atchemey's recent activity
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Comment on On M*A*S*H, was Klinger a cross-dresser? Was Klinger trans? in ~lgbt
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Comment on An honest assessment of American rural white resentment is long overdue in ~misc
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Comment on An honest assessment of American rural white resentment is long overdue in ~misc
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An honest assessment of American rural white resentment is long overdue
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Comment on Not every student needs Algebra 2. UC should be flexible on math requirement. in ~science
atchemey Link ParentEven if the costs would not decrease by that much, there are a lot of duplicated efforts. If you had a funding model based on student credit hours, you can get more cost-effective by having fewer...Even if the costs would not decrease by that much, there are a lot of duplicated efforts. If you had a funding model based on student credit hours, you can get more cost-effective by having fewer but larger classes (which would then break into smaller studios or recitations). Some engineering colleges are considering bringing math, chemistry, and physics internal to their program so they get more student dollars - never mind that the overall cost to the institution of having duplicated classes increases.
Then there is the optimization of the credits question. Credits have to come from somewhere, and so classes get reconfigured and dumped out from the curriculum to ensure that you stay under the maximum. If you can split concepts from one class to fit in as a small subset in three other classes, that can justify its own class...and then you get a better justification but the same duplication of effort again.
So the cost of education makes it less effective.
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Comment on Not every student needs Algebra 2. UC should be flexible on math requirement. in ~science
atchemey Link ParentI got pushback for characterizing a class like that...but it's true. The truth is that there is far more content that should be covered than can be covered in the time allotted. It makes mastery...I got pushback for characterizing a class like that...but it's true. The truth is that there is far more content that should be covered than can be covered in the time allotted. It makes mastery of coursework more difficult to achieve.
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Comment on Not every student needs Algebra 2. UC should be flexible on math requirement. in ~science
atchemey LinkIt seems like the consensus here is that Algebra 2 is excessive as a requirement for college. I'm here to argue the opposite. It is a necessary enabling course to have a meaningful liberal arts...- Exemplary
It seems like the consensus here is that Algebra 2 is excessive as a requirement for college. I'm here to argue the opposite. It is a necessary enabling course to have a meaningful liberal arts education as we do it in the United States.
A little about me: I'm a tenure-track professor in Nuclear Science and Engineering at a major state university, and I believe firmly in the value of a broadly-accessible college education as a civic virtue. My background is in chemistry...and I also have a Bachelor's degree in Political Theory. I know, weird combo, but the point is I can make an argument about this as an expert while also understanding the areas that are less math-intensive.
Courses are not an abstract thing to faculty, they are concrete things that have specific goals and requirements met, such that students can achieve the goal of earning their degree. They are surprisingly complex things, and have a whole litany of constraints on them. Degrees are accredited by external bodies, and there are strict and specific requirements that are provided to then earn the right for an institution to distribute degrees. You can think about these as "licenses to learn." If you don't meet the minimum content requirements, you cannot provide the degree.
We are also limited in how many courses we can require, how many credits are too many, what each department has as its domain. Most institutions require 120 credits if on a semester schedule (8 terms, 4 years, 15 credits/term), while quarter schedules require 180. Historically, these credit counts were fairly loose. With the cost of education to students increasing, many colleges and universities have implemented strict credit caps - you will require the minimum and no more. To students, this is a good thing, but to faculty it is an optimization challenge - how do you squeeze more class into less time?
Studies of many colleges and universities have found the minimum college preparatory requirements for a long list of degrees. The consensus from data is that (depending on the study and area of coursework) being either Calculus- or Pre-Calculus-ready is a necessary pre-requisite for success. It is a sign of intellectual maturity and the ability to consider, discuss, and work through abstract thoughts. Success at the college level in the sciences and arts is not always dependent on the content of Algebra II, but it is dependent on the ability to understand the content of Algebra II.
There's a problem with this, though, and that is that success in high school often recurses back to economic stability at home. If your parents are together, if they are employed, if they are white and white collar, you are far more likely to succeed in high school and in a bachelor's education. No student comes in on their own merit, they have an "invisible knapsack" of privileges to help them along...or an invisible yoke of disprivilege to hold them back. Intellectual maturity is not simply dependent on the maturity of the student - there is much more than that.
