t a l l a p e

I’m playing with the tags feature (over there, on the left, in the sidebar). Just as an experiment. It means going back through my past posts and adding content-related tags to them, which is an interesting exercise…

Anyway, I’m curious what people think. Add a comment and let me know…

I’m going to be leaving my employer for the last four years, StudentUniverse, and joining going.com. I’ll be a Senior Systems Engineer for them.

It’s exciting! StudentUniverse has been good to me, but I’m looking forward to being at a smaller company, one that’s in a very different phase of its existence, and taking on some new challenges.

My last day at SU is April 16th, and I start this new thing on April 21…

(Woah…)

It’s been nearly two months since I’ve written anything here. But I’m not done. Oh, no. I’m not done.

I’ve been busy. I own one of them “automobile” things that people always talk about, and have used it to get myself out of town more than usual. Between that and time spent at work in the burbs, and time spent with Kate it’s been quite nice.

But things are brewing. Most of what’s interesting to me right now is stuff that I don’t feel like I should post right now, which is a bit of shame but will probably change soon. I hope. Because I don’t like not posting.

In other news, my sister asked me before Super Tuesday to post my thoughts on the Dem race, and I didn’t do so then. And I won’t post extended analysis now, except to say this: I really like Obama, I think he’d be a good president, and I would like to see him elected. And I dislike Hillary enough that I might actually think about voting for McCain, which is something that would have been sacrilege mere months ago. Why would I think about McCain? After losing 11 straight primaries I see one, and only one, reason that someone stays in the race: a sense of entitlement. You’ve been beaten, and you decide not to give, you do so only because you think that you somehow deserve victory. And that, to me, is the worst of the worst. I can deal with a president who has a pessimistic (and yet oddly realistic) view of Iraq, and who has skewed moral compass. But someone who feels entitled to the job? That’s the biggest knock against Bush, in my mind, looking back on it.

And with that, no more, until there’s more.

My mother e-mailed this morning, pointing me to an article by Stanley Fish titled Will the Humanities Save Us?, and a follow-up piece titled The Uses of the Humanities, Part Two. Both were published on his blog at the New York Times. My mom was curious what I thought, but the articles are very interesting, and so I thought that I would share them and my reaction to them.

Before I get into the articles themselves, I should mention that I’ve never been a particular fan of Fish and his academic work — and in fact, I’ve been openly hostile to the developments that he’s lead in literary theory. (NB: This is _NOT_ the subject of the articles. I just want to give a little background instead of throwing that out there and moving on.) He’s been an influential figure in the development and popularization of Reader-Response Criticism as a school of literary interpretation and analysis, through the concept of Interpretive Communities. This particular approach to literary theory emphasizes the role of the reader in creating the meaning of a text, which makes sense to a point. Basically, the meaning of text changes depending on the cultural lens through which it is read. It’s not a bad idea when well applied and bounded, but it’s been taken (by others, for the most part) to logical extremes that limit speech and thought. In some views, the fact that some speech could be taken badly in some other frame of reference makes that speech prima facie impermissible. (You may recognize this as being, basically, what political correctness is all about — attempting to limit language on the basis of all possible cultural contexts, in the event that any one of them may possibly be interpreted in a negative way.)

But, anyway, on to the articles.

Will the Humanities Save Us? takes on the question of justification for the humanities; why should it be pursued, why it should be funded, and why its pursuit should be looked upon favorably. Fish cites Anthony Kronman arguing that the value of the humanities is that they allow one who studies them to live a richer, fuller life — a life with meaning. Fish goes on to argue that having been in academic departments in the humanities, he can say from a position of some authority that those who spend all of their time around great books and humanistic arguments do not, in fact, lead lives that are fundamentally more meaningful than others.

Fish concludes by saying, “To the question “of what use are the humanities?”, the only honest answer is none whatsoever. And it is an answer that brings honor to its subject. Justification, after all, confers value on an activity from a perspective outside its performance. An activity that cannot be justified is an activity that refuses to regard itself as instrumental to some larger good. The humanities are their own good. There is nothing more to say, and anything that is said – even when it takes the form of Kronman’s inspiring cadences – diminishes the object of its supposed praise.”

