For the Squee

Oh, I love this idea.

I've commented recently on the tendency in F&SF fandom to focus on the things we don't like as though our preferences reflected some inherent flaw in the material. It's amazing how much effort and energy we sometimes put into building up a big head of hate. In fact, that was the impetus for posting a little ditty about not liking things.

Just in time for holiday weekend travel and potentially obligatory family time comes the antidote. From the press release:

Science Fiction and Fantasy professionals Elizabeth Bear, Paul Cornell, Seanan McGuire, Lynne M. Thomas, and Catherynne M. Valente will be premiering a new monthly podcast called the SF Squeecast on June 30, 2011.

In every SF Squeecast episode, our contributors (and occasional guests) will each bring SF works that make them happy -- both new discoveries and old favorites -- for group discussion. Other elements in the podcast include an irreverent question and answer segment and the occasional topical discussion over a virtual cup of tea.

The SF Squeecast combines humor, passion, and professional experience in the SF field into a never-ending convention panel discussion of “don’t miss this” science fiction and fantasy works in all formats. Our regular contributors include two-time Hugo Award-winning and Theodore Sturgeon Award-winning author Elizabeth Bear (The Jenny Casey Trilogy, The Jacob’s Ladder Trilogy), Hugo-nominated New York Times Bestselling television, comic book, and prose writer Paul Cornell (Doctor Who- “Human Nature,” Action Comics), Campbell Award-winning, Hugo-nominated New York Times Bestselling author and musician Seanan McGuire (October Daye series, Feed as Mira Grant), Hugo-nominated editor and curator Lynne M. Thomas (Chicks Dig Time Lords, Whedonistas), and Hugo-nominated, Tiptree and Andre Norton Award-winning New York Times Bestselling author Catherynne M. Valente (Palimpsest, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making).

They're referring to it as a "podcast of positivity." That doesn't sound as exciting to you as the latest devastatingly bad review of XYZ? Well, it helps if you know the crew. Lynne Thomas (full disclosure: she's a friend of mine) is leading the charge to turn positive fandom into an industry with the books she's edited, and the others are all known for being the sort of writers who are as vivid in person as they are on the page.

But you don't have to take my word for it. The SF Squeecast officially debuts today. Check it out for yourself. Isn't it about time to remember that you like this genre you love?

Where to Find Me This Weekend

It's going to be a long, busy weekend, thanks to the Skepchicks and CONvergence. In addition to getting to see all sorts of wonderful people who are too far away most of the year, I have a few specific commitments this weekend.

Tomorrow, I will be at the grassroots activism workshop run by Maria Walters (Masala Skeptic) and Desiree Schell. Once the weekend is over and I have a chance to (start to) recover, I hope to write this up for those who are unable to attend.

Are you wondering about ways to get more involved in skeptical activism? Wondering if you can actually make a difference but not sure exactly how?

I’m really proud to announce that Skepchick is offering a Grassroots Skepticism Workshop at SkepchickCon this year. Desiree Schell and I will be hosting the workshop and helping you navigate the best practices and pitfalls of activism.

If you are attending the convention, Saturday night at 10 p.m. is the Science-Based Sex panel. While any of us on the panel could talk about the topic for the full hour, this is an excellent chance to bring your questions about human sexuality to a bunch of people who may argue over the answers but won't just guess. Come make us talk about what you want to know.

Type: Panel; Science & Technology
Venue: Atrium 7
About: What does science have to say about human sexuality? Do our current cultural assumptions about sex hold up to scientific scrutiny?
Speaker/Artist(s) Info: Rachel Maccabee, Bug Girl, Amanda Marcotte, Stephanie Zvan, Craig A. Finseth
Tags: Science & Technology, Skeptic

All too soon after that, on Sunday morning at 9 a.m., I will be on Atheists Talk interviewing Skepchickcon guest Amanda Marcotte.