Much has been made of the fact that a college education is more necessary today than in decades past. It has even been called "the new high school," in that it plays the same role of being necessary to get a career and stable employment that high school played. The problem is that it comes at a cripplingly high price, it is selective, and it has limits on content.
College is not for everyone immediately after graduating high school and that is not a bad thing. It is a self-motivated exercise that relies on the emotional and mental maturity of late teenagers who are newly independent, and it is the beginning of specialization for students. The value of the degree is typically in how it trains students to think, while also providing a basic understanding of how things work so that students can be armed with the knowledge to then think. It cannot be all things for all people all the time while also charging a fortune.
The problem that the policymakers at UC are trying to solve is one of cost and time for the students. It is an admirable goal. The solution proposed comes at the cost of education. If you cannot provide the minimum education needed to establish one as even a minimally-independent worker and thus benefit from that degree. If the time difference and cost were minimal, there would be no objections from any to relax requirements for entry or to have additional requirements for graduation. In a world where the desired degree can cost above a hundred thousand dollars, every additional requirement is essentially a hostage scenario for students. "You must pay more to then get a chance at a good life."
The solution is not to relax requirements and constrain credits both, these are only treating the symptoms of the problem. The solution is to remove the cost of education.
Imagine if a college education was a thing you'd want but not need to get an office job or to work in a creative environment. Imagine if college was allowed to take 5 or 6 years if that's what it needed for a specific student. Imagine if public college was free to students with continuous progress to a degree, because it was paid for by society. In such a scenario, a college would have no problem accepting students who struggled with math - there would be plenty of time to let them mature, and it would not promise financial ruination. Additional credits could be required for the degrees that needed more advanced math or statistics or technical writing classes. Higher standards could be expected of students to get degrees, since each failure does not jeopardize student's lifetime success - they could just retake it in a year.
So many of the problems of public education come from the lack of universal accessibility. Knowledge and opportunities are locked behind a paywall, one that costs more with time. The biases of our society are worsened when we require economic and social privilege to then move forward, and the crippling cost of education is just one way.
Make public education for the public good again. Let us teach what is needed. Let us require the education that is sound. Let us end the educational hostage situation.
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Comment on Israel’s ultra-Orthodox don’t serve in its armed forces. That’s getting harder than ever to justify and threatens Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition. in ~humanities
atchemey LinkIt is the hypocrisy that is so noxious. Many religious communities are opposed to being in the military. For example, the Amish and Shaker communities in christendom, who have pacifism as a...It is the hypocrisy that is so noxious.
Many religious communities are opposed to being in the military. For example, the Amish and Shaker communities in christendom, who have pacifism as a religious principle. The hypocrisy comes about when you realize that many of the conflicts that are most acutely influencing the diminished relationship between the political state of Israel and its neighbors are driven by the Ultra-orthodox.
They insist on public subsidies to provide for their ever growing families. They insist on unmitigated privileges in the name of religious freedom. They then deliberately expand and settle into land that the political state of Israel agrees is not simply theirs. They instigate conflict and then pretend to be innocent of it, preferring others to fight their battles.
It is a remarkably cynical worldview of realpolitik. And because they have Netanyahu reliant on them, it works.
73% of Israelis (in the article there is a link) oppose continued service exemptions for the Ultra-orthodox. That is 84% of all non-Ultra-orthodox citizens...it is an overwhelming majority.
Israel is a dysfunctional political body. That's it, that's the sentence.
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Comment on Oregon decriminalized drugs. Voters now regret it. in ~life
atchemey (edited )LinkAs an Oregon voter, it is a real shame to see how this ballot measure has been turned into a political football after being passed by the entire state. Oregon voters recognize that this isn't...- Exemplary
As an Oregon voter, it is a real shame to see how this ballot measure has been turned into a political football after being passed by the entire state. Oregon voters recognize that this isn't working, but the general sentiment is not that we should recriminalize drugs, but rather, that we should follow through with the proposal and actually build the safety net that is needed to care for those who are addicted to drugs. There were two parts to the ballot measure, it was not simply decriminalization. There was also a requirement that the state legislature put in place and infrastructure to handle addiction.
I think about this like baseball. Players on the diamond either have a bat or a glove. The bat is reactive, and you can't necessarily send the ball where you want when it comes your way. The glove is proactive, because it will allow you to receive the ball safely, and then throw it to your other player. Without either, you are a sitting duck, and a baseball is likely to hit you in the face. Even if you have the bat, and make contact, the ball can still deflect into your face. Having a glove is safer, which is why baseball players do not wear a helmet when they are fielding.
