagoff,” Seeger said.”
Is “jagoff” really a Chicago term? I was born and raised here, so I have been familiar with it since my earliest memories. Is it really local, like 16 inch softball? Or does it enjoy more universal use across the nation?
There are many different kinds of diversity. There is certainly diversity among the college-educated, too. Including the fact that some of these people don't even drink alcoholic beverages, chardonnay included.
Your suggestion for macho stereotypes for men is a bit off. I'm a woman - and a hunter.
My suggestion is to treat people like people, as individuals, and don't start with assumptions about stereotypes you think they fit. Let them inform you.
I said "fallacy of distribution," not "fallacy of distributions." Singular. It's the opposite of "fallacy of composition." Many people are familiar with the principle, but I've never read my term for it from anyone else. Before my teacher began us in Econ 101, she taught us about many fallacies in Economics thinking.
If I could down-vote your "reply" to me I would. Your criticisms of what I said, and what you think you know about me, are not based on facts.
I agree with the need for more people to learn more math.
You wrote in part "...unless the concept is also knew...". That's a homophone error. You did it twice: "...usually best not to create knew terms ...". A person doesn't have to be an English major or dictionary nut to know which spelling provides the meaning you intended.
I am not your "vehicle."
And I would down-vote this reply from you, too, if I could. There's no "full circle" here. Leave me alone.
I too have studied Statistics, but obviously not as far as you have; and would have to look up some of the words your used to get their definitions.
I too use stereotypes, but mostly not in situations where I have to talk with the other person. Examples include as a pedestrian on public streets: should I get away from this stranger as fast as possible? I'm not going to say anything.
In social interactions, I think the safest place to start is with what one observes with one's physical senses. Back off from all the stereotypes. Don't assume a fact about another person, that you don't observe. The conversation may begin in a somewhat boring manner, but you haven't made any mistakes.
Using the hunting example, if for some reason one were to begin a conversation with a stranger about hunting deer, it would conservatively begin with the topic of just finding deer. The other person could be a scientist doing research on deer; or a photographer looking for great deer photos. How to find a deer is the same for hunters, scientists, and photographers. Even a vegan photographer has to use hunting skills.
As for the handshake issue: one might do well to not assume a stranger is willing to shake your hand, unless he/she offers it first. As I've said elsewhere, I advocate the Asian-style bow as a non-contact alternative. Even a respectful nod of the head can work well. It's actually a human thing to show respect by lowering one's body, or a part, relative to that of the other person.
Willie Wilson has turned me off since I first became aware of him in the political arena. He came from a rural place in the deep South where he didn't learn English well, either in his articulation or his grammar. He hasn't tried to improve either in Illinois. I'm not the only Chicagoan who was turned off early on by his poor verbal communication skills. Surely he has been attentive to and respectful of input from others in the process of becoming a successful businessman. But in his political life, he seems wrapped up in himself and inconsiderate of the external stuff, including the English skills I mentioned, and the traffic aspects of his gas giveaways. Many people have learned Standard English as a second language, and become much more skilled than Wilson in making themselves understood to Americans. American actors from places with strong accents have learned to reduce their accents so as to be easily understood by most Americans. Wilson hasn't tried. He seems to expect others to do all the hard work to understand him. As in the gas giveaway, he seems to have expected others, including City workers, to do the hard work to deal with the traffic congestion his offer created.
I find myself despairing over the current state of journalism. A couple of days ago I listened to a seasoned print reporter on the radio interviewing a doctor about the latest emerging COVID variant. Instead of asking basic, time-tested journalistic questions (who, what, where, when, why and how), his first question was, "Should I be afraid." It made me want to shout at the radio. Rather than looking for and selling fear, how about searching for facts?
