When Diversity Fails

We talk about diversity in STEM education when what we want are the best people possible to pursue STEM. In fact, diversity enhancement for specialized tasks can never work.

Money notwithstanding, It is not possible to stimulate excellence to those uninclined to be inclined toward an unpreferred/undesired/uninteresting pathway. Pouring on the cash simply fails.

In STEM especially, we need, desperately need, excellence. Politically correct STEM is without merit.

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Much of the country lives in some kind of panic mode, and if they have nothing going on they panic about that.

The latest entry to the NY stock exchange is Luckin Coffee, a Chinese firm Golly gee, Luckin is but a single letter from a horrific nickname.

An interesting fact about traffic jams worldwide... If you've experienced one in Country A, it is much the same in Country B. Lesson: You need just one - another interesting fact about that remarkable number one.

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Behavioral Science and Problem-Solving

I. I. Introduction. Concerning our general behavior, it’s high about time we all had some understanding of how we operate on ourselves, and it is just as important how we are operated on by others. This is the wheelhouse of behavioral sciences. It is a vast subject. It touches our lives constantly. It’s influence is pervasive and can be so subtle we never notice it. Behavioral sciences profoundly affect our ability and success at problem-solving, from the elementary level to highly complex wicked problems. This is discussed in Section IV. We begin with the basics of behavioral sciences, Section II, and then through the lens of multiple categories and examples, Section III. II. ...

UNCERTAINTY IS CERTAIN

Uncertainty is Certain G. Donald Allen 12/12/2024 1. Introduction . This short essay is about uncertainty in people from both secular and nonsecular viewpoints. One point that will emerge is that randomly based uncertainty can be a driver for religious structure. Many groups facing uncertainty about their future are deeply religious or rely on faith as a source of comfort, resilience, and guidance. The intersection of uncertainty and religiosity often stems from the human need to find meaning, hope, and stability in the face of unpredictable or challenging circumstances. We first take up the connections of uncertainty to religion for the first real profession, farming, noting that hunting has many similar uncertainties. Below are groups that commonly lean on religious beliefs amidst uncertainty. This short essay is a follow-up to a previous piece on certainty (https://used-ideas.blogspot.com/2024/12/certainty-is-also-emotion.html). U...

Robin Hood and Cliven Bundy

Actor Herbert Mundin, playing Munch in the 1938 film The Adventures of Robin Hood (starring Errol Flynn) is charged by Prince John's troops of slaying a royal deer in the royal Sherwood forest. The punishment is death. Though the events of this film are a portrayal of events dating to the 15th century, they became by the 19th century a "robbing from the rich for the poor" theme so often depicted in other film genres. The William Tell legend is another. The plot is simple. A poor man desperate to survive tastes the forbidden fruits owned by the authority, and is condemned. I would love to hear this event debated on the current TV news shows. On the one hand, Munch would be a champion in service to his family. On the other hand, his legal rights are restricted by legal authority. so, the argument would proceed. Legal scholars cite statutes chapter and verse, while others would root for the common man. Fast forward to 2014. Parallels ...

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