By way of Medley, a fascinating article on email and privacy: Accidental Privacy Spills: Musings on Privacy, Democracy, and the Internet.

What gets me about all of this is the constant argument that everything written down is "information" - sterile information that wants to be free and spread to every corner of the globe. This kind of characterization of everything as cold hard facts and information for global consumption its social context. If I want to pass along information about an event to the world at large I'd often rather do so without passing along certain intimate information about *ME*. My personal feelings, musings and thinking out loud are not "information". They are "feelings", "musings" and "thinking-out-loud". If, in 100 years I'm so famous that archaeologists and historians are digging for every utterance I ever made, then I'll accept that these personal, intimate tidbits have *become* information. But for now, that's a realm that I only feel safe sharing with friends who understand that I and my intimate thoughts are a work-in-progress.

The article points out the speed at which we forward emails now, and I wonder if this isn't somehow related to the growing phenomenon of fast-forward speech. In fact, many aspects of modern day life are increasingly faster moving. I really need to read James Glick's Faster: The Acceleration of Just About Everything soon.

Also by way of Medley: an article in The Atlantic called Caring for Your Introvert: The Habits and Needs of a Little-Understood Group. I thought this part was a spot-on-explanation:

"Introverts are not necessarily shy. Shy people are anxious or frightened or self-excoriating in social settings; introverts generally are not. Introverts are also not misanthropic, though some of us do go along with Sartre as far as to say "Hell is other people at breakfast." Rather, introverts are people who find other people tiring.

Extroverts are energized by people, and wilt or fade when alone. They often seem bored by themselves, in both senses of the expression. Leave an extrovert alone for two minutes and he will reach for his cell phone. In contrast, after an hour or two of being socially "on," we introverts need to turn off and recharge. My own formula is roughly two hours alone for every hour of socializing. This isn't antisocial. It isn't a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: "I'm okay, you're okay--in small doses."

That's me! And this sort of relates back to the speeded-up-speech thing too. Extroverts are well represented in politics and are presented as lively and bubbly. Sound like West Wing and Gilmore Girls? The introvert is more likely to pause before speaking, or speak more slowly and deliberately, as if out of practice with speaking!

(By-the-way, my Meyer's Briggs is INXX, usually INFJ, but sometimes INTJ. If you're curious about Meyer's-Briggs, skip the online quizzes and go straight for the much more detailed discussion in Please Understand Me: Character and Temperament Types by David Keirsey, Marilyn Bates.)

Also interesting to me was this one by way of Out of Ambit: Why Nerds are Unpopular. I could relate to this one too. Although it was difficult to be SO "different" all the time (multi-ethnic, non-anglo name, introverted, smart, girl who was into non-girl stuff) in high school, I really wanted to be smart MUCH MUCH more than I'd ever wanted to be "popular". The "popular" kids had to work at it to be there, fashion-wise, knowing trivia and trends and social nuances. Like the article says, it's not something do you in your spare time, although I suspect it's an unconscious act for many kids. No, I wanted to spend my time reading, going to the library, going to the museum, digging for clams on the beach and trying to figure out computers. I didn't have *time* to spend on the effort of making my way into the popular crowd, and I never would have tried. Even now, I spend more time learning than I do networking or keeping up with fashion and trends. And I like it that way, though it doesn't have as much social consequence for me now. (The article notes that "smart" does not equal "nerd" in elementary grades, or necessarily afterward, but almost always does during the teenage years.)

In other social news, Ethno:log points out an article about elitism in online communities that is worth a look.

And Ebola has been in the news recently, with a recent epidemic in the Congo devastating primate populations. While researchers are looking for a another possible carrier for the virus, villagers have their own theories as to it's origin. Four teachers suspected of being witches are stoned to death. " In Kelle, people continue to believe that the Ebola disease is a spell that has been cast on them by witches...".

Another interesting bit: The World's oldest burial is re-dated to 40,000 years.

The Journal of International Women's Studies, an on-line publication, is seeking submissions for a special issue on women in science. We are seeking scholarly articles and essays written for a multidisciplinary and international readership. Although a broad range of topics relating to women in science will be considered for publication, we particularly seek submissions relating to the nature of science, the culture of science, and science education as they relate to and impact women. Please log onto the journal web site at http://www.bridgew.edu/Depts/artscnce/jiws/ for further information about the journal.

Submission should be sent as Microsoft Word attachments or on disk through regular mail to: Heidi Fencl, NAS/ES-317, UW-Green Bay, 2420 Nicolet Dr., Green Bay, WI 54311, fenclh@uwgb.edu. Submissions for this special edition are due by August 29, 2003. Articles should be double spaced with endnotes with citation appropriate to your discipline. All submissions should be accompanied by an abstract of 300 words or less and three key words. Authors should also include a statement of their affiliation and any acknowledgements in the first endnote

Dr. Heidi Fencl
Dept. of Physics
UW-Green Bay
Green Bay, WI 54311
(920) 465-2261

WIRED: Nigerian Slain Over E-Mail Scam

I hadn't been following this very much so I had no idea that it was actually a thriving "industry" with thousands of scammers involved. I still think of the damn e-mail like I do forwarded hoaxes of the forwarded joke I've seen for the umpteenth time.

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