Comments on: My Second Week in China – Beijing http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/08/31/my-second-week-in-china-beijing/ Random samplings from a universe of ideas. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:28:04 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Blogs and Outreach at the NSF Astrophysics Fellows Symposium | Cosmic Variance http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/08/31/my-second-week-in-china-beijing/comment-page-1/#comment-2692 Blogs and Outreach at the NSF Astrophysics Fellows Symposium | Cosmic Variance Tue, 10 Jan 2006 03:41:30 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/08/31/my-second-week-in-china-beijing/#comment-2692 [...] During the breaks in the symposium, I wandered around the hotel a little and watched the throngs of astronomers arriving for the January 2006 American Astrophysical Society (AAS) Meeting. From the balcony I saw a few people I know, such as Ted Baltz, and Ned Wright (who you might recall from my China posts, and whose cosmology tutorial is a treasure), but didn't have time to say hello. [...] [...] During the breaks in the symposium, I wandered around the hotel a little and watched the throngs of astronomers arriving for the January 2006 American Astrophysical Society (AAS) Meeting. From the balcony I saw a few people I know, such as Ted Baltz, and Ned Wright (who you might recall from my China posts, and whose cosmology tutorial is a treasure), but didn’t have time to say hello. [...]

]]> By: hack http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/08/31/my-second-week-in-china-beijing/comment-page-1/#comment-2691 hack Thu, 01 Sep 2005 23:59:51 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/08/31/my-second-week-in-china-beijing/#comment-2691 Peter is too polite to note that one of the leading practitioners of the "misreading followed by sneering attack" form of blog criticism is none other than Harvard professor and "brilliant physicist" Lubos Motl. So, I think the "primate dominance" model of this phenomenon is probably closer to the mark than the "insecure science-basher" model. Peter is too polite to note that one of the leading practitioners of the “misreading followed by sneering attack” form of blog criticism is none other than Harvard professor and “brilliant physicist” Lubos Motl. So, I think the “primate dominance” model of this phenomenon is probably closer to the mark than the “insecure science-basher” model.

]]> By: Clifford http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/08/31/my-second-week-in-china-beijing/comment-page-1/#comment-2690 Clifford Thu, 01 Sep 2005 14:30:26 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/08/31/my-second-week-in-china-beijing/#comment-2690 Yes, and rather amusingly, it is often a sneer like "stick to science". As though this is the most triumphantly ironic thing that can be said. This is part of the "scientists aren't allowed to talk about anything else" attitude. So there are all these insecure people just stitting there wiating for us to make a less-than-precise remark, or a remark that could have a negative reading, and then they attack - "stick to science, poindexter! (snort, snort, guffaw, guffaw)" Brilliant. I bet at work today he'll be sharing this story with his buddies about how he dispatched the scientist guy with a brilliant and original riposte. Great Post, Mark - As usual. Cheers, -cvj Yes, and rather amusingly, it is often a sneer like “stick to science”. As though this is the most triumphantly ironic thing that can be said. This is part of the “scientists aren’t allowed to talk about anything else” attitude. So there are all these insecure people just stitting there wiating for us to make a less-than-precise remark, or a remark that could have a negative reading, and then they attack – “stick to science, poindexter! (snort, snort, guffaw, guffaw)” Brilliant. I bet at work today he’ll be sharing this story with his buddies about how he dispatched the scientist guy with a brilliant and original riposte.

Great Post, Mark – As usual.

Cheers,

-cvj

]]> By: Peter Woit http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/08/31/my-second-week-in-china-beijing/comment-page-1/#comment-2689 Peter Woit Thu, 01 Sep 2005 13:22:54 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/08/31/my-second-week-in-china-beijing/#comment-2689 I've seen a lot of this kind of behavior recently, but still find it kind of bizarre. What is it that drives certain guys (from what I've seen, it's always guys...) to delight in misreading things on forums like this, then to make fools of themselves posting sneering attacks based on their own misreading? Some weird sort of primate dominance behavior, translated into a new medium, is my best guess so far, but still I can't say that I really understand it. I’ve seen a lot of this kind of behavior recently, but still find it kind of bizarre. What is it that drives certain guys (from what I’ve seen, it’s always guys…) to delight in misreading things on forums like this, then to make fools of themselves posting sneering attacks based on their own misreading? Some weird sort of primate dominance behavior, translated into a new medium, is my best guess so far, but still I can’t say that I really understand it.

