Over the last year, seemingly every week has featured a new instance of extreme police brutality, resulting in the death of an unarmed man. The fact that all the victims were black has only aggravated the underlying outrage, adding a grimy layer of institutional racism to what was at best an ugly situation indicating a need for better training for--and perhaps screening of--those who would serve as police officers in our communities. But I've been struck by something: In nearly every news article written about these killings--from Michael Brown (Ferguson, MO) to Eric Garner (Staten Island) to Freddie Gray (Baltimore)--we see some variation of the following disclaimer:
"Because no nationwide database of police killings exists, it is impossible to draw definitive conclusions about the actions of the officers in this case."
Fair enough, but doesn't this suggest it might be time to start compiling such a database?
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Crack Is Wack
"Trivia Crack" is ridiculously easy. I mean, "Wheel of Fortune" easy--strike that, "Trivia Crack" makes "Wheel of Fortune" look like "Jeopardy!" And it makes "Jeopardy!" look like the Bar exam--if the Bar exam were written in ancient Finno-Ugric. What I'm saying is, it doesn't exactly tax one's mental capacity.
It does, however, kind of restore one's faith in humanity...or at any rate, it restores one's faith in humanity's faith in humanity. Because, think about it: You're playing this trivia game on a mobile device, which, by definition, is web-enabled. So, if you find yourself stumped by questions like, "Who wrote 'The Raven' and 'The Tell-Tale Heart'?" (actual question) or "Which of these is NOT a style of dance? Merengue, Salsa, Tango, Bogota" (actual question), then all you need to do is tap the "Chrome" icon or ask Siri. Yet presumably, people don't do this--or at least people playing the game are trusting that their competitors won't do this; otherwise, they wouldn't play the game, right?
So thank you, "Trivia Crack." You've proven that people will trust other people to allow themselves to look clueless rather than cheat on a meaningless game. Faith in humanity, restored.
It does, however, kind of restore one's faith in humanity...or at any rate, it restores one's faith in humanity's faith in humanity. Because, think about it: You're playing this trivia game on a mobile device, which, by definition, is web-enabled. So, if you find yourself stumped by questions like, "Who wrote 'The Raven' and 'The Tell-Tale Heart'?" (actual question) or "Which of these is NOT a style of dance? Merengue, Salsa, Tango, Bogota" (actual question), then all you need to do is tap the "Chrome" icon or ask Siri. Yet presumably, people don't do this--or at least people playing the game are trusting that their competitors won't do this; otherwise, they wouldn't play the game, right?
So thank you, "Trivia Crack." You've proven that people will trust other people to allow themselves to look clueless rather than cheat on a meaningless game. Faith in humanity, restored.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Ignorance Is. . . Something.
A recent psychological study suggested a positive correlation between IQ and anxiety: The smarter you are, the more you worry.
This hardly qualifies as earth-shaking news. I've always thought that, if you're not worrying, you're not paying attention. I find myself thinking about this now, though, as I wrestle with vague feelings of non-specific dread. I imagine this is largely a function of it being Sunday: The imminence of a new work-week often engenders a sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach, a leaden fuzziness in the brain, a slight ringing in the ears. . . . Y'know, now that I write this, I hope this is just anxiety; otherwise, I probably have some kind of tumor.
But seriously, folks.
The funny thing is, this dread has occurred throughout my life, regardless of what was going on. I remember during the early '90's, watching "In Living Color" on Sunday nights, laughing but also struggling with an awareness that this was pretty much the last bit of enjoyment I was going to experience before having to drag myself out of bed less than twelve hours later to begin another stressful week of college classes and student-teaching and just, y'know, life. Back then, I would tell myself that this dread would pass--that once I got through the trials of those days, things would get better.
And they have gotten better. I mean, I basically like my job. I like my co-workers. And some days I even get the opportunity to go home feeling like I've had a positive impact on the world around me. And yet the dread persists. Ignorance may be bliss, but isn't it stupid to keep subjecting myself to dread for no particular reason?
This hardly qualifies as earth-shaking news. I've always thought that, if you're not worrying, you're not paying attention. I find myself thinking about this now, though, as I wrestle with vague feelings of non-specific dread. I imagine this is largely a function of it being Sunday: The imminence of a new work-week often engenders a sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach, a leaden fuzziness in the brain, a slight ringing in the ears. . . . Y'know, now that I write this, I hope this is just anxiety; otherwise, I probably have some kind of tumor.
But seriously, folks.
The funny thing is, this dread has occurred throughout my life, regardless of what was going on. I remember during the early '90's, watching "In Living Color" on Sunday nights, laughing but also struggling with an awareness that this was pretty much the last bit of enjoyment I was going to experience before having to drag myself out of bed less than twelve hours later to begin another stressful week of college classes and student-teaching and just, y'know, life. Back then, I would tell myself that this dread would pass--that once I got through the trials of those days, things would get better.
And they have gotten better. I mean, I basically like my job. I like my co-workers. And some days I even get the opportunity to go home feeling like I've had a positive impact on the world around me. And yet the dread persists. Ignorance may be bliss, but isn't it stupid to keep subjecting myself to dread for no particular reason?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)