Thursday, February 10, 2005
seeing the forest for the trees
I'm tired of the emphasis on the darker, less savory side of humanity. In my field (Social Psychology), in the media, in the news, all you hear about is conflict and abuse. That isn't all there is; it just isn't. People hold doors for each other, smile at each other, and mourn the death of strangers when they die. I don't believe this is some gravy friendliness that you only get when times are smooth. Some guy on Oprah the other week reported watching strangers struggle to save each other during the tsunami. Mankind: man is kind. Whatever else he may be, I have to believe that he is also kind.
In addition to the rant above, I also can't give up the dream that there is some pure aspect to science that is untouched by politics and interpersonal interactions. Somewhere out there is fact and if we as a science can get over our own ego's we might be able to get a glimpse of it.
I'm pretty sure the other graduate students in my office think I'm naive because I say things like this. I thing they're naive because they actually think they're going to change things. I don't need to change the world, just recognize it and understand it when I do.
***Update: I have since discovered that I am not the only one who feels this way. There is a new movement of Positive Psychologist who are working to develop theories related to the positive elements of behavior and psychology. For a start, Ed Diener has a great list here: http://s.psych.uiuc.edu/~ediener/related_websites.htm.
In addition to the rant above, I also can't give up the dream that there is some pure aspect to science that is untouched by politics and interpersonal interactions. Somewhere out there is fact and if we as a science can get over our own ego's we might be able to get a glimpse of it.
I'm pretty sure the other graduate students in my office think I'm naive because I say things like this. I thing they're naive because they actually think they're going to change things. I don't need to change the world, just recognize it and understand it when I do.
***Update: I have since discovered that I am not the only one who feels this way. There is a new movement of Positive Psychologist who are working to develop theories related to the positive elements of behavior and psychology. For a start, Ed Diener has a great list here: http://s.psych.uiuc.edu/~ediener/related_websites.htm.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
de-emphasizing differences
I just want to take a minute to voice my utter distaste for diversity committees. The best way to make someone with a ‘diverse’ background feel welcome at your institution is to make sure they know they were chosen based on their abilities and merits and not because of the box they checked in the demographics section of the application.
-and-
Stop pointing them out in a room full of other equally educated and opinionated people to give their opinion on ‘diversity issues’. The not-whiteness of my skin does not make my opinion any more valid and the whiteness of your skin does not make yours any less so.
Just get over it all, already.
-and-
Stop pointing them out in a room full of other equally educated and opinionated people to give their opinion on ‘diversity issues’. The not-whiteness of my skin does not make my opinion any more valid and the whiteness of your skin does not make yours any less so.
Just get over it all, already.
