There, Way Over There, and Even Further Away than That

There is an obvious comment to be made about how there are now a million different articles about how things like hyperlinks, the Internet, and eternal information updates on all our gizmos (my 90 year old male friend made me call them that) causes us to lose focus, and how the fact that there are all these articles now makes following the story difficult, because I don't know what to read first. Also there is a thingy (that's Earl again) on the New York Times right now where you can test your focus. I opened that, then saw another article (called "Driven to Distraction" or "Dressed to Distract" -- it doesn't matter, I didn't read it), and then closed everything, checked my email, and am now here.

But I, dear readers, am not going to be the one to make that comment.

There is an additional comment to be made about the artfully ironic usage of hyperlinks in here, but I, subtle friends, am also not going to do that.

Ask Again Later

Here's a social science puzzle for you.

Why was the Magic Eight Ball ever remotely popular? Why did we buy these things?

What is wrong with us?

A cheap shot

Two fat girls under a tiny umbrella in the pouring rain. I'm sorry, dear readers, it is insensitive, but it is also funny!

[Insert Venn Diagram where the circle on the Left is INSENSITIVE and the circle on the Right is FUNNY here.]

Dear Mr. Boss, Sir:

I have decided I will no longer allow others to tell me what to do. Please let me know if this is acceptable. In addition, I refuse to continue apologizing for my decisions. I am sorry if this is an inconvenience for you.

Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally

This mnemonic never really worked for me because I always got hung up on what it was Sally did that needed so much excusing. I am pretty sure she got blackout drunk at a strip mall, but that doesn't make any sense, because then it would mean you set something to Base 2 before Differentiating and Setting equal to zero and Measuring. Which, obviously, is wrong.

If you gather the berries, I'll slaughter a rabbit

For how long will we be beholden to our evolutionary past?

This article is about how men tend to be more intelligent than women (you read that right). It claims that the reason for this comes from two factors:

1. Our hunter male ancestors had to solve complex problems to hunt. This meant the smarter ones survived. Our female ancestors who were in charge of the mindless task of collecting berries, on the other hand, could be as dumb as they pleased.
2. Our hunter male ancestors also increased their chances of survival and reproduction if they were more competitive. Thus, not only are men more intelligent, on average, than women (by 5 IQ points!), but also they are more likely to ruthlessly pursue success.

I understand that our old Neanderthal brains are all kinds of stressed out in our new, rapidly evolving social world. But, evolution hasn't come to a standstill. The verdict doesn't have to necessarily be in forever, right? Perhaps these days men and women face tasks that are more equally challenging than before. Perhaps in a million billion years we'll close that 5 point gap.

Surely we're now (and have been for the last, say, hundred thousand years) being selected on different features of brains from those for which our hunter-gatherer relatives were rewarded.

Or are we?

Think about this at your own risk

Many say we should have reasonable expectations, lest we get disappointed. Many also believe prophecies can be self-fulfilling.