Friday, February 14, 2014

In Which I Am Annoyed By Others' Illogic

Actually, I am frequently annoyed by others' lack of logical processing ability.

In any event, though I am sure the thought is not original to me, I am annoyed by people assuming that because I am a housewife, I have a) wasted my life; b) doomed myself to lack-of-job-forever; c) taken on a desire to do this for the rest of my life.

I'm sure this is some kind of induction error.  I'd like to point out to these people (but I don't because it's a small town, and both gossip and hasty anger are extremely ill-advised, so I point it out to you) that I, personally, have been doing this for less time than I was in college, not to say a great deal less time than I spent getting educated in general, and that neither I nor they know what I will do with the rest of my life, but it is also my own damn business.

I would also like to point out that this week, someone at a party was wondering why their ice cubes slowly get smaller in the freezer, and I told them why.  And I'm really quite good at edible-plant-related trivia!  And everyone says that my children are very well-behaved.*

*They aren't really- they're normal kids-  but they do know that in public, tantrum = immediate departure, and I try to provide incentives for them to do what I want so they can get what they want.  In brief, operant conditioning.

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:43 AM

    I'm sure this is some kind of induction error.

    But if you tried to tell them this, they would probably think you're talking about stoves.

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  2. Anonymous7:12 PM

    HAHAHAHA SOB, too. You know people aren't logical, right? I'm sure you encountered Kahneman & Tversky somewhere in your smartypants education...

    But yeah. Stereotypes may be a necessary cognitive evil, but it does seem like you've signed up for bumping up against some tedious ones for THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. You just need a quick line that says it all, like, I dunno, "I chose to stay home with the kids and I'm so glad I did, but I look forward to putting my PhD to use again at some point".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What gets me the worst is it's frequently female scientists - you know, people who've generally been aware of negative stereotyping and have had to work around it - saying things of this nature. (And the occasional asshole economist, but whatever.) Clearly they have established their identity in opposition to 'housewife' and I am getting slotted into their own horror of not working.

      When I'm feeling mean I smile and say "How kind of you to point that out."

      Delete

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