Saturday stuff

Here's the dress code for conservative Bob Jones University. My only question: Do faculty have to wear shoes?

Oh, the power of peer pressure. For many years, we contested with Joshua about keeping his fingernails short. Since he was playing the violin, he needed them short, but he wouldn't clip them. This year he's not playing the violin, so we don't really care. But... a friend of his looked at his long nails and said that he was the only guy in school who keeps his nails as long as girls do. Now, Joshua clips them every four or five days.

What, Jeremy is cutting back on his blogging! Say it isn't so. He makes some interesting points about the downside of blogging.

Here's a funny video about the importance of proofreading. (Thanks Mark for the link). I'm a terrible speller and proofreader, so I laughed rather nervously.

A very good illustration of Marx's false consciousness from Jay Livingston. Maybe the chicken has a skin disease too?

Halloween antics

Last night I got bored handing out candy, so I went to the pantry to grab some other goodies. Among the non-candy goods I gave out: A box of macaroni & cheese, a tin of curry paste, and a box of pudding mix.

In one group, the kid who got M&C held it up and said cool, at which point all the other kids wanted one.

Some didn't see what I did, so they probably had a funny reaction when emptying out the bag at home.

Karl Marx's skin lesions

Here's a story about Karl Marx. Dermatologists now think he had some skin disease, and they speculate that it affected both his life and work.

"In addition to reducing his ability to work, which contributed to his depressing poverty, hidradenitis greatly reduced his self-esteem... this explains his self-loathing and alienation, a response reflected by the alienation Marx developed in his writing."

So, it's not about the alienation of the lower classes, it's about skin lesions.

Does this tell us anything about Marx's modern day adherents?

Fireworks

I'm having a hard time with words today, so here's a picture I took of a town celebration at the end of summer.

Hay for Horses

He had driven half the night
From far down San Joaquin
Through Mariposa, up the
Dangerous mountain roads,
And pulled in at eight a.m.
With his big truckload of hay
behind the barn.
With winch and ropes and hooks
We stacked the bales up clean
To splintery redwood rafters
High in the dark, flecks of alfalfa
Whirling through shingle-cracks of light,
Itch of haydust in the sweaty shirt
and shoes.
At lunchtime under Black oak
Out in the hot corral,
-The old mare nosing lunchpails,
Grasshoppers ling in the weeds-
"I'm sixty-eight," he said,
"I first bucked hay when I was seventeen.
I thought, that day I started,
I sure would to do this all my life.
And dammit, that's just what
I've gone and done!

From "Rip-Rap"

by Gary Snyder

***

I was talking with a friend about life regrets, and the next day he dropped off this poem. I especially like it because it takes place not far from where my family lived in Fresno.

Religion and politics diagram

Here's a really funny diagram about religion & politics.

I'm not sure that I agree with all of it... I would put democrats into the stupid-politics overlap along with republicans. Also, I don't think that fundamentalists have a corner on the stupid-religion overlap (or even that all of them fit into it).

Still, I'm a sucker for a clever Venn diagrams, and this is one.

Speaking with conviction

Here's a wonderful video from a comedian named Taylor Mali. It's a thought-provoking critique of how we present knowledge. Enjoy!



Thanks to Mark for the link!

First imitate, then innovate

An interesting idea from the fruitfultime blog (which is different from fruit, full-time which is sponsored by the citrus growing industry).

When you're learning something new, focus on imitating what other, successful people have done. Once you've learned that, then start trying to do things differently.

In their words:

"To think creatively, be innovative, come up with new ideas, build new stuff, you first need to learn all that is currently known about the topic of interest. Only then can you push the envelope and be innovative. To become proficient in any subject, skill, profession, or sport, you need to be determined and disciplined.

In other words, you first need to master yourself, your core skills. You need to learn how to become more efficient, effective, disciplined, determined, and focused."

This makes a lot of sense to me. I've gotten (re)interested in photography these last several months, and rather than just going out and trying to take cool pictures, I found a wonderful book, and I'm trying to replicate some of the techniques and composition that he uses. In one section, he talks about panning the camera to follow a moving subject. Here's a picture of one of the runners that I took at one of Joshua's cross-country meets.

