2008?

Humm....

http://www.michaelhodges.com/missing.html

people don't talk like this

As some of you might now, I am shoulder deep in a research project right now. I had a good friend of mine here review my interview questions for students.

One of them read like this:

``When you contextualize knowledge / science in your classes, do you ever critique it as the work of years of white, upper/middle-class, heterosexual men?''

She replied:

``You might have to explain what you mean by this. People getting professional/practical degrees don’t talk like this.''

What's wrong with me???!!! Nothing, I guess. I am only the papillon rose et jaune de l'intellectualité, I should have answered.
Mouahahah!

Stanford football and... other dance pics!

Okay.

I had "forgotten" to add these pictures to my collection of dance pics with the French crew!

Here are Clément and Grégoire, doing the thing!
;)



Here is the French baguette: Clément, myself, and Grégoire.
Fun!



Believe it or not, I went to see the Stanford football team play this afternoon with Lovely Nicole:



We both fell for the Stanford mascott: the legendary Stanford Tree. What's the sound of a tree grabbing a cheerleader's arse?



The game in itself was interesting for the first quarter. After that, Stanford played defence NON-STOP. At least the half-time break was fun.



And I know you won't believe me (only Nicole can testify to this...), but I ate FRIES! That I bought MYSELF!
Madness!

Anyway. Hope you are well. I have a new tan, so life is good!

Cheers!

"the French don't conceptualize diversity"

Aloa!

Okay, I am back to life. Thanksgiving week off is coming up, so I have a little more time to catch my breath and enjoy a few seconds of writing on this poor, poor blog, who suffered from acute loneliness over the past few weeks.

Life at Stanford is great. Lots of sun, lots of smily people, lots of activities.
Tonight, for example, I am going to see Paul Farmer talk at the Memorial Auditorium. The venue sold out. Wow.

They don't and won't have snow. But they have things that LOOK LIKE snow banks. Look, here!



Ju Jitsu is going well, although I am not kicking as much ass as I was in karate.
Humf.

Yesterday I overheard a young woman complain to an older man that she lacked a word in French to express something. She continued, "the French don't conceptualize diversity". Hum. I wonder if she was talking about "gender". I faced the same issue myself when I was writing my scholarship applications (in French) and trying to talk about my future work.

Interesting.

I am preparing research papers on gender and decentralization, and on feminist pedagogy and feminist theory in the Stanford Teacher Education Program.
Fun.

My mom is in China.
My sister is back home. (She sent me a bracelet and some Chicken earrings from Chile, gorgeous. Her third present has yet to be photographed... You'll like it.)

So here, le Poulet wearing chicken earrings:



And the bracelet come mustache:



I'm having fun with the French crew.



(Oh, and I DON'T look that skinny. Weird photo effect, and the fact that I am upside down... Bizarre!)

Life is good!

Happy <> Good in math

Jonathan m'a envoyé un lien (ici) qui m'a vraiment intriguée.

En effet, le professeur (de physique à Harvard) qui écrit ce blogue a une liste de boutons qui permet de traduire le texte de ses blogues en différentes langues: German, French, Spanish and Japanese. Hum. Alors j'ai fait un test:

Version anglaise (originale): CNN: happiness & confidence bad for learning math

Traduction automatique vers l'anglais: CNN : le mauvais de bonheur et de confiance pour des maths de étude

Quelle horreur!
Mon prof de traduction (Hi Mr. Collins!) en perdrait son latin.
:S

Wow.

Un paragraphe tiré de la discussion de Motl:

``Also, the attempts to connect mathematics with the daily life are nothing else than a form of lowering of the standards. They are a method to make mathematics more attractive for those who like to talk even if they don't know what they're talking about. They are a method to include mathematics between the social and subjective sciences. They give a wiggle room to transform happiness, confidence, common sense, and a charming personality into good grades.''

Pas de références, seulement des opinions. Hum.

C'est la fin de Saddam

Saddam Hussein a été condamné à mort par pendaison par le tribunal irakien "indépendant".

On lit dans Le Devoir ici:

"Le procès de Saddam devait, suivant la pensée magique de l'administration Bush, marquer un moment important dans le processus de transformation de l'Irak en État de droit. Au contraire, les manifestations contradictoires de joie et de colère se sont multipliées hier en Irak, mettant en exergue les fossés qui séparent chiites, sunnites et Kurdes."

Les élections américaines sont demain... Je ne sens pas la ferveur politique ici à Stanford. Hum. Ça me rend un peu perplexe. Peut-être parce que les démocrates ont la victoire garantie ici?

Back from Vancouver

Through the airplane window I see the clouds. They look like a white sea illuminated by a bright sun and kissed by the blue sky. They roll in waves of cotton under the plane, in constant flux but yet everywhere.

Down under, where the sun refuses to go today, lies Vancouver the Dark.

I spent 4 days there in the rain, getting wet and soaked everytime I dared stepping outside the hotel where the conference was held.

Luckily, I was there with two great people: N, whom I knew from before, and who is quite an interesting character: sweet and direct and stringent at the same time. I met A, and the 'match' could not have been better given what I am going through these days. The three of us had fun in the cold rain enjoying the warm presence of the others. We laughed, discussed more or less important matters. "Grew up" all the while.

Met with J, whom I knew from Toronto.
Had a good time having great pizza and beer while being "served" by a classmate from elementary school in Quebec City. Quite a coincidence.

When N and I arrived at the Vancouver airport Wednesday, I waited in line at Starbucks behind a man who, visibly, had a lot of money. He ordered a double tall latte with a ham and cheese croissant, but once at the cash, paid for a regular latte with a plain croissant. He saved a big 3\$ maybe, while lying and exploiting the staff.
I didn't dare say a thing, unlike my usual self. I am getting older?

I presented my paper in front of a too sympathetic crowd, who didn't dare making comments on it.
I basically felt like I went there for no reason.
The conversation that we held afterwards was worth it to some extent. We agreed that the weight of "scientific" evidence in decision making deserves further scrutiny. Good stuff: that's what I want to study.

Wearing a Stanford tag has the weirdest consequences: people show you respect. They come and ask for your point of view and for advice.

The strangest thing ever.

I would be the same person I am now, with a University of Nowhereland tag, and I would go (almost) unnoticed. But the S word opens doors. N concurs.

Besides. N told me that I have a "French" style of scholarship, from what he has seen me present.
Quite interesting.
We agree that the obvious but understudied cultural difference in French vs. English-language academic style has to be looked into.

S told me that he will be in San Jose in two weeks' time, for the AAA conference. I didn't say a thing.

I will be filling a form in order to be moved Monday. I was told I'd get out of my current apartment soon, but would be re-moved in January.
We'll see how that goes.
My only requirement is to have a kitchen.
;)

Time to work on my next feminist paper, which is due Monday.
Good stuff.

e!