Observation

[raven]

I was just leaning against the radiator (for good reason - the house is bloody freezing today, and I do wish I knew why as my toes feel like they're about to drop off) and half-looking out of the window, half-reading a magazine open on the windowsill. It was this week's Time magazine, to be more specific, open at a double page article about the science of sleep, and I was only really skimming it because I'd read it before. While I was standing there, I happened to look at a supplementary part to the main article - a first person account, with the reporter's name, "Andrew Sullivan." And I blinked. I was sure that article had been written by a woman.

I'm avoiding Biology revision, you understand; much more fun to stand by a warm radiator and puzzle over why I thought that article had been written by a woman when I first read it. It seemed natural to look more carefully at the picture, but that wasn't an awful lot of help; it showed a gender non-specific figure with two pillows over their head. So I did the obvious thing, and read the article again, looking through it line by line wondering if I habitually made assumptions about the gender of a writer by the style of the writing. It's a good article - about sleep apnoea - but because of its being a first-person account of one person's experience with the affliction, has a distinct author's voice and style. I had no objection to reading it again.

And then I got to the inevitable section describing how difficult it is to self-diagnose sleep apnoea, because, well, it happens when you're unconscious. It's generally people around you who realise you have it, rather than you yourself. The writer in question had only discovered he had it on the advice of "[my] long-suffering boyfriend."

I blinked again. Ah.

I'm not going to come over all philosophical about it - I have no time; Biology is going to kill me where Chemistry failed - but I thought it was an interesting observation to have made, both about society's ingrained assumptions in general and the way my mind, at least, unconsciously picks up cues. Ever since Rice-Oxley went through that phase of experiementing on us (she objected to my calling it human experimentation) and made me aware that my own mind works slightly unusually (it took several rounds of Kim's Game to come to this conclusion) I've been interested in this.

In other, unrelated news - Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, M*A*S*H, Desperate Housewives (which I've been meaning to watch), Frasier (ditto) and Battlestar Galactica (ditto) are all on tonight. I have an exam on Monday.

And, oh, yes - Angel DVDs on the floor by my feet. Argh.

Also on the argh front - started playing with the iPod today, only to find I can't, because this computer runs on Windows ME and the software wants XP. Grrr. Argh.

Comments

[walkertxkitty.livejournal.com]

I think it must be a common social convention. I've noticed similar assumptions I make when reading an article or a journal....and they're often wrong.

[eternalwings.livejournal.com]

Well at least you haven't been trying to download ONE episode of a series that has not worked for roughly 4 days- grrr
Human experimentation?
*runs scared from mrs.rice-oxley*

[shipperkitten.livejournal.com]

The BSG episode on Sky tonight is the last in the series, I think, and is the end of a two-parter (or is it a repeat?)... hmm.

I had the problem with the iPod because I'm on XP - I think I briefly mentioned it in a comment? I think it also requires USB2.0 rather than USB1.1 but I just gave it what it asked for rather than fight it again.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

How did you get around the USB problem? This is so annoying.

[shipperkitten.livejournal.com]

Afraid I didn't manage to get round it... I needed an upgrade because of my meagre amount of USB ports and new hard drive, and work had 5-port USB2.0 PCI (that you stick into the back of your computer) cards marked up wrongly - £14.99 instead of £39.99 - so I took advantage and got one. Unfortunately it's now in the sister's computer (argh) until I get Windows XP.

They're making it difficult for people who aren't computer illiterate to use iPods, argh! Because we got our computers years ago we have to upgrade the damn things! *Fumes*

[language-idling.livejournal.com]

I used to have trouble with making that sort of assumption, but now it's all askew... My VP in the English society always referred to her Partner. I only found out tonight that her partner is not a woman, but a man.

How did these experiments of Rice-Oxley's go?

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

A man? That's a new twist. Heh.

Rice-Oxley's experiments revolve around Kim's Game - ever played it? You're given a tray filled with twenty objects and a few minutes to look at it. Then you go away and try to write down everything you can remember. Well, we did that. She took in the bits of paper. Over the next few weeks, we forgot the game. Then two months later, she asked us to write down everything we could remember, again. The second value over the first times a hundred is apparently a measure of your average short-term to long-term memory transfer. Mine is unusually high (in the region of 85%) and strangely, I rememebered everything I hadn't remembered the first time, and forgot some quite simple things. She has been considering a whole new set of experiments lately, so watch this space. :)

[cat4ian.livejournal.com]

so can u not use the ipod now? hhehe i no the welsh national anthem. well i did an hour ago i 4 got half it now.