Cool, huh? Not particularly innovative, but better than what I would have done otherwise.

Fall colors

There are some advantages to living in New England, at least in autumn. Here are some pictures from last week. I think nature makes it beautiful for a few weeks to give us something to think about when its just sticks, rocks, and squirrels until spring.

Our street:

Side view of house:
View out my office window:

The value of women's sex in the romantic marketplace

This is from an article by Baumeister and Vohs (Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2004) in which they apply economic principles of supply and demand to the romantic marketplace.

They state that "a heterosexual community can be analyzed as a marketplace in which men seek to acquire sex from women by offering other resources in exchange." The question then becomes what effects the value of the sex offered by women. Here are their answers:

***
Assumptions of the romantic marketplace
- In general, men want sex more than women want
- In general, men have resources women want
- Women are free to make sexual decisions
- The man and woman live in a culture in which information about others' sexual activities is known or hinted about, so that each person knows the current market price

Factors that decrease a woman's market value

- Woman's age is past young adulthood
- Woman is unattractive
- Other women also want the man (competition)
- Woman has high drive sexual drive
- Man has much higher status than the woman
- Woman lacks alternate access to resources
- Woman has had many prior sexual partners or has the reputation of having had many - partners

- Larger pool of women than men (supply exceeds demand)

- Permissive sexual norms (low market price)

- Men have easy access to pornography or prostitutes (low-cost substitutes)

Factors that increase a woman's market value
- Woman is attractive
- Woman is in young adulthood
- Woman wears sexually attractive clothing
- Other men also want the woman (competition)
- Man has high drive sexual drive
- Woman has had few or no prior sexual partners, or has the reputation of having few or no partners
- Larger pool of men than women (demand exceeds supply)
- Female collusion to restrict men's ual access to women (monopolistic manipulation)
- Men have few opportunities for sexual satisfaction

****
Two questions

Do you think this is accurate?

If so, do you think this is moral?

(Thanks Mark for the article!)

Exchange theory and romance

Romantic love is the thing of poets, songwriters, college students text-messaging and… sociologists. One way that sociologists explain love is from the perspective of exchange theory. According to this theory, people think about relationships in terms of the various benefits and costs available to them, and they chose the relationships with the most benefits.

Think about the relationships that you’ve been in. What are some of the benefits that you received? They can make you feel loved and special. It’s fun to have somebody to do things with—you feel less lonely. They can also offer sexual gratification.

What are some of the costs? They can take a ton of time and money, even when you don’t have much of either. They can be full of conflict. They can produce a lot of anxiety, and there’s the always-present threat of rejection.

Once we have become aware of these benefits and costs, how do we use them to figure out what to do? Two decision-making standards have been proposed. The first is called comparison level. We figure out what we have to gain from a relationship and then we compare it to what we have had in the past. If the potential relationship is better than our previous ones were, we go for it. If it’s not, we don’t. The idea here is that we want something better than we’ve had before.

The other decision-making standard is comparison level of alternatives. We evaluate a current or future relationship not against past relationships but against other options that we think are available to us. The operating principle here is “can you do better?” Should you get involved with a particular person? Well, it depends on your other options.

These decision standards apply to both getting into a new relationship and to staying in an existing relationship. Should you ask someone out? Well, do you think that a relationship with that person will provide you more benefits than your past relationships did (i.e., comparison level)? Do you think that you would do better asking someone else out instead (i.e., comparison level of alternative)? Likewise, if you are already in a relationship, how long should you stay in it? You might stay as long as it’s better than what you’ve had in the past or until you think you can do better.

Now that you understand this sociological perspective on relationships, I would recommend being careful with how you use it. Specifically, society has rules and guidelines about how we present our decisions to potential romantic partners. When you’re at the local bar this weekend and see a very attractive person, don’t go up to them and tell them that they exceed both your comparison level and comparison level of alternatives. Even saying that the benefits of hooking-up exceed the costs probably won’t work. This is where poets and songwriters come in—they provide much more useful advice on how to enact our romantic lives.

