May 2012
Why Nikola Tesla was the greatest geek who ever lived →
j.mp
Best. Footnote. Ever:
“One could vaguely construe that Tesla’s cat was responsible for the second industrial revolution, which arguably makes it the most awesome cat who ever lived.”
On International Day, UN warns about link between racism and conflict →
un.org
From a March, 2012 article:
Two UN experts in the fields of racism and minority issues have issued their own statement, stressing the need for greater attention to prevention and early action in response to the first warning signs of tensions caused by racism and discrimination that may lead to violence and conflict situation with serious violations of human rights.
“All relevant actors should pay attention to early warning signs, including the marginalization and social exclusion of specific groups of individuals; discriminatory legislation and policies; the persistence of racial prejudice and negative stereotypes; hate speech by public officials and the media; and violent attacks and harassment targeting ethnic groups,” said Mutuma Ruteere, the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
Worth noting: the U.S. has systemic cases of all of those warning signs. I think it’s only because of the significantly greater visibility of today (thanks, Internet!) and their prominence in the world that we’ve had so few violent outbursts as a result, there. (The Gabrielle Giffords shooting is one such example)
A thought
We think we’re so sophisticated and elaborate with our technology and our science, yet while we build special computers to try and compute the Golden Ratio (down to 17 million digits so far!), Nature spits out an exact application of it many millions of times a day.
The infinitely mathematical precision and scale in which the universe operates and “runs” itself is, to me, nothing short of wondrous and mind-blowing.
If I were to believe in “God,” then, Nature itself would be my deity.
At this point, the routine is familiar. →
ampersandean.com
The culture problem is only part of it, and restraint isn’t a long-term solution. A fully equitable, mutually respectful world isn’t built on restraint — it’s built on respect and understanding. Making people stop saying sexist shit is only the first step. The goal is that they stop being sexist.
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