In my public health ethics class today, we briefly discussed the anti-bullying wristband campaigh aimed at modifying behaviours of bullies. Ironically, the campaign failed because kids who wore the wristband got beat up more. Even more ironically, they were bullied because the bullies thought the wristbands were cool and wanted them for themselves.
Which brings to mind a much beloved scene from the X-Files, a final conversation between Mulder and the shape-shifting monkey-man loser Eddie van Blundht in an orange cap that says "Superstar!" on it, at a prison facility:
"What's with the hat?"
"My therapist gave it to me. She says it's supposed to bolster my self-esteem."
"Does it?"
"Not really. The other inmates just beat me up and take it. Which would be ok, except every week she brings me a new hat!"
But seriously now. Kids, bullying is no laughing matter.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Social Science is F*ing Retarded!
I have tried to keep an open mind, but I simply cannot tolerate this any longer and must rant and vent my frustration.
--These people don't even know how to count! Granted, most social problems are complex, such as this abuse and neglect of seniors business, but how can these so called "scientists" not even try to put some sort of structure in place to analyze the problem? It's as if they accept it as a nebulous and unsolvable concern and then immediately set out to find numbers--any numbers--to support their cause without having properly defined terms, conditions, context, scope... --Phone surveys, that's all they know how to do! The real kicker is that this so-called "systematic" review actually lumps everything together and claims that a single number summarizes dozens of studies in completely different contexts! "--Lo, the answer is... uh... 6%! Yeah... that's about right." --Idiots!
How can I do a proper assessment given these piss poor primary data--if you can even call them such? What they've found are obvious and trivial effects which even those of us with minimal reasoning ability can conclude with a bit of thinking, whereas the information we actually need never even crossed the minds of the researchers. Instead, there are a myriad of narratives, experiences, historical backgrounds that numb the quantitative mind and further complicate the problem instead of clarifying or resolving it!
Reductionist thinking is not demeaning to social problems, nor does it oversimplify if used properly. What's preventing these social "scientists" from applying the most basic logical models and structures to their pet problems? Is it the fear that the problems would crystalize and dissolve? Is it the subsequent petty fear that their lives and pursuits would appear foolish? Well, I guess the latter is perhaps justified.
That I had at one time thought I could study social science is simply laughable.
Fuck social science.
--These people don't even know how to count! Granted, most social problems are complex, such as this abuse and neglect of seniors business, but how can these so called "scientists" not even try to put some sort of structure in place to analyze the problem? It's as if they accept it as a nebulous and unsolvable concern and then immediately set out to find numbers--any numbers--to support their cause without having properly defined terms, conditions, context, scope... --Phone surveys, that's all they know how to do! The real kicker is that this so-called "systematic" review actually lumps everything together and claims that a single number summarizes dozens of studies in completely different contexts! "--Lo, the answer is... uh... 6%! Yeah... that's about right." --Idiots!
How can I do a proper assessment given these piss poor primary data--if you can even call them such? What they've found are obvious and trivial effects which even those of us with minimal reasoning ability can conclude with a bit of thinking, whereas the information we actually need never even crossed the minds of the researchers. Instead, there are a myriad of narratives, experiences, historical backgrounds that numb the quantitative mind and further complicate the problem instead of clarifying or resolving it!
Reductionist thinking is not demeaning to social problems, nor does it oversimplify if used properly. What's preventing these social "scientists" from applying the most basic logical models and structures to their pet problems? Is it the fear that the problems would crystalize and dissolve? Is it the subsequent petty fear that their lives and pursuits would appear foolish? Well, I guess the latter is perhaps justified.
That I had at one time thought I could study social science is simply laughable.
Fuck social science.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Quick thoughts on HIV
So as I'm cramming for a final exam and finally catching up on the HIV lecture, something shocks me and makes me profoundly hopeless. It's not that I'm ignorant. I'd just never looked into it before but--have you seen the HIV phylogenetic tree? I mean, sure, I've always known that the mutation rate is high, but come on! I seriously thought the Congo tree was magnified.
How do we fight this thing?
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Causes I believe in
Finally getting some free time on my hands. I know! I'll use this to enumerate some of the causes I believe in.
Have you ever counted how many campaigns there are nowadays? Everything is important and deserves your monetary contribution. There's no end to the creativity of the Fund Development/Campaign Management think tanks either. You can support cops riding for cancer, wear a rainbow of ribbons to show solidarity to those in undesirable conditions, sponsor your friends to bungee-jump off a building wearing superhero costumes--I don't even remember what that one's about. Not to mention the classics: hours of malnourished kids in Africa begging you to join WorldVision, sad songs about abandoned puppies and kitties pleading with you through a kennel while wobbling from missing limbs. So you wear a pin covered in jeans, slap on a sticker that advocates for child literacy, cover yourself in pink to let people know you care about women's healthy breasts... --yeah, I know, it's starting to turn sour, so I'll stop. But you get the idea.
