1. Sorry, I just don't comment anywhere as much as I used to. I'm drowning in demands on my time, and part of the change in LJ from my POV has been that fewer people seem to like getting a lot of comments, or it's become more normal to only really want to be read by your "real" friends, or something . . . anyway, 6 of 1 and 1/2 a dozen of the other, I comment less.
2. Gods, yes, women are competitive. Maybe these people who say they aren't, have never been inside a girls' school or even read girls' school fiction (which come to think of it used to be absolutely market-dominating in the UK and doesn't seem to have been at all important here.) But girls' sports . . . yeesh, I do not see how anyone could say women are not competitive. And I loathe ambition. I regard it as a serious character flaw. It has nothing to do with sex. It has to do with neglecting your present duty because you are always focusing on the next job title . . . and not even, in most cases, the next set of duties. Ugh.
3. There's an odd dynamic with academic pride in accomplishments and willingness to get out there and debate. I am in several ways not the right person to analyze it: I was an odd combination of success and failure in academia on both sides of the Pond. But I do not think enjoying discussing ideas and jumping into conversations with one's own criticisms, questions, and work results is the same thing as beating others down by always trying to "win." I don't think all those who revel in the seminar/conference/hallway environments are phonies, but the publications/presentations system is threaded through with rewards for phonies: in the sciences mainly people who hang onto the coattails of the right sponsoring bigwig, in the humanities there's also an awful lot of sheer outrageousness (invent a point of view/theory that is just gobsmacking, then churn out papers arguing for it by simply dismissing all possible criticism, and verbally eviscerate anyone who tries to make a reasonable objection. This is the way a terribly large number of people got tenure; I like to think it's impossible in the sciences, though I fear there are some corners where it can be done . . .)
4. The tide of writing interesting stuff on LJ is going out, with a tremendous force of suck, and creating an undertow of resentment among those who have not lost many valued friends to the management's ineptitude and hostility, and just can't see why some of us are so disgusted. There are nice eddies here and there--yuki_onna is so repelled by people recommending DW to her that she's writing a fascinating post every day for 30 days on her LJ! I am thrilled to read them, although like pretty much all of us she has other demands on her time, so I feel guilty . . . . A lot of the backstory is that people are incredibly busy - and charitably, I'm going to keep telling myself that that's why they Facebook or tweet rather than writing here or on LJ. But it isn't me, it isn't you, it isn't even DW. It's the times (and the past on LJ that can never be forgiven even if the current management were to get a clue). Large parts of the community are scattered to the wind. But some--like the Yuki_Onna nexus and the Shadesong nexus--remain. However, DW is nice. I like it here. So I support it with 2 daily posts, one of them designed to get others posting too, if only in comments. I figured if I could not find time for real substantive blogging, I could at least do that.
5. And you just did, and keep doing, real substantive blogging. In both places. So thanks :-)
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
1. Sorry, I just don't comment anywhere as much as I used to. I'm drowning in demands on my time, and part of the change in LJ from my POV has been that fewer people seem to like getting a lot of comments, or it's become more normal to only really want to be read by your "real" friends, or something . . . anyway, 6 of 1 and 1/2 a dozen of the other, I comment less.
2. Gods, yes, women are competitive. Maybe these people who say they aren't, have never been inside a girls' school or even read girls' school fiction (which come to think of it used to be absolutely market-dominating in the UK and doesn't seem to have been at all important here.) But girls' sports . . . yeesh, I do not see how anyone could say women are not competitive. And I loathe ambition. I regard it as a serious character flaw. It has nothing to do with sex. It has to do with neglecting your present duty because you are always focusing on the next job title . . . and not even, in most cases, the next set of duties. Ugh.
3. There's an odd dynamic with academic pride in accomplishments and willingness to get out there and debate. I am in several ways not the right person to analyze it: I was an odd combination of success and failure in academia on both sides of the Pond. But I do not think enjoying discussing ideas and jumping into conversations with one's own criticisms, questions, and work results is the same thing as beating others down by always trying to "win." I don't think all those who revel in the seminar/conference/hallway environments are phonies, but the publications/presentations system is threaded through with rewards for phonies: in the sciences mainly people who hang onto the coattails of the right sponsoring bigwig, in the humanities there's also an awful lot of sheer outrageousness (invent a point of view/theory that is just gobsmacking, then churn out papers arguing for it by simply dismissing all possible criticism, and verbally eviscerate anyone who tries to make a reasonable objection. This is the way a terribly large number of people got tenure; I like to think it's impossible in the sciences, though I fear there are some corners where it can be done . . .)
4. The tide of writing interesting stuff on LJ is going out, with a tremendous force of suck, and creating an undertow of resentment among those who have not lost many valued friends to the management's ineptitude and hostility, and just can't see why some of us are so disgusted. There are nice eddies here and there--yuki_onna is so repelled by people recommending DW to her that she's writing a fascinating post every day for 30 days on her LJ! I am thrilled to read them, although like pretty much all of us she has other demands on her time, so I feel guilty . . . . A lot of the backstory is that people are incredibly busy - and charitably, I'm going to keep telling myself that that's why they Facebook or tweet rather than writing here or on LJ. But it isn't me, it isn't you, it isn't even DW. It's the times (and the past on LJ that can never be forgiven even if the current management were to get a clue). Large parts of the community are scattered to the wind. But some--like the Yuki_Onna nexus and the Shadesong nexus--remain. However, DW is nice. I like it here. So I support it with 2 daily posts, one of them designed to get others posting too, if only in comments. I figured if I could not find time for real substantive blogging, I could at least do that.
5. And you just did, and keep doing, real substantive blogging. In both places. So thanks :-)