Category: rePosts

Something to ponder…

Masculinity has been constructed over the last century almost entirely around the idea of men as providers and protectors, and frankly, women don’t need that any more. Already in at least a dozen major metropolitan areas, women earn on average more than men. Women are waiting longer to get married, and are more often the initiators of divorce – with their own incomes, they can afford to be pickier about their spouses, both going into marriage and when deciding whether to continue their relationships.
This has all happened in the context of larger social changes that have eliminated a great many jobs that were traditionally the sole province of men – the manufacturing and heavy labor jobs that relied on a powerful physique and a kind of working class swagger, most of which have been either automated or off-shored. At the same time, a new knowledge economy has sprung up, privileging communication, creativity, and self-motivation over brawn and emotional control. While there’s no inherent reason why women should do better in these emerging businesses than men, the fact is that men have largely given over the field while wasting time twiddling our thumbs over the loss of jobs where “men could be men”.
What do I mean? Well, women now make up the majority of college and grad school students, even in many areas in science and technology traditionally considered to be men’s domains. Boys almost never read – only some 1 out of 5 young adult books are read by boys, who have determined that reading books is for sissies. Boys are more likely to drop out of high school (35% of boys vs 28% of girls in 2003).
Basically, instead of learning how to be men in a changing world, we’ve been boys, dragged kicking and screaming into a world where women are increasingly equal players. Waaahhhh!
via Being a Man in the 21st Century (Part 1) – Stepcase Lifehack.

I hope I can always say to myself : “Damn they’re paying me to do this,Woot”

When money makes play into work
Not only this but rewards are dangerous for another reason: because they remind us of obligations, of being made to do things we don’t want to do. Children are given rewards for eating all their food, doing their homework or tidying their bedrooms. So rewards become associated with painful activities that we don’t want to do. The same goes for grown-ups: money becomes associated with work and work can be dull, tedious and painful. So when we get paid for something we automatically assume that the task is dull, tedious and painful—even when it isn’t.
This is why play can become work when we get paid. The person who previously enjoyed painting pictures, weaving baskets, playing the cello or even writing blog posts, suddenly finds the task tedious once money has become involved.
Yes, sometimes rewards do work, especially if people really don’t want to do something. But when tasks are inherently interesting to us rewards can damage our motivation by undermining our natural talent for self-regulation.
via How Rewards Can Backfire and Reduce Motivation | PsyBlog.

20 percent of Metro heart attacks due to passive smoke
By Anna Valmero
First Posted 13:16:00 10/26/2009
MANILA, Philippines—Second-hand smoke causes over 20 percent of the number of heart attacks in Metro Manila, officials from the Department of Health (DoH) said on Monday.
One to seven hours of weekly exposure to second-hand smoke increases the number of heart attacks or acute myocardial infarction by 10 percent and a weekly exposure of 21 hours in turn raises the number of heart attacks by 20 percent, said DoH Secretary Francisco Duque III quoting an international study.
via 20 percent of Metro heart attacks due to passive smoke – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos.

got this from prof Brad Delong’s blog.

The evidence thus suggests that a recession hits young people particularly hard, knocking them off course with effects that last for years to come. As we rebuild a new foundation for economic growth, it’s critical that we keep this in mind.
via OMB – Blog Post – Birth date, business cycles, and lifetime income.