As for whether "sh-t" just happens, I don't know, but at times it seems like journalists will go out of their way to find reasons / scapegoats to fit their narratives while ignoring the obvious. After the 9/11 attacks, where who to blame for the carnage seemed pretty evident, some journalists were questioning whether there should be liability on the part of architects who hadn't designed the World Trade Center to withstand the direct impact of heavy aircraft full of jet fuel. (How could they BE so negligent?)
And as a final note to Eric -- it didn't escape my notice that Jerry put a dash where, unless I miss my guess, the letter "i" would be in a modern conversation.
There is missing element in the Lia Thomas post today regarding trans sport competition. While true that both trans and cis participation in sport should enjoy the "excitement of competition", it fails to include the element of sport of "playing to win," which requires a level playing field.
For 36 years I trained college swimmers in a coed experience including men and women together doing the same workouts sharing the same pool lanes which gave both sexes exciting sport experiences. Periodically, I would have male and female teammates of similar speed race each other in dual meets yielding the exciting sports experience of recording personal bests most every time. However, were those male swimmers to have swum and placed in the women's championship meets, it would have violated the "level playing field" concept that enables the females to "play to win."
What Lia's performance in NCAA competition provides is an objective male to female time comparison (4:18+ to 4:33+ in the 500 free) as well as the placing (non-NCAA 1 qualifier to NCAA 1 champ) which demonstrates how unequal the playing field becomes when transgender females compete.
I do agree with your piece about Willie Wilson's gas giveaways. Unfortunately, traffic reporters have had to report on the mess created by the CTA foulup in Lakeview this morning. No one knew this would happen.
I do object to your suggestion for Wilson to give away $50 prepaid credit cards in 'the most disadvantaged neighborhoods.' That amounts to a sort of redlining by generalization. There are any number of people in neighborhoods not 'the most disadvantaged' who are more in need of that sort of giveaway than many people the 'most disadvantaged neighborhoods.'
I just remembered: years ago I created the term "fallacy of distribution" for this kind of mistake. Here, a statement is made, with supporting data, to say that this or that neighborhood is among 'the most disadvantaged.' The fallacy of distribution is to assume that this disadvantaged description applies to every individual person in that neighborhood. Similarly for neighborhoods not among the most disadvantaged.
I don't understand the heartburn over Willie Wilson. He can give away his many in any way he pleases. I am sure that any philanthropist can be criticized for any number of alternate causes or uses. I don't think this one is particularly useful, but I can also think of many more disruptive demonstrations and events in the city. These giveaways, and their attendant disruptions, hardly seem very important, and claims of damage to the community seem substantially overblown. Had he labeled it a demonstration against high gas prices caused by greedy oil companies, I doubt that he would have gotten the same reaction, and certainly no one calling for such events to be outlawed.
So basically, we have Kim Foxx on point to address corruption in Cook County and then the Feds. And in Sangamon County (Springfield) it is Dan Wright. Both supported by their local sheriff departments. A good explanation for why we have no local anti-corruption prosecutions, but hardly an excuse or something to be happy about.
I hate these obnoxious leaps in logic. Idling cars and asthma.
"Folks on the South and West sides have higher asthma rates than those on the North Side. Having hundreds of cars idling near homes and schools is not good, and it will later hurt those Dr. Wilson wants to help." It's like the people saying that Chicago doesn't need casinos for rich people to go to - when they give it to the people struggling day to day. Whether Chicago 'needs' a casino or not - it's coming. To assume that without the casino those who go there would give the money to struggling families is a similar stretch in logic. None the less, whether it was generosity, publicity stunt or some crazy rich guy - I 'assume" - and hope - that those who benefitted directly by this aren't concerned about the greater effects it had or not, but individually, someone, somewhere really needed that gas card fill up to make it one more week and lessened a burden in their sole life.
As much as I understand “cancel culture” it seems to me that it is really about speech-control and the implementation of subtle speech codes that are at least in some cases unlawful. People hate them as they grind against a common sense of freedom. What are the big threats?
