Simulations

I can simulate my pleasure
I can simulate my pain
I can simulate the whole shebang, and still not go insane
I can simulate my husband
I can simulate my wife
I can simulate my children, and the others in my life
I can simulate a sunset
I can simulate a kiss
I can simulate the dog I had, and really really miss
I can simulate the ocean
I can simulate a stream
I can simulate a forest, or an autumn, or a dream
I can simulate perfection
I can simulate the good
Which is strange, because the real me can’t imagine why I would.

Context over here, somewhere. In a nutshell, it’s singularity stuff. rant follows: [Read more…]

Outsourcing Morality

My God is just and wrathful;
I fear the day we meet.
He’ll judge my sins and trespasses
From his almighty seat
I’d try to beat the system
But His system can’t be beat—
So while sometimes I am tempted
I will never, ever cheat.

My god is kind and loving
And forgiving of our sins;
In our quest to find salvation
He knows everybody wins
In school, when tests are handed out
He knows my head just spins
So my eyes are on my neighbor’s test
As soon as it begins.

Sciencey stuff, after the jump: [Read more…]

Barometer Students

Do you have them? They don’t show up every semester, so consider yourself fortunate if you get one, and powerball-level lucky to get two or more in a class. These are the students whose faces are an honest reflection of how well you have explained something. If you are less than clear, an eyebrow might go up, or a head might tilt just a bit. Another student might be nodding in agreement, but frankly, always nods in agreement, even if you are presenting the old, wrong, out-of-date view you are about to demolish.

But the barometer student is skeptical. Listens. Processes. Understands. And (most helpful to you) it’s written on her or his face.

Just spoke with one of three such students this semester (lucky me!), who I would have sworn was lukewarm about this class. I could not have been more wrong (I blame cultural differences; this student was from overseas). Once again, I am a happy Cuttlefish. And a sad Cuttlefish, because this particular barometer (indeed, two out of three of this semester’s barometers) is graduating, and the odds are we will never meet again.

I suppose by this time in my career I should be accustomed to never seeing people again after becoming invested in their lives. Maybe I am, and the sadness is not strange, but simply an appropriate reaction to the situation. “Accustomed” does not mean “immune”.

“So He Cut Off Her Fingers” Update

In December, I passed along the story of Hawa Akther, whose husband cut off the fingers of her right hand when he found she was attending college.

The BBC has an update, with both good and bad news. The good news is, Ms. Akther is a remarkable woman. Her right hand has been surgically modified by rehabilitation doctors so that she can hold a pen or pencil, and she is right back on her quest to become a lawyer:

“All those horrible things happened to me because I wanted to study. So, I will pursue my education. Doctors say I cannot write [in] my exam for three hours at a stretch. So, I need a writer for the exam. But I will continue practising with my right hand,” she said.

Her determination to fulfil this objective has even tempted her to break rules at home.

“I had to register and pay exam fees three days after my fingers were cut off. So, my parents told me not to sit for them this year,” she said.

“But I didn’t want to miss it. So I took money from my mother’s handbag without her knowledge and paid my fee,” she said with a giggle.

The bad news is that she is but one example of what is a growing problem:

The 2011 Human Rights Report by the Odhikar organisation points out that violence against women is on the rise in the country.

It said that more than 300 women may have been killed in dowry-related violence last year. In addition to this, dozens of women were also killed in rape and acid attacks.

There is social stigma attached to reporting such incidents; I can only hope that Akther’s case makes her an international hero, that she can model perseverance and courage, and that newly empowered women will change the world.