Passionate educator. Progressive Christian. Principled Thinker. Proud husband and father of three.
I'm a professor of DS and CS at UMW (Virginia USA), a public liberal arts institution. My passion is working with undergraduates to help them develop the technical skills necessary, and how to engage their world sufficiently, to succeed in being transformational actors.
I'm also the creator of the https://allthemath.org educational resources and the https://positionofprivilege.org blog.
| Position of Privilege (blog) | http://positionofprivilege.org |
Couldn't help quoting this:
“President Trump only acts in the best interests of the American public—which is why they overwhelmingly re-elected him to this office, despite years of lies and false accusations against him and his businesses from the fake news media.” -- White House spokesperson Anna Kelly
Wow.
"The Democrat Party does not fight for, care about, or represent American citizens. It is an entity devoted exclusively to the defense of hardened criminals, gangbangers, and illegal, alien killers and terrorists. The Democrat Party is not a political party. It is a domestic extremist organization….it disgusts me.”
- Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff to President Trump
The Evangelical Presbyterians (https://epc.org/) have a quippy guideline for theological matters: "In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty."
This has always bugged me a bit because it doesn't solve anything. *Everyone* -- any flavor of Presbyterian, or Methodist, Catholic, Buddhist, Atheist -- agrees with that maxim. The sticking point is "which things are essential?"
It simply kicks the can down the road, giving the false impression that a rigorous principle has been applied.
Testosterone is poison.
Don't get me wrong, it's nice to have in a caveman setting where you need to kill wild animals with your bare hands, run from predators, and protect your young. But I don't live in such a setting. In my world, the opposite things are advantageous: selflessness, empathy, sharing, discernment, farsighted thinking, good decision-making, and peaceful solutions. Testosterone does nothing but wreck those things.
If you want to see power athleticism, macho dunks, and one-on-one challenges, watch men's basketball.
If you want to see teamwork, hustle, creative playmaking, and amazing (and selfless) passing, watch women's basketball. 🏀
Don't get me wrong: I'm super excited about the "No Kings" protests and support them unequivocally.
At the same time, I can't help thinking, "where was all this enthusiasm and motivation last November? We all had a chance to vote and prevent this in the first place!"
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.