ADHD and Ritalin; space and politics; textbooks; and was that a flying saucer?

Mail 710 Sunday, January 29, 2012

‘To date, no study has found any long-term benefit of attention-deficit medication on academic performance, peer relationships or behavior problems, the very things we would most want to improve.’

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/opinion/sunday/childrens-add-drugs-dont-work-long-term.html?pagewanted=all

——

Roland Dobbins

This is important. It may be that there are cases in which drugging kids for ADHD makes sense, but it is getting harder and harder to find them: in general the best you can say is that it doesn’t do any harm. In my own case, what I had to learn to was to sit still and pay attention even when bored out of me mind. There wasn’t really an alternative. I had to learn self-discipline. I learned it, and also learned how to use my imagination and fancy without disturbing anyone else. I would not have learned that if I had been drugged.

I was a typical ADHD child when growing up. I had all the symptoms and then some. I do not believe I would have benefitted from being drugged, and I am pretty sure I would in fact have been harmed. I have looked at a lot of ADHD data and I haven’t found much in favor of it; now we have this report.

At the very least, get the Federal Government out of this business and leave it to the states. At best we can just say no to the Ritalin manufacturers. There have to be other ways.

EU Tragedy

The EU is in worse shape than I thought. I’m not sure how the EU cooks their unemployment numbers. Most Americans are not aware of any difference between the U3, the U6, and other methods of calculating unemployment. I expect the real numbers are much higher.

<.>

More than a quarter (28%) of Italians between 16 and 24 are unemployed. Others are struggling to get by on unpaid internships or poorly paid jobs with little security.

[…]

It’s not just Italy, of course. Eurozone unemployment is at a record. According to Eurostat http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/eurostat/home/ , the EU’s statistical office, 16.3 million people are out of work in the 17 countries that joined the euro. The story of a lost generation is becoming the scandal of a continent. In Spain http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/spain , 51.4% of those aged 16-24 are jobless. In Greece http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/greece , the figure is 43%.

</>

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/28/europes-lost-generation-young-eu

This is a severe problem. Young men with nothing to do used to find a finger pointing in a direction and speaking words like "Deus volt". Or, these days, such men seem to become pirates, gangsters, terrorists, or lawful protestors. You have young people with nothing to do; you’re going to have a bunch of angry kids.

—–

Most Respectfully,

Joshua Jordan, KSC

Percussa Resurgo

Indeed it is all reminiscent of the deepening of the Great Depression. We are nowhere near out of the economic woods.

Mark Steyn on "women and children first"

Jerry:

Columnist Mark Steyn has a riff http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/ship-336602-titanic-concordia.html  on the evacuation of the Costa Condordia.

[quote]

There was no orderly evacuation from the Costa Concordia, just chaos punctuated by individual acts of courage from, for example, an Hungarian violinist in the orchestra and a ship’s entertainer in a Spiderman costume, both of whom helped children to safety, the former paying with his life.

The miserable Captain Schettino, by contrast, is presently under house arrest, charged with manslaughter and abandoning ship. His explanation is that, when the vessel listed suddenly, he fell into a lifeboat and was unable to climb out. Seriously. Could happen to anyone, slippery decks and all that. Next thing you know, he was safe on shore, leaving his passengers all at sea. On the other hand, the audio of him being ordered by Coast Guard officers to return to his ship and refusing to do so is not helpful to this version of events.

….

On the Titanic, the male passengers gave their lives for the women and would never have considered doing otherwise. On the Costa Concordia, in the words of a female passenger, "There were big men, crew members, pushing their way past us to get into the lifeboat." After similar scenes on the MV Estonia a few years ago, Roger Kohen of the International Maritime Organization told Time magazine: "There is no law that says women and children first. That is something from the age of chivalry."

If, by "the age of chivalry," you mean our great-grandparents’ time.

….

The contempt for "women and children first" is not a small loss. For soft cultures in good times, dispensing with social norms is easy. In hard times, you may have need of them.

[end quote]

Another example of how thin the veneer of civilization actually is.

Another quote from the piece….

[quote]

Whenever I write about these subjects, I receive a lot of mail from men along the lines of this correspondent:

"The feminists wanted a gender-neutral society. Now they’ve got it. So what are you complaining about?"

[end quote]

I guess, like one "I Love Lucy" episode I recall, they want gender-neutrality only when it’s in their favor.

…………..Karl

But to stand an’ be still to the Birken’ead drill is a damn tough bullet to chew,

An’ they done it, the Jollies — ‘Er Majesty’s Jollies — soldier an’ sailor too!

Their work was done when it ‘adn’t begun; they was younger nor me an’ you;

Their choice it was plain between drownin’ in ‘eaps an’ bein’ mopped by the screw,

So they stood an’ was still to the Birken’ead drill, soldier an’ sailor too!