In the follow-up piece, The Uses of the Humanities, Part Two, Fish extends the conclusion quoted above at some length, and responds to two further proposed justifications (provided by readers in the comments on the original, which is pretty cool when you think about it). The first of these is the argument that the humanities teach critical thinking; the second, that study of the humanities makes people more complete and more interesting. The first argument Fish counters by saying that critical thinking, while plainly a good thing, can be taught in any number of arenas (he cites watching the news, or sports talk radio, as examples). As it’s not the exclusive domain of the humanities, it can’t be a justification for the existence of the humanities. To the second argument, Fish offers a rebuttal that is essentially political (and very amusingly stated): “it won’t do as a defense society will take seriously to say, Let’s support the humanities so that Stanley Fish and his friends have more people to talk to.”

So, what do I think?

Well, I basically agree with Fish that the study of the humanities doesn’t create external value in any sense conventionally measurable. Goodness knows that I think that funding folks like Jacques Derrida is a ridiculous waste of time and energy, given the crap that he produced. (I was tempted to add Gaytari Skivak as another example, since she has managed to take apparently rather excellent thought and mangle the hell out of in everything of hers that I’ve ever read. But I imagine that there’s something out there, somewhere, that’s comprehensible, since some people seem to have figured out what she’s talking about (and I love what she’s talking about, if they’ve got it right!). Unlike Derrida, from whom I am quite confident there is not anything of any value.)

But, I think that Fish too easily dismisses the arguments raised in the comments on his first piece, and addressed in the second.

On the question of critical thinking, he is correct that something similar comes of watching and thinking about the evening news, or even listening to sports talk radio. But, the type of critical thinking being discussed is different, one that involves a different level of rigor from deep involvement with a text. It’s the critical thinking of a participant, not a recipient. It’s active, not passive. And it’s different in the humanities than in other areas of inquiry.

Once that particular skill — active, deep engagement with an idea — has been learned, it can be applied in other situations, with benefits that extend to the greater world.

I’m thinking here of my own experience, being as I’m a computer guy with a degree in Philosophy. I don’t spend my days reading essays, but I do spend my days trying to dig out the obscured meaning of coded data. Phrased another way, my job is to analyze text, even if it is formatted a little bit differently from the work of Kant or Plato (or Fish, for that matter). Because I’m coming from the humanities instead of the sciences, I’m not limited in the type of text to which I can apply this experience, in the way that many of my colleagues seem to be. These things, put together, make me a more productive and more valuable employee. I don’t know how one would measure that value, but I feel pretty comfortable saying that the value exists.

(One could argue the inverse, I suppose, that studying the humanities has resulted in my writing this blog post instead of finishing the presentation I’m giving tomorrow on Python. But I think the overall sum is positive.)

Having once taught middle school, I would say that the same is true of younger students as well. The skills, though amorphous and hard (impossible?) to quantify, once learned, do transfer.

On the question of study of the humanities making people more interesting, I’d again agree that non-stultifying dinner parties are not enough. But I wonder whether there is one additional audience that needs to be considered here: the individual himself. It seems to me that the ability to engage one’s self about the subjects of humanistic inquiry might provide some kind value to the world at large. I’m not thinking here of the “professional Professor”, if you will, but of Joe Average (and his lovely wife, Jane). I think that approaching humanistic subjects might, at some level, make Joe and Jane happy, or happier, or more productive, or more relaxed, or…

In this second case, I’m not sure how to quantify the benefit. I just have a sense that it exists.

In the end, I do agree with Fish that the primary benefit of study in the humanities is internal — the process is the reward. But I don’t think that’s the only benefit.

My mom has established her presence on the web, in a couple of different places and ways.

She has a personal blog at http://adafocer.typepad.com.

And Boston Mortgage Meltdown harkens back to her many pre-grad-school years as a real estate analyst, giving her analysis of the current credit crunch, mortgage scandals, and real estate market generally. (It turns out, by the way, that my mom knows more than almost anyone else in the whole entire world about how real estate markets work. Which is pretty cool.)

Christmas, in my family, has toned down quite a bit from the excesses of childhood. It does lead to some rather fascinating and wonderful gifts. Like Armenian brandy.

Look, ma, I’m growing up!

What happens when you take a bunch of ultimate players, and put them in New England in the winter?

Sushi. Lots and lots of sushi.

24.77 pounds of sushi eaten by 10 people, to be precise. Slightly more than a kilogram each of rice and fish.

In retrospect, it was both a very fun, and thoroughly painful experience. Fun because FNG is crazy (sort of the way that Hooch on “Scrubs” is crazy). Painful because, well…you eat 53 pieces of sushi (1.4 kg, or 3.08 lbs) and then tell me how you feel…

The photos are pretty good (and before you ask, we didn’t make baby Axel participate in the eating), but this one of Mitch probably best exemplifies the way everyone felt at the endgame…

Anyone have an experience with a checking account with no local branch?

