The sex divide

Now the only trouble with this is that localisation of brain function has not been absolutely established i.e. stimulate one part of the brain and get one sensation, stimulate the same part again and get a different sensation ... and then there are those with hardly any brain at all that function pretty well, like university degrees ... and brain imaging can only ever be correlated with behaviour. I don't know of anyone who has managed such imaging in real (in vivo) life, 'on the hoof,' so to speak.

Sooo, reduce distractions and kids learn better ... and it probably also removes biases - I can recollect a study that showed female teachers evidenced a generalised bias against male students and that this was evident throughout their education - male teachers did not show a similar bias against female students but were seen as equally inclusive.

I have always been impressed by the contrast between advice given on how to swat for exams and what occurs in classrooms ... 'remove distractions,' only 'white noise,' prescribed study times (when and for how long) compared with a visual cocophony of form and colour and variable and brief demands for application to work ... the latter all deemed to represent 'a learning environment of excellence.'

So there is much spurious correlation to be found between nebulous ideas and academic achievement given that those ideas incorporate a reduction in distraction from learning.

Raising The Ante In Concert.

James Hansen, one of the world's leading climate scientists (the predominant one) warns today that the EU and its international partners must urgently rethink targets for cutting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere because of fears they have grossly underestimated the scale of the problem ... Climate target is not radical enough ... if "humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilisation developed".

So as Gore intensifies his efforts to breathe life in to the ENRON carbon credits dream scheme, new research findings are released ( by Hansen, the principal driver of the perception of anthropogenic global warming) that defy recent indications as to the minimal, if any, effect of carbon dioxide on global temperature ... this simply begs belief.

"It's not an alternative thing, it's a mainstream thing."

The Green's Pinup Boy?

Possum on menu for cheap living ...



He lives off $1000 a year by eating possum, milking goats, growing his own fruit and vegetables and cycling across Taranaki .... and cuts his own hair ... this "rugged looking" man.


the idea of sustainability was something everybody should be thinking about as oil reserves peaked, and climate change started to show its effect.
"We need to find alternatives," said Ms (not a consort of Hugh Hefner) May.

There were almost 40 stalls on the day and more than 30 speakers and workshops, including a talk by Green Party co-leader Jeanette (living the 'dream') Fitzsimons.

"It's not an alternative thing, it's a mainstream thing."

If You're Interested.

Solar Cycle 24: Implications for the United States

David Archibald
International Conference on Climate Change
March, 2008


In this presentation, I will demonstrate that the Sun drives climate, and use that demonstrated relationship to predict the Earth’s climate to 2030. It is a prediction that differs from most in the public domain. It is a prediction of imminent cooling.

This is an interesting and readily understood read.

Interesting.

Boys missing out in 'feminised' schools - headmaster.

Bubble-wrapped boys are missing out on crucial rough and tumble in a "feminised" school system that doesn't allow them to let off steam, a headmaster (Hereworth School) says.

& there is a lot of merit to this, but it is not a recent phenomenon .... arguably the number of our members of parliament who are confused or unsure of their sexuality, of their sexual orientation, reflect this 'feminising phenomenon.'

'& girls will be boys and boys will be girls, it's a mixed up ....'