Election

Hi Jerry,

I’ve been following your discussion of the coming election with great interest. I too am worried that the country is headed in the wrong direction. I think a lot of Americans are. The question is, what is the correct direction? You and I believe in small, transparent government that is pushed down as close to the people as possible. If your local town council can solve the "problem" of unlicensed magicians, why do we need a federal bureaucracy to deal with it? I believe most Republicans believe this way. Many Americans think that leads to a large mess of regulations that a traveling magician must deal with. For them, why not centralize licensing so the magician only has to deal with one set of regulations?

The problem is, neither Democrats nor Republicans will decide who is going to be the next President. There are a large number of Independents and most of them are just as dissatisfied with President Obama as many Republicans. The problem is the Republicans are behaving the same way as Democrats. I’ve had many friends who have asked what the difference is between Obama and Romney. When I start to discuss policies, they immediately respond, "No, aren’t both of them doing and saying anything they can to just get elected?" Policies and statements on policies during elections are always meant to be broken once in office. The key is, how did the politician get there? What parts of his/her soul had to be given up in order to get into office?

Right now, even as a long-time Republican I can see no difference between the tactics of Romney, Paul, or Santorum and what Obama did to get elected in 2008. Gingrich at least tried to hold off from jumping into that shark tank, but we Republicans pushed him over the edge. It was either jump in or go home.

Unfortunately, I see happening again what I saw here in California and in Nevada during the 2010 elections. The Republicans are going to nominate the only candidate that won’t be able to defeat the encumbant. Romney will lose and he will lose big. Most Republicans will vote for him, but not all. I for one will not. He is not a conservative AND he is not a true Republican. I won’t vote for Obama but Romney is certainly not getting my vote.

It’s about his tactics, his morality, and more than anything else his history while in office previously. Romney is just not presidential material. Congress will eat him alive. He will compromise and compromise just to get things passed and the result will be Democrats in Congress will be running the country.

I would vote for Gingrich or Santorum, but the elites in the GOP have determined those two are not going to get the nod. So be it. If Romney gets it, I, some Republicans, and many Independents will put Obama back into the White House. Better the devil you know than the one who doesn’t appear to be any different.

Braxton Cook

I do not agree. I believe that no matter who wins the Republican nomination, a vote for anyone other than the Republican nominee will be a vote for Obama. I have opposed the Republican Country Club Establishment since being involved in delivering the Washington State nomination votes (a convention, not a primary) to Goldwater in ’64 and being Republican County Chairman in San Bernardino that year. I do not think we have had a more fundamentally important election since I have been able to vote; and defeating Obama is the goal.

“They can take the SAT for you, no problem. Most students don’t really think it’s wrong.”

<http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/thailand/120103/US-college-application-fraud-asia-elite-economy-china>

–

Roland Dobbins

Yea Capitalism! HOA Forecloses On Korean War Veteran To Collect $338.91 Plus Attorney Fees

# # # BEGIN QUOTE

http://privatopia.blogspot.com/2012/01/homeowners-association-pursues-extreme.html

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Homeowners Association Pursues Extreme Option — Foreclosure — Against

Korean War Veteran

A measly $338.91.

That’s how much Sherman McCray owed his homeowner association when the

board of directors foreclosed on his Clermont house.

Of course, the debt wasn’t just $338.91 by the time a Lake County

judge on Jan. 3 ordered the 81-year-old Korean War veteran’s home

sold.

Oh, no. Between 2010 when McCray failed to pay a homeowners assessment

and that final hearing, the all-powerful homeowner association in the

Vistas subdivision had levied late fees, costs and interest, and it

had busied itself running up absurd lawyer bills by sending

threatening letters at every turn.

Total cost now: $4,272.24.

——————

The commentary describes this as yet another sickening tale of

diabolical, petty homeowner associations in South Florida and asks why

the HOA would exercise a punitive option against an elderly disabled

veteran obviously overwhelmed by health troubles and without a

thorough understanding of the rules. McCray clearly needs an advocate

to help him navigate the dangerous legal minefield that’s Privatopia.

I do not see this as a failure of capitalism, but quite the opposite: it is a failure of government to protect the rights of private property. Being forced to join and be subject to a home owners association is not a capitalist act, it is an undermining of property rights.

Subject: Space travel, moon base emerge as wedge in Florida primary race

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/28/space-travel-emerges-as-wedge-in-florida-primary-race/#ixzz1km8Hd69A <http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/28/space-travel-emerges-as-wedge-in-florida-primary-race/#ixzz1km8Hd69A>

Tracy Walters

I suspect that after Florida only one of the Republican candidates will be in favor of anything pro space. None of them will mention it again.

