Think

October 11, 2011

The post title today is more of a request than an admonition.  Have you ever thought about this?

 
Both Davis and Erin went through phases where I couldn't pry them from the bathtub.  The water would lose its heat and eventually become downright chilly, but they would just slosh around and delay getting out (too many cool bath toys, I think).  I always wondered why their hands and feet would look like this, but not the rest of their bodies.  I understand that this only happens to humans and macaques.  

I've read explanations of this shriveling:  the keratin on our skin wears off of our hands and feet so they absorb more water; it's a sign of dehydration; water is a hypotonic solution and is trying to enter our skins to reach equilibrium.

Here is a more satisfying solution that fits the theory I had.  Our wrinkled fingers and foot soles are creating treads to ensure greater traction in slippery situations, just like car tires. 

Here's a second thing to consider:

Do you use yelp.com?  I don't.  But maybe I should.  Most of you know that given the choice, I would pick a non-chain restaurant over a chain restaurant.  As a business school professor, I also understand that chain restaurants often have a boatload of competitive advantages over non-chains in terms of long-term survival.  Yelp.com can actually help level things out in some surprising ways.  Not only do good reviews help independent restaurants (call me Captain Obvious), but the effect is much greater for individual non-chain restaurants than an individual outlet of chain establishments.  In addition, the existence of yelp dilutes the market share of chain restaurants, because consumer reviews substitute for the reputation that chains. 

Finally, I have something for you that is not science, or even scholarship.  It's opinion.  It's opinion, I want you to think about.  I read this on a blog written by someone I don't know and have never met:

 "But the only thing that makes me more bearish is the way that America denigrates intelligence and studying.  It's taken for granted that in America, there is mutual exclusion between being well-liked growing up and having very academic hobbies.  The captain of the chess team is assumed to have trouble getting dates.  If you are in high school and win lots of math competitions, people assume you're below average in admiration by peers.

In China, getting good grades makes you MORE popular.  The valedictorian is usually very popular.  And respected.  It automatically gets you points.  In America, it automatically drags you down in the eyes of your peers.

I think this is the single biggest factor that could lead to America's decline.  Everyone wants to be loved and respected by their peers.  Making that at odds with pursuing intellectual activities is very damaging to maintaining the status as the land of innovation." 

 

These words made me pause and think.  I'm not sure I agree.  I didn't ever felt cast aside by my peers in school for taking academics seriously, and I'm pretty sure Erin and Davis didn't either.  

 

BUT, I do have a growing sense that my particular skills set that mainly involves using my brain, is less valued and less appreciated today than over the course of my whole life and that my particular profession has less credibility than it has my whole career. 

 

All I can say is: think for yourself.