I just got my census form. Its 10 questions. With the possible exception of race, I think all the information is also reported in my taxes. Moreover, the census people knew who I was already, because they were able to send me a census form.

The census has spent a fortune on advertising. They sent out a letter that said “in a week you’ll get your census, please fill it out” which is unlikely to make the slightest impact in actual response rates, but probably cost $10 million to send out (assuming 300 million Americans at a little over 3 cents each). Not to mention the cost of the actual census itself. And all the information that’s being collected, the government already knows through other agencies.

Perhaps the time has come to end the census, and use that money for things that aren’t entirely redundant…

I was reading an article recently that described how US students are falling behind their peers in other countries in terms of educational achievement. Lots of people are decrying this as a terrible thing, and there was a lot of inflammatory rhetoric. I would very much like to see the US increase its educational standing in the world, and think we should devote much effort to that end. However, in thinking about why US educational achievement has fallen, I realized that it may (counter intuitively) be a sign of progress. Here’s why: Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, we talked before about the Texas curriculum fiasco. To reiterate my basic belief, and my primary problem with what those people are doing: curriculum ought to be set by teachers based on the needs and interests of their students, not on the political whims of elected officials.

But after reading some of the specific recommendations and reasoning from particular school board members involved, allow me to add a few secondary points:
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There once was a guy from Japan
Who’s limerick’s just wouldn’t scan
When told they were short
He’d never retort
–

(If Mike goes long enough without giving me positive examples of good leftfielder posts, eventually my posts devolve into things like this…)

I learned from a student recently that the FBI can listen to you through your cellphone, even if your cellphone is off! I don’t have much to say about this, except that I find it incredibly creepy. Sure, the FBI probably isn’t listening to what I say - its not like I ever say anything that would be of interest to them - but the mere fact that it COULD is really disturbing.

I don’t know the mechanism for doing this sort of spying - maybe you need cooperation from the cell service provider for this to be possible. But it also seems possible that some clever electrical engineering students at my university are secretly listening in at faculty meetings…

Can anybody explain to me why it is that people can receive retirement benefits from social security, even if they’re still working? Wages go up over the course of a career, such that older workers tend to have higher wages than their younger counterparts. So, people who have higher salaries are additionally receiving supplemental income from the taxes of people with lower salaries.

I’ve been helping my parents determine when to start receiving benefits, and the more I look at the system, the more broken it seems. No wonder it’s heading towards bankruptcy…

An unusual thing happened at dinner tonight. A couple comes into the restaurant with a dog. The hostess tells them that the dog has to wait outside, and they tell her that its a service animal; the fellow is handicapped, and that he needs it with him. They assure the reluctant hostess that its very well trained, and point out the official uniform that it’s in as a handicapped helper.

A half hour goes by with no incident, but then two teenage girls come into the restaurant. Maybe the dog didn’t like their perfume or clothing - I’m not sure what happened. But suddenly the dog jumps up, starts barking, growling and bearing its teeth at the two (very frightened) teenagers. The owner of the dog is telling it to hush, but the dog isn’t listening, straining at its leash in what appears to be an attempt to attack the girls. The hostess is forced to put the girls at a back corner table well away from the dog before it quiets down.
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Forget global warming. Forget health care. Forget education, and poverty, and terrorism. The world faces a much bigger problem: a limited supply of curling stones. This is a serious crisis. Quick, Obama - borrow another trillion dollars and get some people working on this…

It’s that day again. The worst day of the year. The day that society rubs it in the face of those of us who can’t find love. As if it wasn’t bad enough that we have to deal with the social, emotional, health, financial, and psychological burdens of being single. I’m not going to expound upon those burdens here - I’ve done it in previous years’ posts.

I want to use this as a chance to reflect upon love, and on being single. The thing is, for many people, love just isn’t in the cards. There is a small, but non-negligible percentage of the population that will never find love. Most of our culture is predicated on the notion of finding meaning in life through romantic relationships. But for those of us who don’t get to live out that cultural meme, where can we look for models of a fulfilling life without romance? Read the rest of this entry »

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual is the primary handbook of clinical psychology. It defines psychological disorders and their symptomatic characteristics. It is the ultimate authority on pathological abnormality for psychologists. And its being revised. While my area of expertise is not clinical, I feel there are some really important policy implications here, and I’m probably the best situated of the leftfielders to frame the debate.

This is not the first time the DSM has been revised this new version with be the fifth instantiation (DSM-V). It undergoes revisions every 10-15 years to update in accordance to research in the field. The idea is to make it conform as closely to scientific knowledge about the mind and brain as possible. But it is unavoidably political. Homosexuality, for example, used to be classified as a psychological disorder requiring treatment and possibly being committed. Recent versions of the DSM have not included sexual orientation. You can see why the newest revision is drawing the scrutiny of many activists. Read the rest of this entry »