Tag Archive for racist

The SAT: A Valid or Racist Test?

What does the SAT really indicate? We sweat bullets over it, knowing that it plays a big part in whether our kid (or we) will be accepted into a college. It began as an IQ test, which its creator realized was very much flawed and let everyone know it was. There’s evidence that it is racist and based on income. Watch this interesting video for details.

What’s in a (Bridge’s) Name?

Here’s an irony: That symbol of civil rights advancement, the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama–it’s named after a man who was not only in the KKK but Alabama’s Grand Master and an infamous racist.  His side may have lost the Civil War, but he kept up his hatred of any kind of freedom or rights for Blacks.

I wonder: is the name of the bridge an irony or a useful reminder?

We Spent How Much on that Study?!

The results reported in the Psychological Review showing that anger and stress in Tweets correlate with heart disease and death made me, once again, yell “No fecal matter!”  I’m frequently flabbergasted by expensive studies that show what common sense already tells us.  I don’t know how much any of these studies cost, but here are 13 that have my “fecal matter” meter registering high:

  • The Western diet is bad for you
  • Sleeping beauty is no myth
  • Racists are close-minded
  • Morbid alert! Hanging is bad for the heart
  • Cheating men have strong sexual urges
  • Shy teens find friends online
  • Take smaller bites, eat less
  • Umbrellas protect you from the sun
  • People buy more fruits and veggies when they’re cheaper
  • Bad relationships depress people
  • Reality TV skews reality
  • Drugs and driving don’t mix
  • Women find musicians hot

Yes, these were all actual studies.  You can read about them at LiveScience.com.

I want to do a study on the effect of gravity on scientists being dropped out of a tenth-story university lab.  Let me know if you’re willing to contribute to this vital project.