The campaigns are too effective for saps like me. I find myself feeling guilty to flip away from the channel with the dying kids, hanging my head in shame while walking past representatives of typhoon-striken south Asian countries, and getting the strange urge to defend myself for doing these horrifying and ignorant things: that I don't have much money myself, that I already contribute to science and health by working as hard as I can at the CDC and planning to go into public health, that I really do sympathize with those suffering from illnesses ranging from asthma and Alzheimers to prostate cancer and stroke, which is why, again, I plan to go into public health. It's just humanly impossible to care about everything, and so now, here, I declare what I do care about and am willing to support above other causes.
1. The International Red Cross Movement
This is, in my opinion, one of the greatest achievements of mankind. To have a global network based on humanitarian values of alleviating suffering is the epitome of everything I believe in. So I put in time and, when I can, money into the organization, and choose to train and lead, and to respond when I'm called upon.
2. UNICEF
Children truly are innocent--not in the moral sense, but simply because they didn't choose to be dumped in the situation they often find themselves. And, since they were born into it, the least we can do as adults is to ensure they don't suffer too much. There are many save-the-children groups out there, but I chose UNICEF because it's a UN program, and presumably can make more of a difference that does not depend on religious commitments. Not to mention the Global Parents program to which I make a monthly donation provides life-saving nutrition items.
3. Cancer
From time to time, I donate a small amount to Canadian Cancer Society and BC Lung Association. Both my grand-fathers died of cancer, and my dad's a life-long smoker. I just hope the scientists find something useful soon.
4. Climate change
I'm not a tree-hugger, I don't go out of my way to advocate for sustainability, and I can't afford a hybrid car. What I can do is simple things like reduce, reuse and recycle. I kind of like the Earth being a hospitable planet, and I wish it could stay that way. So, Pascal's Wager.
Have you ever counted how many campaigns there are nowadays? Everything is important and deserves your monetary contribution. There's no end to the creativity of the Fund Development/Campaign Management think tanks either. You can support cops riding for cancer, wear a rainbow of ribbons to show solidarity to those in undesirable conditions, sponsor your friends to bungee-jump off a building wearing superhero costumes--I don't even remember what that one's about. Not to mention the classics: hours of malnourished kids in Africa begging you to join WorldVision, sad songs about abandoned puppies and kitties pleading with you through a kennel while wobbling from missing limbs. So you wear a pin covered in jeans, slap on a sticker that advocates for child literacy, cover yourself in pink to let people know you care about women's healthy breasts... --yeah, I know, it's starting to turn sour, so I'll stop. But you get the idea.
The campaigns are too effective for saps like me. I find myself feeling guilty to flip away from the channel with the dying kids, hanging my head in shame while walking past representatives of typhoon-striken south Asian countries, and getting the strange urge to defend myself for doing these horrifying and ignorant things: that I don't have much money myself, that I already contribute to science and health by working as hard as I can at the CDC and planning to go into public health, that I really do sympathize with those suffering from illnesses ranging from asthma and Alzheimers to prostate cancer and stroke, which is why, again, I plan to go into public health. It's just humanly impossible to care about everything, and so now, here, I declare what I do care about and am willing to support above other causes.
1. The International Red Cross Movement
This is, in my opinion, one of the greatest achievements of mankind. To have a global network based on humanitarian values of alleviating suffering is the epitome of everything I believe in. So I put in time and, when I can, money into the organization, and choose to train and lead, and to respond when I'm called upon.
2. UNICEF
Children truly are innocent--not in the moral sense, but simply because they didn't choose to be dumped in the situation they often find themselves. And, since they were born into it, the least we can do as adults is to ensure they don't suffer too much. There are many save-the-children groups out there, but I chose UNICEF because it's a UN program, and presumably can make more of a difference that does not depend on religious commitments. Not to mention the Global Parents program to which I make a monthly donation provides life-saving nutrition items.
3. Cancer
From time to time, I donate a small amount to Canadian Cancer Society and BC Lung Association. Both my grand-fathers died of cancer, and my dad's a life-long smoker. I just hope the scientists find something useful soon.
4. Climate change
I'm not a tree-hugger, I don't go out of my way to advocate for sustainability, and I can't afford a hybrid car. What I can do is simple things like reduce, reuse and recycle. I kind of like the Earth being a hospitable planet, and I wish it could stay that way. So, Pascal's Wager.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Wisdom of Whores, Part 2
Here's a nugget from the book (p. 127) that made me both blush and grin at the same time, and on the SkyTrain, of all places. Just hope no-one was looking over my shoulders...
To quote my friend Claire in Istanbul, sex is about 'conquest, fantasy, projection, infatuation, mood, anger, vanity, love, pissing off your parents, the risk of getting caught, the pleasure of cuddling afterwards, the thrill of having a secret, feeling desirable, feeling like a man, feeling like a woman, bragging to your mates the next day, getting to see what someone looks like naked and a million-and-one other things'.
What fun it is to be an adult.