I’m wondering because there are a couple of different companies — Schwab and ING are the two that I can think off of the top of my head — that have checking accounts available with interest rates around 4% or 4.5%. But, they both have only a single physical location (in, oh, Nevada, because of the banking laws there), and the idea is that most interactions happen over the internet or via direct deposit. In order to deposit a check, you have to mail it to them, and that strikes me as being a little weird. (They refund any ATM fees that you run up, so not having local ATMs doesn’t really influence the whole thing.)

So, I’m wondering if anyone out there has done this in the past, and if it works.

So, several people (most of them my mother) have given me some grief for not having posted the answers to the Quiz O’ Another Day. And, of course, naming The Winner. So, without further ado:

Question 1) Which animals were given (in some form) to the lucky vegetarian couple?

So, technically, the correct answer is C, both a sheep and a goat. The sheep cut a rug to “Like a Prayer”, while the goat was presented under the auspices of Heifer International.

Question 2) Who also happened to be at the wedding?
B, two folks with whom I played ultimate at UChicago. Sam, Katie, whassup! (Sam and Kate went to high school together back in the hood.)

(And yes, I use the phrase “whassup!” alllllll the time.)

Question 3) One of Kate’s high school teachers was at the wedding. His wife fondly reminisced about the time that…
The correct answer is…A.

Kate hasn’t gotten better about turning in homework since.

Question 4) What did Kate discover trapped in her parents’ backyard just as we were about to leave?
So, Kate and I were wandering around in her parents’ backyard, as she was showing me the hill where she and her siblings used to sled when they were kids, and the patch of asphalt where they did chalk drawings and all the rest. And then she looked over at the Have-a-Heart (groundhog) trap next to the storage shed cum fort, and there, in all its glory, was a skunk. I jumped. I’m a city boy. A raccoon, fine, I could deal with that (my cat kind of looks like one anyway), but a skunk? Jeepers. I did more than jump, actually, as I remember it. I think I kind of ran.

Anyway, Kate’s dad came home a little later, and was informed of this little “issue”. And proceeded to hand me a pair of garden gloves, an old blanket, and a stick, with instructions to show what I could do.

And that’s how I ended up walking home from Maine…

(Kate would like to point out that the only animal (from the list) that she has never seen in the backyard is a bear. “Unless you count [her] brother.” Jon, Kate said it, not me.)

Question 5) True or False? I ended up buying an iPhone.
Well, yeah. Fine. I did. I’m a big ol’ sucker for good design. So sue me.

Question 6) Today (Thursday) (which was actually weeks ago), I am heading out on vacation to…
B, of course. I was in a bunch of other places, but Ohio was the only one that’s on the list. I was going to swing by Moldovia (which is not a country), but it turns out to be a little out of the way.

And now, the time has come…

The moment you’ve all been waiting for…

The time…to reward…

The Winner

And, of course, we have a tie.

Edny, Sam TH…step forward a receive your prizes!

You have earned the right — nay, the privilege — of using this absolutely fabulous photo as your desktop background. Congratulations!

I’ve never found a better place to drink a cup of coffee and read a book than the porch of my family’s cabin in West Virginia. In fact, I’ve never found a more relaxing place, period. Because this is what you see when you look off of the porch.

(Random side note: that tree that’s fallen over into the water and died was our rope-swinging tree when we were kids. My sister was The Champ. Often challenged, never beaten. She could do things off of that tree that amaze me to this day. Me? I usually did something like the classic “oh-my-god-I’m-going-to-fall-and-kill-myself-holy-hell-I’m-like-4-feet-off-of-the-ground-I-think-I’m-going-to-puke-let-me-down-please-please-let-me-down-wait-you-mean-that-was-less-than-a-second-can-I-get-down-now-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Really, it was very impressive at the time.)

Mom, or Taz, or Nancy I., or anyone: if you have that photo of Taz and I standing in front of the wall of the kitchen at the Cedar Street apartment, grey t-shirts and muzzy hair and all, I seem to have lost my copy, and it’s making me sad. Can you send me a copy, pretty please?

