apropos of very little

In between working on manuscripts and discussing at least vaguely-related matters (like sf and other book awards) at the NYRSF work weekend yesterday, I found myself in a discussion of whether/why the US is more violent than other countries. And thinking about it later, I realized that what I'd been unhappy with in Eugene's theories wasn't just that they were single-variable, but that they assumed that the US is exceptional. And it's not just that there are problems with the specific exceptions that were being claimed, but that the last few hundred years of science are a series of lessons in not assuming that your situation or location is a special case.

The point here, if I have one, isn't that all cultures are the same: it's that they're all different, and in several different ways, and it's unlikely to be useful to divide everything into plaid and not-plaid, or assume that there is one important way in which one society is unlike all others, and that this explains all the differences between it and any given other society.

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I've also been doing some noodling about relationships and such, but that's mostly in comments to rysmiel's recent posts.

apropos of very little

In between working on manuscripts and discussing at least vaguely-related matters (like sf and other book awards) at the NYRSF work weekend yesterday, I found myself in a discussion of whether/why the US is more violent than other countries. And thinking about it later, I realized that what I'd been unhappy with in Eugene's theories wasn't just that they were single-variable, but that they assumed that the US is exceptional. And it's not just that there are problems with the specific exceptions that were being claimed, but that the last few hundred years of science are a series of lessons in not assuming that your situation or location is a special case.

The point here, if I have one, isn't that all cultures are the same: it's that they're all different, and in several different ways, and it's unlikely to be useful to divide everything into plaid and not-plaid, or assume that there is one important way in which one society is unlike all others, and that this explains all the differences between it and any given other society.

---

I've also been doing some noodling about relationships and such, but that's mostly in comments to rysmiel's recent posts.

(no subject)

More boring
( gym numbers )

I mostly did the usual weight, but did fewer sets or fewer reps with a lot of things. Still, not bad for just over 2 weeks away from the gym, and with only small amounts of non-gym exercise other than just walking around.

One of the guys at the desk, who recognizes me by name and face, commented on my hair, as did someone who was exercising, and who I think was hoping I'd say something more forthcoming than "thanks".

(no subject)

More boring
( gym numbers )

I mostly did the usual weight, but did fewer sets or fewer reps with a lot of things. Still, not bad for just over 2 weeks away from the gym, and with only small amounts of non-gym exercise other than just walking around.

One of the guys at the desk, who recognizes me by name and face, commented on my hair, as did someone who was exercising, and who I think was hoping I'd say something more forthcoming than "thanks".