[chat] can't get no Satisfaction

Gaia Online

Gaia Online was played today for 15 minutes.

I don't understand what the point of the game is. But I do understand that the games are dildos.

Senior Capstone, CFI, and the Rivers Institute are Proud to Present:

Dr. Richard Leakey



A global thinker, influential environmentalist and the world’s best paleoanthropologist, Richard Leakey has made international headlines for more than 30 years.

Spend an evening with one of the Greatest Minds of the 20th Century (Time Magazine) and the explorer of the origins of man.

Please join us for this once in a lifetime opportunity. This event is free and open to the public.


Monday, October 8, 2007, 7:00 pm
Dr. Leakey presents: “Climate Change and the Future of Life on Earth”
CFA Auditorium, Informal Reception to Follow in CFA Lobby


Tuesday, October 9, 2007, 7:00 pm
Dr. Leakey presents: “Why Our Origins Matter, (including history, background on origins of man)
CFA Auditorium, Informal Reception to Follow in CFA Lobby

Have your milk and drink it, too. (Sophie Currier)

Note from the admin: We are now the #2 google hit for 'sophie c. currier' behind the Crimson article.

One of the things I loathe above all the things I loathe is arguments for fabricated equality. The idea that X ought to be treated like and have access to the things of Y, but in actuality X is treated like and has access to (X+C+Y) where C equals those things which are required to put X and Y on equal footing.

It's the paradigm of self-serving, ill-conceived bullshit. It's one of the biggest self-inflicted problems of the human race. And today we have another delightful example of this asinine aspect of ill-defined equality, brought to us by Sophie C. Currier:

A Harvard student must be given extra break time during a medical licensing exam to pump breast milk, a Massachusetts appeals court judge ruled yesterday.

The argument is that, "she risked medical complications if she did not nurse her 4-month-old daughter, Lea, or pump breast milk every two or three hours." So what does the judge rule?

"Judge Gary Katzmann said yesterday that she needed the extra time so she could be on “equal footing” with men and nonlactating women taking the test."

And it gets better.

In the 26-page ruling, Judge Katzmann said refusing to allow additional time meant that Ms. Currier must choose to either “use her break time to incompletely express breast milk and ignore her bodily functions, or abdicate her decision to express breast milk, resulting in significant pain.”

“Under either avenue,” he wrote, Ms. Currier “is placed at significant disadvantage in comparison to her peers.”

Now, combine all of that with one more delightful tidbit from the article:
Ms. Currier has already received some accommodation from the board for dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. She can take the test over two days instead of one, for example.

Do I really have to articulate what is wrong with this situation? Does it merit explanation? Sophie C. Currier wants X. 33,000 other people want X. Those 33,000 other people must attempt to obtain X by the standard means of obtaining X. Sophie, on the other hand, receives accomidations for her dyslexia, her attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and her lactating breasts.

Because that's what "equal" means.

Even if we ignore the fact that we don't want people to have medical liscenses if they have ADHD, dyslexia, and a lack of knowledge of birth control is it fair to the 33,000 other students that the rules are bent for Sophie? And more fundamentally, is it far to us? If the test is a means of discerning who is capable of X does it make any sense at all to modify the situation of one person when taking the test? If the test is indicative of an individual's clinical knowledge how can the test be modified and still communicate one's clinical knowledge? Couldn't all students be allowed 2 days, longer breaks, etc.? Why not level the playing field to that of the lowest common denominator, instead of attempting to elevate the lowest common denominator to the level of the 33,000 others? I sure as shit do not desire medical aid from someone who only has their liscense because the testing facility ignored all of the things that would have prevented the person from obtaining their liscense.

And the most fucking absurd part of this can be found in the judge's ruling where it states that Ms. Currier “is placed at significant disadvantage in comparison to her peers.”

Yes! That's the fucking point! If a person has no depth perception they suck at ping pong. You don't change the fucking game to accomodate them. They just fucking suck at ping pong. The same is true of every other god damned situation. If you cannot pass a test in the standard manner of passing a test then you suck at that test. You don't get X if you can't obtain X by the standard fucking means of obtaining X. Welcome to reality.

Because if we continually adapt tests and games and situations to try and level the playing field we are stuck in a perpetual mess of constant retardation of reality. By continually giving head starts we create a situation wherein those who obtain X by means of a head start are in a perpetual state of requring assistance to maintain that X. And eventually? That assistance goes away.

And then they're fucked.

As they should be.

So how about instead of trying to maintain this faux equality, instead of pretending that everyone can or ought to be able to do everything, instead of helping dipshits, we just create standards. And people who don't meet those standards can go fuck themselves.

Or just sit in their apartment milking themselves.


Edit: I'm going to add this point of clarification since people are actually reading this post. My point is that if Sophie C. Currier has additional time to take the test then everyone ought to have additional time to take the test. If Sophie C. Currier gets longer breaks then everyone ought to have longer breaks. Because that would be fair. And that would provide a universal means of assessing ability with regard to this test. Also? This is a blog post and not a nuanced, structured, proofread academic work. Treat it as such.

The Blog of Agglutination

Written with the Love of Stephanie Wrathburn:

Entry #1 & Entry #2

New Ad

i did this instead of grade papers - you people better like it.

Edward James Olmos

I met Edward James Olmos today at the Freedom Center.
He talked about stuff. it was neat.