Decriminalization removed the reactive bat. The state legislature failed to provide a proactive glove. The situation got worse, because now there is a player on the field who had neither a bat nor a glove, and is expected to face the consequences.
Decriminalization works. I voted for it before and I would vote for it again. The problem is the lack of support and genuine addiction treatment that the legislature failed to provide.
This is a policy choice.
I got 40% of my state income tax back this year because of a budget surplus. Our "kicker credit" applies when we collect too many funds, over $5.6 billion last year, or over $1000/citizen.
Needless to say the costs associated with the drug treatment infrastructure which was passed by a ballot measure and thus is law would cost substantially less.
No, the voters don't want recriminalization, we want the law carried out as we voted on it. Take the bat away, but give the player a glove. Right now, those addicted to drugs are defenseless, and everyone is suffering as a result.
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Comment on What is the "bible" of your hobby or activity? in ~hobbies
atchemey LinkFor my job, this is the Bible. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-94-007-0211-0 Yes, it is six volumes and over 4000 pages.For my job, this is the Bible.
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-94-007-0211-0
Yes, it is six volumes and over 4000 pages.
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Comment on ‘Money dysmorphia’ traps millennials and gen Zers – mixed signals about the economy have made it tough for some younger adults to know where they stand financially in ~finance
atchemey Link ParentLet's instead of looking at the averages, let's look at how the tenth percentile of annual household income is getting along. If we look at traditional metrics of wealth and (in)stability...Let's instead of looking at the averages, let's look at how the tenth percentile of annual household income is getting along. If we look at traditional metrics of wealth and (in)stability (savings, housing access, debt), we can see how folks are doing. It is very rare that, in the age of sub-5% unemployment, two able adults in the same household would both be unemployed, so we can assume that at least one will be employed at the 10% threshold. We can track how they are doing in key areas, and see how the situation changes.
I'm highly educated, and have a lot of friends who are as well. I belong to the top 20% of earners in my state, and it's frankly terrible how many people I know who are incredible thinkers and workers are unable to find stable employment anywhere that they can also can afford housing. I give the education and worker qualifier for the simple reason that a common myth is that underemployed workers are not hard working or are under achievers, not because people who do not have those qualifications do not are not "worthy" of these things. The problem is that the jobs are where the expensive housing is and there is no good way to get between the two areas without an expensive and depreciating personal transportation.
I only have anecdotal information, but the problem is systemic. My wife and I joke about being "the millennial 1%" because so few of our friends across the country (a young-30s predominantly well-educated group who were typically raised in middle class families) are able to enjoy housing stability. I literally am a professor in STEM at a major university, and that's what it took to get us a house.
The economy does not exist independent of people, and so many people in the economy are not doing well. Fetishization of the metrics saying the economy is going well is a mistake, because it does not reflect the reality for so many.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~science
atchemey LinkOP, the other folks around here have done an admirable job of answering the technical questions, so I'm going to focus on something else: your feeling of insecurity or doubt. You asked a good...OP, the other folks around here have done an admirable job of answering the technical questions, so I'm going to focus on something else: your feeling of insecurity or doubt.
You asked a good question. You had a hypothesis (a prediction based on what you knew), you made an observation (you tested your prediction), and all you lacked was the theory (which explains what you saw in a systematic way, and also makes testable predictions of other phenomena).
You genuinely did science. You took a controlled system that you could not directly observe, and then went about collecting data. You needed help from folks with more training to provide the theory, but so does everyone.
I'm an experimental nuclear chemist, which is a fancy way to say, "I don't know much the theory, but I'm not afraid of radiation or smelly chemicals." I collaborate with theoretical researchers all the time, to help explain what I observed. Sometimes the observations are unexpected or unintuitive, and sometimes the established theories are wrong...and sometimes my observations just suck...but very few people "do it all."
You're in your 40s, and you don't have much science education. There is nothing wrong with that. You do have something unusual and that is worthy of praise: a continuing curiosity and a willingness to ask questions. Embrace that, because it will serve you well!
