A few items from the grading bunker

… which is where I’ve been lately. (But I think of you all often, amidst the stacks of essays.) Once you’re a blogger, the mind starts collecting bloggable issues like Post-It Notes. Here are the stickies I’ve accumulated in the past few days:

• OK, maybe it’s not really economics that bugs me. Can I state for the record that my commenters are some of the coolest folks ever? They responded to my cranky post with careful comments about the nature of actual economics and the difference between the content of economic theory and the free-and-easy “economics” is used in journalism and public policy debates. There’s a part of me that wants to say that real economists should be a little more active in calling out the folks out there misusing “economics” to claim authority in such debates … but there are so many such yahoos that it would be a full time job. And, if they were completely occupied with calling out the yahoos, the real economists would have time for neither their own research, nor for generously clearing up my ignorance on the nature of economics.
• While we’re on the subject of calling out the folks who give your field a bad name… Ampersand has a great post about “social scientists” (a term to be used advisedly for the pair in question) who critique the methodology of peer-reviewed academic research on same-sex parenting. This would be all in a day’s work, except that these “social scientists” have, in their own research, used the same sorts of methodology that they criticize in the work of others. Do they really think it’s bad methodology? If so, can we look forward to very public retractions of their earlier work? Or, possibly, are they criticizing the methodology because they don’t agree with the conclusions? And, if they really think that methodology X is bad across the board, doesn’t intellectual honesty require that they call themselves out for using it? Read Amp’s discussion (and stay tuned for his analyses of the methodology in question).
• Tomorrow is Blog Against Sexism Day. Given that sexism still has an impact on the life of the scientist, I’ll be posting on that tomorrow.
• Science Fair! The Synopsis Championship is this week, and they may still need judges or other volunteers. If you’re in the San Jose area, this is a great excuse to play hooky on Thursday.
• New philosophy blog to watch for… I heard, from a reliable source, that the philosophy grad students at UConn are poised to launch a new group blog. More details here when the rumor becomes reality!
• Still time to vote for the 2005 Koufax Awards. Voting is still open at Wampum. I’ve been nominated in the “Best New Blog” category (thanks to those of you who have voted for me in a very impressive field of nominees!), and there are many formidable blogs in other categories. Be a part of the process!

Grading beckons, but I’ll sneak back as soon as I can!