]]> By: Mark http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/08/31/my-second-week-in-china-beijing/comment-page-1/#comment-2688 Mark Thu, 01 Sep 2005 10:53:35 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/08/31/my-second-week-in-china-beijing/#comment-2688 Henry, here's a hint for <em>you</em>. Think for just one second about what someone has written might mean before bringing out Mr. Rude. I can see, looking back at what I wrote, that it could be parsed in two ways. But rather than realize that and perhaps writing "Mark, did you mean A or B? Yours chummily, Henry Holland - opera lover", you chose to write this silly insulting drivel. For the record, although I am no opera expert, it is very clear to me that western opera contains delicate and subtle vocals (my mother is actually something of a buff and would play many examples of it around me and talk to me about it when I was growing up). My sentence isn't meant to be read as" ..., entirely unlike western operas.", but rather as "...entirely unlike the delicate and subtle vocals in western operas.", the point being that the vocals were of a very different style. As I said, I can see how it <em>could</em> be parsed the other way, so certainly take responsibility for your confusion. However, as I pointed out above, there's no need for your poor behavior. I don't know if you are always this rude - immediately opening mouth before brain is engaged - in real, face to face, life. If so, it must get pretty lonely pretty fast out there, as people respond with comments like "Henry. Hint: stick it." Possibly though, it is the civility-challenging anonymity of the web (a phenomenon that is both fascinating and increasingly annoying to me) that we're seeing here, and you're really a sweetheart in the flesh. Yeah, let's say that for now. Henry, here’s a hint for you. Think for just one second about what someone has written might mean before bringing out Mr. Rude. I can see, looking back at what I wrote, that it could be parsed in two ways. But rather than realize that and perhaps writing “Mark, did you mean A or B? Yours chummily, Henry Holland – opera lover”, you chose to write this silly insulting drivel.

For the record, although I am no opera expert, it is very clear to me that western opera contains delicate and subtle vocals (my mother is actually something of a buff and would play many examples of it around me and talk to me about it when I was growing up). My sentence isn’t meant to be read as” …, entirely unlike western operas.”, but rather as “…entirely unlike the delicate and subtle vocals in western operas.”, the point being that the vocals were of a very different style.

As I said, I can see how it could be parsed the other way, so certainly take responsibility for your confusion. However, as I pointed out above, there’s no need for your poor behavior.

I don’t know if you are always this rude – immediately opening mouth before brain is engaged – in real, face to face, life. If so, it must get pretty lonely pretty fast out there, as people respond with comments like “Henry. Hint: stick it.” Possibly though, it is the civility-challenging anonymity of the web (a phenomenon that is both fascinating and increasingly annoying to me) that we’re seeing here, and you’re really a sweetheart in the flesh.

Yeah, let’s say that for now.

]]> By: Henry Holland http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/08/31/my-second-week-in-china-beijing/comment-page-1/#comment-2687 Henry Holland Thu, 01 Sep 2005 03:18:04 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2005/08/31/my-second-week-in-china-beijing/#comment-2687 <i>The second form was Beijing opera and was not acrobatic at all, but featured delicate and subtle vocals, entirely unlike those encountered in western opera.</i> Um, you don't know anything about Western opera, do you? What an absurd statement. Western opera isn't all Wagner you know. Hint: stick to science. The second form was Beijing opera and was not acrobatic at all, but featured delicate and subtle vocals, entirely unlike those encountered in western opera.

Um, you don’t know anything about Western opera, do you? What an absurd statement. Western opera isn’t all Wagner you know.

Hint: stick to science.

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