I'm a professor at a major university, and you would be shocked how many students come in with your same insecurity. I'm talking about top students who have taken multiple advanced science classes before graduating high school, but they all express the same anxiety. Some are afraid to be wrong. Some are afraid to not know. Some are afraid to show that they don't know. All that does is curry doubt in their own mind and gets in the way of their learning. If they would just trust themselves, and trust that they'd learn what they need to learn, they would...I was in their shoes not long ago xD
Be proud of yourself, you've made it to your forties and you're still asking questions. Don't stop unless you want to :)
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Comment on RIP PDQ Bach in ~music
atchemey LinkAs the son of a professional violist, and grandson of a professional violinist... Good riddance, Schikele! Here's hoping you, like your muse, stay dead! (Kidding, of course, but everything about...As the son of a professional violist, and grandson of a professional violinist...
Good riddance, Schikele! Here's hoping you, like your muse, stay dead!
(Kidding, of course, but everything about him sounds like he'd enjoy the ribbing. He's a titan and this is a huge loss.)
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Comment on Any 'Magic the Gathering' fans here? in ~games.tabletop
atchemey Link ParentThank you for the comprehensive reply. I somehow missed this notification for a few months. You just clarified a lot of the changes I saw while playing MTG, and gave valuable context. Thank you,...Thank you for the comprehensive reply. I somehow missed this notification for a few months. You just clarified a lot of the changes I saw while playing MTG, and gave valuable context. Thank you, genuinely.
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Comment on What to drink if you don't like alcoholic beverages: help me socialize in ~food
atchemey Link ParentA vote for an Arnold Palmer too - half iced tea/half lemonade/all Delicious!A vote for an Arnold Palmer too - half iced tea/half lemonade/all Delicious!
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Comment on Any 'Magic the Gathering' fans here? in ~games.tabletop
atchemey LinkI just did the Commander Masters Prerelease. Ended up running Rafiq of the Many (1WUG, 3/3, Exalted, if creature attacks alone, double strike). Very fun!I just did the Commander Masters Prerelease. Ended up running Rafiq of the Many (1WUG, 3/3, Exalted, if creature attacks alone, double strike). Very fun!
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Comment on Shaking up the US two-party system: Cornel West’s 2024 Presidential bid, with Jill Stein in ~misc
atchemey Link ParentMy county has enacted a ranked choice vote system for local elections, and my state (Oregon) has a 2024 ballot measure to implement it for state and federal elections. The Democratic Party is...My county has enacted a ranked choice vote system for local elections, and my state (Oregon) has a 2024 ballot measure to implement it for state and federal elections. The Democratic Party is fortunately living up to its name here.
Reform starts at home.
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Comment on Sinéad Griffin of Lawrence Berkeley National Lab publishes simulations supporting LK-99 as a room temperature superconductor in ~science
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Comment on Sinéad Griffin of Lawrence Berkeley National Lab publishes simulations supporting LK-99 as a room temperature superconductor in ~science
atchemey LinkThanks for sharing, OP! As a PhD Chemist who has done a lot of work with metal compounds (but not with superconductors), let me just echo the chorus of, "if this is real, this is a Nobel prize,...Thanks for sharing, OP!
As a PhD Chemist who has done a lot of work with metal compounds (but not with superconductors), let me just echo the chorus of, "if this is real, this is a Nobel prize, and the most important new material of the 21st century."
Because holy cow, a ROOM-TEMPERATURE superconductor would be a massive MASSIVE game changer in every realm of technology!
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Comment on Three Cheers for Tildes (Android version) is open for alpha testing on the Google Play Store in ~tildes
atchemey Link ParentI'm aware, perhaps my comment could have been, "ask for a RIF-reskin option" :) It's still quite good!I'm aware, perhaps my comment could have been, "ask for a RIF-reskin option" :) It's still quite good!
I'm a huge fan of M*A*S*H. I have watched every episode at least forty times (minimally), and, when I was a teen, I could identify the episode from the establishing shot and repeat the lines verbatim. I still can almost do that, but not quite as well. Nota bene: I am a trans ally, but am not trans myself, so please take what I say with a grain of salt.
Klinger is a favorite character because they take him seriously. If you stop looking at the dresses for a minute, and look at him as a person, he's everything you'd want him to be if you were writing a heroic character. He's earnest. He's compassionate. He's generous. He's not afraid to get upset about things when they are worth getting upset about. And above all that, he's a damn good orderly. The joke is that he's all these things, but he doesn't want to be a hero - he wants to be a civilian.