When I saw the NYT opinion comments it made me wonder if they were beginning to see the light, or trying to posture as objective, or if they were checking the direction of the wind? I would like to believe that they are beginning to see the existence of the problem. Only time will tell. I agree completely with Eric's points. And I found the NYT opinion piece rather lame, tepid, and obviously fearful of progressive backlash. From a business standpoint, I think that they are trying to make themselves 'the' national newspaper and perhaps see the need to appear more objective and centrist in order to grow their subscriber base.
I always enjoy the tune section of the PS. The description of this week's song as 'anti-war' brought back a lot of memories. Once, the term 'anti-war' meant the perfectly rational desire to prevent or see the end of the carnage and destruction of war. But in the late 60's 'anti-war' came to mean opposition to the military and military suppliers generally, and the emergence of the concept that war was always wrong. I clearly recall tee shirts that said, 'Nothing is Worth Dying For', and the popular notion that every conflict was based on either a failure to communicate, or an obsession with nationhood (or religion or economics). War was only fought to serve the interests of elites. Surrender and submission were preferable to conflict. In the song, I think 'looking for the right' meant having to fight until 'right' and 'peace' could go together. Surely every Ukrainian wants peace, but the majority also know the importance of the fight.
I prefer non-fiction. I own 3 fiction books, all based in reality. However, I've been amazed at the ability of Amitav Ghosh to teach history in his fiction books; I eagerly read the Ibis Trilogy.
Jerry might want to expand his icebreaking topics for men. Personally, I don’t own a gun and have fired one on only a couple of occasions. I have never hunted and don’t intend to. I go fishing about once a decade, always with borrowed or rented tackle. As far as beverages go, I am mostly a beer and red wine guy, with a whiskey ginger tossed in occasionally as well.
On a different and completely self-generated topic, the following article was in today’s Tribune.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/criminal-justice/ct-melrose-park-federal-lawsuit-harassment-ruling-20220322-nm3vsanb3nf3vlob3nt5vfdgwa-story.html
The subject of the article is not important, but this line was included in the text:
“Serpico also employed the particularly colorful Chicago phrase “jagoff,” Seeger said.”
Is “jagoff” really a Chicago term? I was born and raised here, so I have been familiar with it since my earliest memories. Is it really local, like 16 inch softball? Or does it enjoy more universal use across the nation?
I don’t know what you consider olden days, but if I had ever been seen in a bar in uniform, I would have had a difficult time remaining employed.
Snail? Do enlighten me.
Now I'm wondering if a slime mold could also traverse a straight razor. I doubt the experiment has been conducted.
First answer: Yes, I can. But policy and prudence dictate that all navaids are tuned and FMCs are programmed even when hand flying a plane.
Second answer: Dunno.
Remaining answers: Parkway, bar, depends on where I am… when out and about, it’s the restroom or men’s room. Otherwise, it’s the bathroom.
There are many different kinds of diversity. There is certainly diversity among the college-educated, too. Including the fact that some of these people don't even drink alcoholic beverages, chardonnay included.
Your suggestion for macho stereotypes for men is a bit off. I'm a woman - and a hunter.
My suggestion is to treat people like people, as individuals, and don't start with assumptions about stereotypes you think they fit. Let them inform you.
I said "fallacy of distribution," not "fallacy of distributions." Singular. It's the opposite of "fallacy of composition." Many people are familiar with the principle, but I've never read my term for it from anyone else. Before my teacher began us in Econ 101, she taught us about many fallacies in Economics thinking.
If I could down-vote your "reply" to me I would. Your criticisms of what I said, and what you think you know about me, are not based on facts.
I agree with the need for more people to learn more math.
You wrote in part "...unless the concept is also knew...". That's a homophone error. You did it twice: "...usually best not to create knew terms ...". A person doesn't have to be an English major or dictionary nut to know which spelling provides the meaning you intended.
I am not your "vehicle."
And I would down-vote this reply from you, too, if I could. There's no "full circle" here. Leave me alone.