There’s something to be said for school spirit. The University of Chicago, god love it, had none. At least none in the traditional sense. Our school spirit mostly revolved around the Reg, Soc, and bragging about how late we stayed up to write our papers the night before. (Bragging about how much whiskey you added to the tea you were drinking in the 9AM class for which you had stayed awake all night writing a paper, while not encouraged, also happened on occasion. Blaise Misztal, I’m looking at you.)

The University of Michigan, on the other hand, has school spirit to spare. Really, it does. Maize and blue are very nice colors, but do you really need to paint a house blue with a maize roof?

Anyway, I went out to the midwest, picked up Tazo in Cleveland, and we headed off to Ann Arbor (where, it happens, his fiancee is living at the moment) for a weekend of hanging out and watching sports and all kinds of fun. A few notes:
- Ann Arbor is a lot like Morgantown (which is the home of West Virginia University, and very near my family’s place in West Virginia), with a lot more money. Same feel, same basic idea all around, but richer.
- There are a whole lotta white people there
- I may still be hungover from the weekend; BUT
- Damn if Taz and I aren’t a pretty good team at Beirut. I am convinced that this is, in some way, due to prolonged exposure to the Titcombs.

Taz and me

Taz and me. Again.

Taz and Edny. Funny how much better this picture is…

On my family’s property in West Virginia/Pennsylvania, there’s a pond. It’s quite lovely, as you can see:

A couple of years back, we scattered my dad’s ashes on the shore of the pond nearest the camera (which you can’t really see, because of the break in the side of the hill). So it’s kind of important to me.

Morning

Noon (or early afternoon. And I hate New York City.)

Night

Seen in Southern Connecticut. I couldn’t decide whether this was ironic commentary on Enron, or just a standalone. But it struck me as funny.

So, a couple of weeks back, Kate and I went to the wedding of a high school friend of hers, held just outside of Waldoboro, ME. Quite a lovely time was had by all, and I got the chance to meet some of Kate’s friends from her youth. And my, what an interesting bunch they are…

In the interests of just having people randomly guess at things, here’s a little quiz that Kate and I put together to commemorate this special event. Answer all of the questions in the comments section, and if you get some number of them that’s not yet been determined, you might be entered to possibly win a prize!* (* No Purchase Necessary. See complete rules. Prize not guaranteed, but I know what it’ll be if I get around to awarding it, and trust me, it’s sweet.):

1) Which animals were given (in some form) to the lucky vegetarian couple?
A) sheep
B) goat
C) both of the above
D) neither of the above

2) Who also happened to be at the wedding?
A) my little league coach and his wife
B) two UChicago folks who played Ultimate with me
C) an old friend from my sailing team
D) the son of my childhood nanny

3) One of Kate’s high school teachers was at the wedding. His wife fondly reminisced about the time that…
A) they called the police to arrest Kate
B) Kate accidentally set the school on fire
C) Kate considered dropping out of high school
D) Kate was nearly run over when the principal’s dog began “driving” his car

4) What did Kate discover trapped in her parents’ backyard just as we were about to leave?
A) moose
B) bear
C) porcupine
D) skunk

5) True or False? I ended up buying an iPhone.

6) Today (Thursday), I am heading out on vacation to…
A) Vermont
B) Ohio
C) Illinois
D) North Carolina
E) Egypt
F) Thailand
G) Nunavut
H) Moscow
I) Anywhere else in Russia
J) Turkey
K) Afghanistan
L) Kenya
M) Moldovia
N) Does Moldovia still exist?
O) Texas

So, without further ado, I’m heading to bed, so that I can get up nice and early tomorrow get started on my way to the answer to question #6.

I’ve spent part of the afternoon enjoying the stuff over at Telstar Logistics. I’d never heard of the site before, but there’s a good amount of random (but interesting!) notes on design and aesthetics and technology and transportation and all kinds of other things. Worth a looksee.

I hereby call for a moratorium on the joke about Devin Hester lining up at quarterback for the Chicago Bears. Yes, I get that he has more touchdowns than their offense. Yes, I get that both Rex Grossman and Brian Griese are, well, let’s just say that they’re not really NFL quarterbacks.

But the same joke appearing on Boston.com, Yahoo Sports, ESPN, and every other sports media outlet on the entire ‘Net (I just don’t have the patience to dig up all of the links right now) is a good sign that the whole thing has gone too far.

[update: and in The Sports Guy's column. It's definitely jumped the shark.]

Three random pictures from a lunchtime game of football yesterday. I’ll try to post more at some point, but they’re huge in their original format and I don’t have time to shrink them all down right now.

Grossman-like form

Greise-like form

Just silly looking