Consider for a moment, that he is trying his best to get out of the Army - hell he never wants to be in it in the first place - and that during induction he does everything from refusing to cough for the doctor, to locking himself inside a pay toilet at a train station (requiring the draft board to spend $4 in nickels to get him out - 80 attempts!) He tried to trick doctors from letting him in, and then, once in, tried to fly to the coast using a small hang glider(he looked like a big red bird with fuzzy pink feet), to then float across the Pacific in a rubber dinghy. He tries to eat his way out until he was too fat to serve, to sit on a pole in the freezing cold until he catches pneumonia, volunteers to be taken hostage by a gunman, takes up voodoo, claims "half his family is dying and the other half is pregnant" (real quote after his boss reads that back to him - "I'm ashamed, sir...I don't deserve to be in the Army!"), pretends he has forgotten to speak anything but Arabic, gets married in a white dress (then in a black suit at the finale), threatens to self-immolate, and a dozen other canards to escape back to Toledo, his bowling league, and Tony Packo's Hungarian Hot Dogs. He is shameless in these attempts to leave...But he's still a Corporal, not a private or in prison. He was so good at what he did that not only did his draft board say he was okay to send to Korea (despite his best efforts), he also got more responsibilities and was trusted to lead more junior soldiers.
Klinger was living in a world where his best method of escape was conforming with the "crazy" definition of the time, by wearing dresses. The central conceit of the character was that, in the time and place he was in, being transgender was a mental illness. So, because he was the sanest one there (and thus the most desperate to leave), he took the path that was not of self-injury or mutilation, but instead was wearing dresses in the hopes of convincing someone he was classified 4-F, "Registrant not qualified for military service." When he thought he might actually be a woman, when he thought he might (by the standards of the time) be "going crazy," the psychiatrist met him where he was, and gave him comfort. "You're in the crazy business, fashion consciousness is just a tool of the trade." Nobody at any point took Klinger's attempts to get out seriously, because they were so over-the-top and ludicrous that they were impossible to take seriously...but they didn't treat him worse because of it (outside of the obvious "mean" characters of course). He was one hell of an orderly, he did his job, and he made sure that the patients he was helping were never the worse for his actions. Because he's a good human being.
I dispute your friend's assertion that the character did a "double-switch" or anything like that. While she is likely inspired by Klinger and the good acts he did (and the unrepentant manner in which he presented himself, which is certainly worthy of praise) I don't think the text of the show would support that. The strongest negative analogies come later in the show, around season 8, when he is promoted from Orderly to Company Clerk - a position of substantial responsibility. At that time, he goes to being masculine-presenting (except for when generals come by, or if he has a particularly nice set of earrings he wants to wear as a disguise against "sanity"), and works his butt off. He even gets promoted (proudly) to Sergeant near the end of the show. At other times, he is shown to have a profound psychological response to wearing Army fatigues, and the docs recommend he wear a slip underneath his uniform. But the truth is that much of the time, he's wearing masculine clothing and comfortable with his gender assignment at birth. He even takes offense when a Swedish doctor (who mentions that sexual reassignment surgery is being developed contemporaneously) suggests he could undergo surgical transition to correct his gender - "You're crazier than I am!" If he was really a "double-switch," character, that would have likely received more time and consideration - instead, he stormed off, profoundly disturbed at the revelation. Sorry :/
The fact that your friend found him so inspirational is a tribute to the care and seriousness with which Jamie Farr took the role. Klinger could have been a simple punching bag character, a one-trick pony who didn't contribute anything but some "cheap" laughs. The show could have punched-down, and made him seem insignificant (or worse) but it didn't. Jamie took a character who wanted out and gave real heart and pathos to him.
That said, I can absolutely see an argument for Klinger as a trans icon. By our modern standards, if we took him at his word, Klinger would likely be considered gender non-conforming or trans of some variety. In the context of 1950s Korea, he was just a normal guy in an abnormal situation, who was trying to escape and was happy to compromise his personal characterization to do so. By becoming a transvestite in the hopes of escaping, he lived the experience of being trans, of having to pretend to be a gender he's not due to social situation, and he did so with grace, beauty, and humor. He showed the profound resilience of the human spirit, and the ingenuity that we should all strive for.
Klinger may have been cis, but he lived the trans life in a hostile culture, and he never gave up. May we all be so brave to pursue our most genuine self.