I too have studied Statistics, but obviously not as far as you have; and would have to look up some of the words your used to get their definitions.
I too use stereotypes, but mostly not in situations where I have to talk with the other person. Examples include as a pedestrian on public streets: should I get away from this stranger as fast as possible? I'm not going to say anything.
In social interactions, I think the safest place to start is with what one observes with one's physical senses. Back off from all the stereotypes. Don't assume a fact about another person, that you don't observe. The conversation may begin in a somewhat boring manner, but you haven't made any mistakes.
Using the hunting example, if for some reason one were to begin a conversation with a stranger about hunting deer, it would conservatively begin with the topic of just finding deer. The other person could be a scientist doing research on deer; or a photographer looking for great deer photos. How to find a deer is the same for hunters, scientists, and photographers. Even a vegan photographer has to use hunting skills.
As for the handshake issue: one might do well to not assume a stranger is willing to shake your hand, unless he/she offers it first. As I've said elsewhere, I advocate the Asian-style bow as a non-contact alternative. Even a respectful nod of the head can work well. It's actually a human thing to show respect by lowering one's body, or a part, relative to that of the other person.
Willie Wilson has turned me off since I first became aware of him in the political arena. He came from a rural place in the deep South where he didn't learn English well, either in his articulation or his grammar. He hasn't tried to improve either in Illinois. I'm not the only Chicagoan who was turned off early on by his poor verbal communication skills. Surely he has been attentive to and respectful of input from others in the process of becoming a successful businessman. But in his political life, he seems wrapped up in himself and inconsiderate of the external stuff, including the English skills I mentioned, and the traffic aspects of his gas giveaways. Many people have learned Standard English as a second language, and become much more skilled than Wilson in making themselves understood to Americans. American actors from places with strong accents have learned to reduce their accents so as to be easily understood by most Americans. Wilson hasn't tried. He seems to expect others to do all the hard work to understand him. As in the gas giveaway, he seems to have expected others, including City workers, to do the hard work to deal with the traffic congestion his offer created.
I find myself despairing over the current state of journalism. A couple of days ago I listened to a seasoned print reporter on the radio interviewing a doctor about the latest emerging COVID variant. Instead of asking basic, time-tested journalistic questions (who, what, where, when, why and how), his first question was, "Should I be afraid." It made me want to shout at the radio. Rather than looking for and selling fear, how about searching for facts?
As for whether "sh-t" just happens, I don't know, but at times it seems like journalists will go out of their way to find reasons / scapegoats to fit their narratives while ignoring the obvious. After the 9/11 attacks, where who to blame for the carnage seemed pretty evident, some journalists were questioning whether there should be liability on the part of architects who hadn't designed the World Trade Center to withstand the direct impact of heavy aircraft full of jet fuel. (How could they BE so negligent?)
And as a final note to Eric -- it didn't escape my notice that Jerry put a dash where, unless I miss my guess, the letter "i" would be in a modern conversation.
There is missing element in the Lia Thomas post today regarding trans sport competition. While true that both trans and cis participation in sport should enjoy the "excitement of competition", it fails to include the element of sport of "playing to win," which requires a level playing field.
For 36 years I trained college swimmers in a coed experience including men and women together doing the same workouts sharing the same pool lanes which gave both sexes exciting sport experiences. Periodically, I would have male and female teammates of similar speed race each other in dual meets yielding the exciting sports experience of recording personal bests most every time. However, were those male swimmers to have swum and placed in the women's championship meets, it would have violated the "level playing field" concept that enables the females to "play to win."
What Lia's performance in NCAA competition provides is an objective male to female time comparison (4:18+ to 4:33+ in the 500 free) as well as the placing (non-NCAA 1 qualifier to NCAA 1 champ) which demonstrates how unequal the playing field becomes when transgender females compete.
I do agree with your piece about Willie Wilson's gas giveaways. Unfortunately, traffic reporters have had to report on the mess created by the CTA foulup in Lakeview this morning. No one knew this would happen.