To quote my friend Claire in Istanbul, sex is about 'conquest, fantasy, projection, infatuation, mood, anger, vanity, love, pissing off your parents, the risk of getting caught, the pleasure of cuddling afterwards, the thrill of having a secret, feeling desirable, feeling like a man, feeling like a woman, bragging to your mates the next day, getting to see what someone looks like naked and a million-and-one other things'.
What fun it is to be an adult.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Wisdom of Whores, Part 1
As I made my way out of the SkyTrain station, some interesting thoughts arose from reading The Wisdom of Whores.
I'm surrounded by communicable disease epidemiology all day now, and public health follows me everywhere. It really is quite fascinating. It's not the kind of science that I'm used to--in fact, I'm still not sure if it's a science at all, strictly speaking. What I did realize though, was that perhaps I'm not really cut out for some of this stuff.
The book has proven very engaging so far, possibly aided by exotic and rather shady locales, the horrific subject matter of AIDS and an equally appalling but strangely curious cast of characters. Before I started volunteering with the Health Van, there was no way I could have even imagined such populations as described in the book. Sure, I've seen ...things... in movies, but they're so limited and commercialized.
The scents and sounds of a writhing darkness, the threat of disease and the urgency of desire flaunting themselves on every dimly lit street corner, all this is too much for my sheltered mind to process. --I would not last an hour in the frontlines of HIV/AIDS public health. I don't have the stomach for it.
Suppose I've been wrong, that I can't be both good and bad, kind and punishing, honourable and underhanded. That to delve into the deepest pit of human decadence, even just to collect scientific evidence, is to lose whatever good I have left in myself--and possibly more: whatever faith I have left for humanity. Could it be that there is no justification for sacrificing certain ethical principles for the greater good? Could what Franklin said about liberty and security be true?
I'm surrounded by communicable disease epidemiology all day now, and public health follows me everywhere. It really is quite fascinating. It's not the kind of science that I'm used to--in fact, I'm still not sure if it's a science at all, strictly speaking. What I did realize though, was that perhaps I'm not really cut out for some of this stuff.
The book has proven very engaging so far, possibly aided by exotic and rather shady locales, the horrific subject matter of AIDS and an equally appalling but strangely curious cast of characters. Before I started volunteering with the Health Van, there was no way I could have even imagined such populations as described in the book. Sure, I've seen ...things... in movies, but they're so limited and commercialized.
The scents and sounds of a writhing darkness, the threat of disease and the urgency of desire flaunting themselves on every dimly lit street corner, all this is too much for my sheltered mind to process. --I would not last an hour in the frontlines of HIV/AIDS public health. I don't have the stomach for it.
Suppose I've been wrong, that I can't be both good and bad, kind and punishing, honourable and underhanded. That to delve into the deepest pit of human decadence, even just to collect scientific evidence, is to lose whatever good I have left in myself--and possibly more: whatever faith I have left for humanity. Could it be that there is no justification for sacrificing certain ethical principles for the greater good? Could what Franklin said about liberty and security be true?
Friday, April 24, 2009
turbulence
Frustration is building inside me. It threatens to grow out of my bodily frame, and in the process of bursting out of its confines, promises to annihilate that which has harboured it. For weeks, this brooding evil, this unforgiving hatred quietly gathered strength from every injustice done to it, every unpleasant word, gesture, expression directed towards it, every error, however inconsequential, committed by it, until ultimately lashing out with a pitch-black brilliance, like a dark sun exploding.
It makes me want to scream.
With all the humanity inside, the hope, the optimism, the theoretical diligence--how is it possible that such horrid, insufferable pain has been brewing in me for so long, and for no good reason?
My words fail me. So does my reason. The two things which I proudly proclaim that I'm in possession of. My faculties are dulled, my dignity gradually stripped away. Even in the presence of praise and recognition, all that envelops me is reproach, dissatisfaction, fear.... They encircle me, grip me, and suffocate me, so that my heart flutters and chokes in the cold, dead hours of the night, jolts me out of my dreams, and collapses in on itself noiselessly with excruciating force, while I lie suddenly awake, dazed by this curiously foreign feeling that leads tears to involuntarily well up in my sleep-ravaged eyes.
And yet...
"This, too, shall pass."
It makes me want to scream.
With all the humanity inside, the hope, the optimism, the theoretical diligence--how is it possible that such horrid, insufferable pain has been brewing in me for so long, and for no good reason?
My words fail me. So does my reason. The two things which I proudly proclaim that I'm in possession of. My faculties are dulled, my dignity gradually stripped away. Even in the presence of praise and recognition, all that envelops me is reproach, dissatisfaction, fear.... They encircle me, grip me, and suffocate me, so that my heart flutters and chokes in the cold, dead hours of the night, jolts me out of my dreams, and collapses in on itself noiselessly with excruciating force, while I lie suddenly awake, dazed by this curiously foreign feeling that leads tears to involuntarily well up in my sleep-ravaged eyes.
And yet...
"This, too, shall pass."
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