Being 100% honest about the exchange aspect of relationships, even you’re being truthful, can make you sound rather cold-hearted and calculating. Consider the following exchange in a personal ad on Craig’s List. In it, a beautiful woman discusses her problems meeting her ideal mate, and in response a wealthy man subjects her to a rather brutal cost-benefit analysis.

******

PERSONAL AD

What am I doing wrong?

Okay, I’m tired of beating around the bush. I’m a beautiful (spectacularly beautiful) 25 year old girl. I’m articulate and classy. I’m not from New York. I’m looking to get married to a guy who makes at least half a million a year. I know how that sounds, but keep in mind that a million a year is middle class in New York City, so I don’t think I’m overreaching at all.

Are there any guys who make 500K or more on this board? Any wives? Could you send me some tips? I dated a business man who makes average around 200 - 250. But that’s where I seem to hit a roadblock. 250,000 won’t get me to central park west. I know a woman in my yoga class who was married to an investment banker and lives in Tribeca, and she’s not as pretty as I am, nor is she a great genius. So what is she doing right? How do I get to her level?

Here are my questions specifically:

- Where do you single rich men hang out? Give me specifics- bars, restaurants, gyms

- What are you looking for in a mate? Be honest guys, you won’t hurt my feelings

- -Is there an age range I should be targeting (I’m 25)?

- Why are some of the women living lavish lifestyles on the upper east side so plain? I’ve seen really ‘plain jane’ boring types who have nothing to offer married to incredibly wealthy guys. I’ve seen drop dead gorgeous girls in singles bars in the east village. What’s the story there?

- Jobs I should look out for? Everyone knows - lawyer, investment banker, doctor. How much do those guys really make? And where do they hang out? Where do the hedge fund guys hang out?

- How you decide marriage vs. just a girlfriend? I am looking for MARRIAGE ONLY

Please hold your insults - I’m putting myself out there in an honest way. Most beautiful women are superficial; at least I’m being up front about it. I wouldn’t be searching for these kind of guys if I wasn’t able to match them - in looks, culture, sophistication, and keeping a nice home and hearth.

****************************************

RESPONSE

I read your posting with great interest and have thought meaningfully about your dilemma. I offer the following analysis of your predicament. Firstly, I’m not wasting your time, I qualify as a guy who fits your bill; that is I make more than $500K per year. That said here’s how I see it.

Your offer, from the prospective of a guy like me, is plain and simple a crappy business deal. Here’s why. Cutting through all the B.S., what you suggest is a simple trade: you bring your looks to the party and I bring my money. Fine, simple. But here’s the rub, your looks will fade and my money will likely continue into perpetuity…in fact, it is very likely that my income increases but it is an absolute certainty that you won’t be getting any more beautiful!

So, in economic terms you are a depreciating asset and I am an earning asset. Not only are you a depreciating asset, your depreciation accelerates! Let me explain, you’re 25 now and will likely stay pretty hot for the next 5 years, but less so each year. Then the fade begins in earnest. By 35 stick a fork in you!

So in Wall Street terms, we would call you a trading position, not a buy and hold…hence the rub…marriage. It doesn’t make good business sense to “buy you” (which is what you’re asking) so I’d rather lease. In case you think I’m being cruel, I would say the following. If my money were to go away, so would you, so when your beauty fades I need an out. It’s as simple as that. So a deal that makes sense is dating, not marriage.

Separately, I was taught early in my career about efficient markets. So, I wonder why a girl as “articulate, classy and spectacularly beautiful” as you has been unable to find your sugar daddy. I find it hard to believe that if you are as gorgeous as you say you are that the $500K hasn’t found you, if not only for a tryout.

By the way, you could always find a way to make your own money and then we wouldn’t need to have this difficult conversation.

With all that said, I must say you’re going about it the right way. Classic “pump and dump.” I hope this is helpful, and if you want to enter into some sort of lease, let me know.

********************************

So, what’s the lesson here? While it might be a good idea to know why we make romantic decisions, we might want to be discreet about how we discuss them with potential or existing romantic partners.

That being said, let’s get out there this weekend and maximize comparison levels!

Originally posted in Everydaysociologyblog.com

Me Church

Here's a funny video clip about a modern sensibilities about church. (Click preview).

(From Ben D.)

