Thoughts on production, alienation, and ideology
In one sense, it feels a bit quick to already write one of these end of year reviews (see also 2019 and 2018). They always creep up. And yet 2020 dragged on. I mean, it really dragged. While the end of summer moved pretty quickly, I think it took about 5 years to get through March.
How long did 2020 take? If you recall, back in January we were talking about the Bernie Sanders campaign. Now that seems like it was…what, 10 years ago?
Anyway, let’s take a look at 2020!
Editors dedicated a recent issue of Science, Technology, and Human Values to the topic of ‘ghost variables.’ Articles focused on this topic through the lens of race. The brief idea is that certain features don’t appear directly within the scientific data. However, they ‘haunt’ the data, existing as invisible traces. I think we can put this idea to good use.
Let’s look at a topic I wrote about awhile back: standardized testing. Could there be ghost variables at work? Standard disclaimer: as some of you know, I work in the testing industry. My opinion – as always – is my own and only my own.
My partner and I live about 500 miles from our families. This leaves us in a position where we feel like two holiday trips in a month are too many, so we usually stay in Iowa on Thanksgiving and travel for Christmas. A death in the family – as well as, of course, COVID-19 – disrupted all that this year. So, we stayed home for Thanksgiving and we’re staying home for Christmas.
It’s kind of a bummer. Christmas hasn’t held any religious significance for me for years. Though I grew up Catholic, I’ve been non-religious for 20+ years. But Christmas held a different place in my life – checking in with family and with my hometown in Indiana. More generally, checking in with my history.
One of my favorite things to do over the Christmas holiday is just hopping in the car and driving around rural Indiana. This year, a part of me will even miss the inevitable December 23 airport snafus. On the plus side, staying at home is peaceful.
How are you handling COVID-19 related travel plans/delays/etc.?
The effectiveness of masks? What a difference 7 months make! Back in the early days of COVID-19, evidence suggested homemade cloth masks probably don’t work. The CDC recommended against them. Now it seems like masks do everything. It’s a mask miracle.
Let’s take a look at this mask miracle.
With the December monthly reading list, I’ve added some TV shows! I’ve been starting and finishing a few shows lately. It just so happens that things came together recently and I finished three great shows.
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