| Tuesday, November
28, 2000
They decided to give me the flu shot today. I'm still on
antibiotics. I did a a full day's work yesterday. Only Thompson can say if
it was any good (editing our book) but at least I FELT productive. I'll try
to get to the mail later.
Don't miss:
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2000/1127/6614086a.html
on "social science".
Long
ago I did a CP Snow Memorial Lecture, in which I pointed out that Snow was
wrong. Most scientists I know respect the humanities, and most real liberal
arts scholars respect science and have some notion of what scientific method
is all about.
Then there are the social scientists, who in general know neither science
nor humanities, and whose major "knowledge" consists of jargon and
arcana of no predictive and little intellectual value, but who will always
give an opinion for the record on nearly any event whatever. I know
perhaps 10 sociologists who know what an integral is. Psychology for decades
centered around the ravings of a Viennese physician who made up most of his
case histories and set up a Ponzi scheme for making money off students. Most
social science isn't even good farce, and certainly isn't science. Indeed
it's often a step down from Education, which is generally considered the
most ignorant department on campus.
The interesting part is that we all know this and continue to act as if
social science departments deserve public funding.
And
a comment by a scholar friend in another discussion group:
Wonderful article--congratulations to Dan
Seligman.
I see the phenomenon he describes in one of
its purest forms because (curse of my life) I am on our IRB, otherwise
known as human subjects' committee. We screen research proposals for risk
to human subjects according to elaborate federal rules.
The IRB rules were created with medical
research in mind, and they do make some sense in that context. But instead
we have discussions about whether asking fourth graders if they have a dog
will harm their self-esteem. The root of the nonsense is exactly what
Seligman describes: the psychologists need to insist that there is power
to help and to harm in such things because it validates psychology.
And I just ran across this. I am not sure what it means:
The AIDS epidemic at the end of 2000 as
estimated by UNAIDS:
-- Worldwide: 36.1 million people living with
the AIDS virus HIV; 5.3 million people newly infected. Infection rate of
1.1 percent of the adult population; women account for 47 percent of
HIV-positive adults. Expected number of deaths from AIDS this year is 3
million.
-- North America: 920,000 people living with
HIV/AIDS; 45,000 newly infected. Infection rate of 0.6 percent of adult
population; 20 percent are women. Expected deaths: 20,000.
-- Latin America: 1.4 million people living
with the virus; 150,000 new infections. Infection rate of 0.5 percent of
adult population; women account for 25 percent. Expected deaths: 50,000.
-- Caribbean: 390,000 people living with the
virus; 60,000 newly infected. Infection rate of 2.3 percent of adult
population; 35 percent are women. Expected deaths: 32,000.
-- Western Europe: 540,000 living with the
virus; 30,000 new infections. Infection rate 0.24 percent of adult
population. Women account for 25 percent of HIV-positive adults. Expected
deaths: 7,000 deaths.
-- Eastern Europe and Central Asia: 700,000
living with the virus; 250,000 newly infected. Infection rate 0.35 percent
of adult population;
25 percent are women. Expected deaths: 14,000.
-- South and Southeast Asia: 5.8 million living
with HIV/AIDS; 780,000 newly infected. Infection rate of 0.56 percent of
adult population; 35 percent are women. Expected deaths: 470,000.
-- East Asia and Pacific: 640,000 living with
the virus; 130,000 newly infected. Infection rate 0.07 percent of adult
population; 13 percent are women. Expected deaths: 25,000.
-- Australia and New Zealand: 15,000 people
living with the virus; 500 new infections. Infection rate 0.13 percent of
adult population; women account for 10 percent. Expected deaths: Less than
500.
-- Sub-Saharan Africa: 25.3 million living with
the virus; 3.8 million newly infected. Infection rate 8.8 percent of adult
population; 55 percent are women. Expected deaths: 2.4 million.
-- North Africa and Middle East: 400,000 people
living with HIV/AIDS; 80,000 new infections. Infection rate 0.2 percent of
adult population; 40 percent are women. Expected deaths: 24,000.
I may have some comments later after I
digest the numbers. Some of the obvious implications are a bit unnerving.
Somewhat related:
Jerry: This is an incredible image of the earth at
night. Scroll over and look at the difference between North and South
Korea!
Regards, Chris C
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0011/earthlights_dmsp_big.jpg
Do not miss this. It's wonderful.
Went off to the opera tonight. Alas, it's tomorrow night. Oh
well, had a good dinner at the club. Might as well, being I was all dressed
up with no place to go. Of course Roberta wasn't up to going so I took Alex.
But I should have looked at the tickets before I left the house...
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