Rotundus.com

Partisan Bias Diminishes When Partisans Pay

"It’s well known that Democrats and Republicans give different answers to even basic factual questions when those questions are politically loaded (Did inflation fall under Reagan? Were WMDs found in Iraq? and so forth). But do the respondents really believe their answers or are they simply signalling their affiliations? In other words, are respondents bullshitting? In a new paper, Bullock, Gerber, Huber and Hill provide evidence that the respondents don’t actually believe what they say and the authors do so by making partisans pay for their beliefs."

The Unbelievable Wretchedness of Mainstream TV's “Nerd Episodes”

"One tried and true trope that [crime procedurals and medical dramas] inevitably turn to is the "nerd episode," where the straight-laced cops/doctors/whatever enter the bizarre and terrifying world of gamers, role-players, cosplayers… and even furries. These are usually poorly researched and almost always make nerds look like morons, lunatics and/or sociopaths. Here are just a few episodes of these super-popular, mainstream network TV shows that did nerds no good at all."

Arranged Marriages Can Be Real Love Connection

"Think arranged marriages are loveless? Not so, says psychologist Robert Epstein, a contributing editor for Scientific American MIND magazine."

Childless Men More Depressed Than Childless Women, Study Finds

"About the same proportions of men and women said they wanted kids (59 percent of men and 63 percent of women). Among that group, half of the men said they experienced isolation because they weren't parents, while just over a quarter of women said the same. Compared with women, these men also were more likely to feel jealous of other parents and sad, angry, and depressed over not having kids."

From a letter shipped out by the US Department of Justice and Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights:

Sexual Harassment Policy 406.5.1 improperly suggests that the conduct does not constitute sexual harassment unless it is objectively offensive. This policy provides examples of unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature but then states that “[w]hether conduct is sufficiently offensive to constitute sexual harassment is determined from the perspective of an objectively reasonable person of the same gender in the same situation.” Whether conduct is objectively offensive ... is not the standard to determine whether conduct was “unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature” and therefore constitutes “sexual harassment.”

So it seems the new definition of sexual harassment is now completely subjective and does not require that the complainant be in any way reasonable or acting rationally. It seems difficult to consider this justice.

Bill to end ‘hate speech’ portion of human rights law gets mixed reviews but Senate approval

"A private member’s bill repealing Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, the so-called “hate speech provision,” passed in the Senate this week. ... The bill from Alberta Conservative MP Brian Storseth passed in the House of Commons last summer, but needed Senate approval. It has received royal assent and will take effect after a one-year phase-in period." Considering the implementation of this was a farce, I'd consider the removal of these bits from the law to be a good development.

Look, up in the air! Radio-controlled Superman takes to the sky

"Otto and business partner Ed Hanley have created a small start-up company that creates radio-controlled planes designed in the form of people, characters and objects"

I Don’t Feel Your Pain: A failure of empathy perpetuates racial disparities.

"... when viewers saw white people receiving a painful stimulus, they responded more dramatically than they did for black people. ... the researchers did not believe racial prejudice was entirely to blame. After all, black participants also displayed an empathy gap toward other blacks. What could possibly be the explanation for why black people’s pain is underestimated? ... It turns out assumptions about what it means to be black—in terms of social status and hardship—may be behind the bias. In additional experiments, the researchers studied participants’ assumptions about adversity and privilege. The more privilege assumed of the target, the more pain the participants perceived."

5 reasons price gouging should be legal

"In Calgary, a Facebook page called 'YYC Flood Profiteering Shame Wall' sprang up to try and embarrass businesses which increased their prices. ... The page featured posts condemning some stores for high prices of water while praising other stores for putting their water on sale. Those running the Facebook page missed the irony when they later had to inform people that the stores offering cheap water had sold out. Charity has its place, but removing the profit motive from businesses virtually ensures shortages during crises."