Column on manned space

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16749916

The columnist does not point out that this would be done with Prizes and X projects, not as a big government funded project. Opinions can differ on when it must happen, but it’s certain that Arthur Clarke was right: if mankind is to survive, then for most of its history the word ship will mean space ship.

Greeting again!

I see you have already covered the necessary counterpoint to the anti-Newt agenda. Powerline has as well.

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/01/newt-vs-reagan-the-sequel.php

When I see the derision of Newt’s even brief mention of the necessary future of USA in space policy, and then see alleged official correct candidate Romney blurble incoherent nonsense on the same subject seconds later, I actually felt as if I was no longer at home in the good old USA.

Usually the dum-dum’s know who they are themselves, and they stay quiet except in the friendliest environs to stay out of trouble. Last night, I guess they were serving notice they feel safe everywhere, including 100% of the media and briefing "major" Presidential candidates.

= Jay R. Larsen BA, MBA ====

I will point out that I am pro-space, to the extent that I once made a fund raising speech for then Congressman Leon Panetta, a Democrat. He thanked me.

as you predicted

http://space.flatoday.net/2012/01/romney-picks-up-endorsement-from-space.html

The space vets endorsed Romney. Of course, unlike Newt, he does not favor prizes and when he says "gather Industry and NASA together" I assume he means aerospace.

Phil

To the best I can tell, Romney to the extent that he supports space development supports the traditional big projects approach.

Textbooks

Dear Dr. Pournelle,

I recently returned to school. I found that the old textbook scams I hated way back when are far worse now. Not just new editions coming out every year, but school-specific editions. I can’t buy a used chemistry textbook for my intro chem class, because the publisher has a version edited specifically for my school. No texts used at other schools will do. No used texts through Amazon.

A few texts are in use long enough and widely distributed enough to have a used market. I ordered texts through www.campusbookrentals.com, and was quite satisfied with their service. A four-month rental cost me about $40, when a new purchase was $300.

I purchased an online text. What an awful experience that was. I paid $50 for a badly written (writers and editors seem to have given up on distinguishing countable and uncountable nouns, or singular vs plural for Latin and Greek words), badly formatted ‘book’ that I can only access for three years. The alternative was $400 for the same book in hardcopy. I gave up on trying to read it after a few chapters, and concentrated on taking good notes! It was searchable, so I got some use out of it while doing homework.

Digital texts won’t do us much good as long as publishers and schools are in cahoots, with shoddy and expensive goods.

I will note though that chemistry texts seem to have improved a lot, compared to texts in 1980. Plenty of examples, plenty of practice problems with the answers, so that a student can check his own work. Far superior.

Tom

Tom Bridgeland

I continue to follow the publishing revolution. The textbook story is nowhere near over.

Never attribute to Alzheimer’s that that may be attributed to malice.

Dr. Pournelle,

You are struggling to avoid attributing Elliot Abrams’ behavior to malice. While this says much to me that is positive about your own personality, perhaps the simplest answer, rather than defective memory, is indeed that he has used his public stature to work his own agenda.

I also wouldn’t put an age limit on memory issues. I am a few years younger than you, and I’ve had memory problems since my mid twenties — especially where I’m emotionally involved with the outcome. The less forgiving of my critics call me a poseur (the least forgiving have worse labels), but I am usually absolutely convinced of my own righteousness — at least until I have time for introspection.

Your respect for Gingrich seems reasoned, and I agree on many points although I’m a little more pessimistic on his party’s chances to capitalize on their relative strengths. If someone else’s statements disagree with your own evaluation (as they have many time in the campaign thus far), I’d recommend not to let your brief association in the past to provide Abrams an out. I know you’re not a Limbaugh, but if it is needful, call a pinhead a pinhead. He’s become the dupe of the opposition and deserves the label.

I would have preferred that the candidates had held to Reagan’s non-criticism policy, as I think would you. However, recognizing that few, if any, are holding to that standard in this campaign, it is well to note that Abrams has not been one of those maintaining that behavior. If the main election is lost to the opposing party, the results will be partly his responsibility.

-d

I will continue to assume that Elliot Abrams was deceived. I will also continue to observe that if Newt ever publicly insulted Reagan, Nancy Reagan remains unaware of it; she continues to regard Newt Gingrich as a friend, and Reagan’s designated successor in carrying the conservative banner Reagan got from Barry Goldwater. She has said so often.

I absolutely agree that it would be better if in general candidates adhered to Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment.

Jerry

Did someone just find a flying saucer ditched in the Baltic?

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/video-divers-large-unexplained-object-bottom-baltic-sea-161749619.html

A mystery of one of the shallower seas.

Ed

I would say very probably not…