Saturday stuff

A funny poster (sent by John)

Go Fight Ham Fighters!

Over the years I have been a fair-weather fan of several baseball teams, the Red Sox, Orioles, Dodgers, and anyone playing the Yankees.

Now, however, I have a team that I believe in, be a true fan... The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters! My new favorite team offers distinct advantages:

- The name (and I do like ham!)
- Their mascot: "Fighty," is fluorescent pink and resembles a fuzzy pterodactyl and rides a bicycle
- During the fifth-inning sweep, the cheerleaders and groundskeepers dance to the Village People's YMCA
- In 1980's the Fighters wore bright orange-and-yellow uniforms in an attempt to attract fans.

Is Religion Good for You?

"Doubling the rate of religious attendance raises household income by 9.1 percent, decreases welfare participation by 16 percent from baseline rates, decreases the odds of being divorced by 4 percent , and increases the odds of being married by 4.4 percent."

This is a summary of an article by Jonathan Gruber. He develops a in which leaving near people of the same religion results in greater religious attendance which in turn creates well-being.

>He speculates that religion increases well-being through several mechanisms:

1) "That religious attendance increases the number of social interactions in a way peculiar to religious settings"

2) "That religious institutions provide financial and emotional "insurance" that help people mitigate their losses when setbacks occur"

3) "That attendance at religious schools may be an advantage"

4) "Religious faith may simply improve well-being directly by enabling the faithful to be "less stressed out" by the problems of every day life"

(Emphasis and enumeration mine)

Naughty Nazgul

My seven-year-old son asked me some questions the other day that showed a strong sense of morality and analogous thinking (and made me laugh, too).

He started with the premise that we should always wear helmets when we ride our bicycles. "Okay"

He then asked if horseback riding was like bicycling in that we should also wear helmets. "Sure"

He then bought up something that he noticed watching Lord of the Rings... the Nazgul did not wear helmets when they rode their, well, whatever they ride. "That's true." At that he shook his head in disapproval.

So... in addition to be servants of the dark lord, the Nazbul are also naughty.

Midterm day

I gave my Soc of Religion class their midterm today, and I was struck by several things.

1) Giving tests is perhaps the only truly boring aspect of an otherwise consistently interesting job. (Faculty meetings are about the only competitor). Granted taking tests isn't fun, but watching people take tests is no great shakes either.

2) Good multiple choice questions are really hard to write. That may be the one aspect of teaching that I still feel pretty unsure about. Any advice?

3) I'm pretty sure that about 1/5 the class will be glaring at me on class Thursday. That's usually about how many seem to get grades much lower than they think they deserved. It will take a few lectures before they warm up again. When I started teaching, I would make personal attributions... I didn't do a good job with those lectures (after the midterm). Now it's pure situational attributions.

Playing Halo at Church?

Here's an interesting story, sent to me by David Weakliem, about a church that uses the video game Halo to attract young people to church.

The church using it identifies the need to reach teenage boys with its message, and from what I know of my teenage boy, Halo is the way to do it.

Critics suggest that its too violent--violating the "do not kill" thing in the Bible.

I actually think that I'm okay with this. I let my boys play Halo at home because it's sufficiently caricatured that I don't think that it's teaching them .

At church? What do you think?

An inspirational video

Here's a video that was shown at church this morning. The pastor set it in the context of doing what were created to do.

Remarkably inspirational!

Saturday Stuff

I am now the proud father of a tiger cub. Floyd, a strapping first-grader, has joined the cub scouts and was commissioned as a "tiger cub." He seems to enjoy it, a lot, and my favorite part: Their motto is "do your best" and then they roar like tigers. Cathy has volunteered to be a den mother, and it has been fun for her too.

Our church has started the "40 days of purpose," based on Rick Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life, and we're hosting one of the small groups. Last week's topic was what does God want for us in life. In the midst of discussing it, I cracked that I'm lucky because I also have my wife to tell me what I should do. At that point, one of the members in the group smiled and commented: "The Purpose Driven Wife."

Children can be brutal... just ask Casey.

Congratulations Dan on the teaching award.

An honest assessment of the job market for Sociology MA students.

One more reason to still be suspicious of people dressed like clowns.