I do object to your suggestion for Wilson to give away $50 prepaid credit cards in 'the most disadvantaged neighborhoods.' That amounts to a sort of redlining by generalization. There are any number of people in neighborhoods not 'the most disadvantaged' who are more in need of that sort of giveaway than many people the 'most disadvantaged neighborhoods.'
I just remembered: years ago I created the term "fallacy of distribution" for this kind of mistake. Here, a statement is made, with supporting data, to say that this or that neighborhood is among 'the most disadvantaged.' The fallacy of distribution is to assume that this disadvantaged description applies to every individual person in that neighborhood. Similarly for neighborhoods not among the most disadvantaged.
I don't understand the heartburn over Willie Wilson. He can give away his many in any way he pleases. I am sure that any philanthropist can be criticized for any number of alternate causes or uses. I don't think this one is particularly useful, but I can also think of many more disruptive demonstrations and events in the city. These giveaways, and their attendant disruptions, hardly seem very important, and claims of damage to the community seem substantially overblown. Had he labeled it a demonstration against high gas prices caused by greedy oil companies, I doubt that he would have gotten the same reaction, and certainly no one calling for such events to be outlawed.
So basically, we have Kim Foxx on point to address corruption in Cook County and then the Feds. And in Sangamon County (Springfield) it is Dan Wright. Both supported by their local sheriff departments. A good explanation for why we have no local anti-corruption prosecutions, but hardly an excuse or something to be happy about.
I hate these obnoxious leaps in logic. Idling cars and asthma.
"Folks on the South and West sides have higher asthma rates than those on the North Side. Having hundreds of cars idling near homes and schools is not good, and it will later hurt those Dr. Wilson wants to help." It's like the people saying that Chicago doesn't need casinos for rich people to go to - when they give it to the people struggling day to day. Whether Chicago 'needs' a casino or not - it's coming. To assume that without the casino those who go there would give the money to struggling families is a similar stretch in logic. None the less, whether it was generosity, publicity stunt or some crazy rich guy - I 'assume" - and hope - that those who benefitted directly by this aren't concerned about the greater effects it had or not, but individually, someone, somewhere really needed that gas card fill up to make it one more week and lessened a burden in their sole life.
As much as I understand “cancel culture” it seems to me that it is really about speech-control and the implementation of subtle speech codes that are at least in some cases unlawful. People hate them as they grind against a common sense of freedom. What are the big threats?
When I saw the NYT opinion comments it made me wonder if they were beginning to see the light, or trying to posture as objective, or if they were checking the direction of the wind? I would like to believe that they are beginning to see the existence of the problem. Only time will tell. I agree completely with Eric's points. And I found the NYT opinion piece rather lame, tepid, and obviously fearful of progressive backlash. From a business standpoint, I think that they are trying to make themselves 'the' national newspaper and perhaps see the need to appear more objective and centrist in order to grow their subscriber base.
I always enjoy the tune section of the PS. The description of this week's song as 'anti-war' brought back a lot of memories. Once, the term 'anti-war' meant the perfectly rational desire to prevent or see the end of the carnage and destruction of war. But in the late 60's 'anti-war' came to mean opposition to the military and military suppliers generally, and the emergence of the concept that war was always wrong. I clearly recall tee shirts that said, 'Nothing is Worth Dying For', and the popular notion that every conflict was based on either a failure to communicate, or an obsession with nationhood (or religion or economics). War was only fought to serve the interests of elites. Surrender and submission were preferable to conflict. In the song, I think 'looking for the right' meant having to fight until 'right' and 'peace' could go together. Surely every Ukrainian wants peace, but the majority also know the importance of the fight.
I prefer non-fiction. I own 3 fiction books, all based in reality. However, I've been amazed at the ability of Amitav Ghosh to teach history in his fiction books; I eagerly read the Ibis Trilogy.