Amanda Marcotte is a feminist, atheist blogger and columnist whose views are nuanced and thoughtful but rarely careful. She recently noted that for all her work on feminism, her posts on atheism earn her the most negative attention. Tune in on Sunday, July 3, as she and Stephanie Zvan discuss the intersection between the two. Find out how feminism led Amanda to atheism and how it led to a conflict with the Catholic League over her work for John Edwards' presidential campaign. We'll also discuss the role of religion in the GOP's recently ramped-up War on Women. Expect a spirited discussion.

If you want to listen online, you'll need to use a Minnesota zip code, such as 55401. Call in with your questions to 952-946-6205 or email them to radio@mnatheists.com. A podcast version of the show should also be available Sunday afternoon if you can't listen live.

And then? Why, then I collapse.

Help Keep Atheists Talk Going

Mike explains at his blog. Normally, I wouldn't just lift a whole post, but I think it's justified in this case.

Atheists Talk is a volunteer effort by a larger group of people than those you hear on the air. I appreciate all of the people who contribute your time to help me make it a show worth listening to. The costs that we incur are not for the labor, but for the fee we pay to the radio station. It is well worth going through AM commercial radio because it extends our listenership in ways that podcasting alone couldn’t do.

We have a fundraising drive going on, so that we can keep renewing our six month contracts. Even though we negotiated the price downward from what we had paid in our first two years, the price at $5320 is still quite a chunk for our general fund. Please read this appeal and send in what you can to help us justify the expense to the members who support us.

This program costs $5,320.00 every six months. We sell some ads, but most of our costs are covered by supporter donations. The program is broadcast live on AM950 KTNF, but most of our listeners follow our podcasts. Of the 114 programs our number one download was the program broadcast from the Minnesota State Fair, “All About Atheism,” that had over 21,000 downloads. Next most downloaded was the very first program we did, with Richard Dawkins, at 13,000, followed by “Dialogue with a Christian” with over 10,000. After that, there are seven programs with over 7,000, ten over 6,000 and 15 over 5,000. Within two to three weeks of production, every program has between 1,000 to 2,000 downloads.

We have a donation link.

Be sure to listen to Sunday’s show. I will be talking to Eric MacDonald about the right to make one’s own Choice in Dying.

Pass the word, and please help if you can.

The Politics of the Null Hypothesis

In which I talk about the lack of evidence for a genetic explanation for variation in human intelligence. In public.

Nothing about the field of IQ studies is free of political influence. It's naive to believe that any kind of research on a purported measure of individual merit could be politics-free in a self-proclaimed meritocracy with wide inequalities. Binet's original work was meant to determine which children should have access to additional educational resources. IQ scores are used occasionally to sort out "inappropriate" candidates for various jobs, including those whose IQs are too high for a role. IQ as a proxy for merit is used to argue that a group does or does not face discrimination in educational or career opportunities. This is all terribly political.

The question isn't whether there are politics surrounding this issue or where. They're everywhere. The question is where does the politics get in the way of the science? Again, the answers don't favor Pinker's view of a fatwa against genetic explanations of individual differences.

For those of you visiting from the Scientific American Guest Blog, welcome to Almost Diamonds. Kick back. Relax. Drinks are in the fridge. If you're looking for more on politically sensitive science, may I interest you in the following posts?

What Is Race Good For?

The Argument for Race
There were four main arguments made for the biological validity of race:

1. Genetic testing allows for grouping by country of ancestor origin.


2. Race may not predict the things it's been used to predict in the past, but it's an important proxy for genetics in medicine.


3. Yes, assignment of humans to racial categories is an arbitrary procedure, but we use arbitrary names for parts of other continua. Why not race?


4. You're just being PC, Marxist wankers.

I think we can ignore #4, but the rest were addressed in the discussion.

Sex, Science, and Social Policy

There's just one little problem: The studies themselves. In 2001, Paul, Linz, and Shafer took a look at what kind of evidence was being used by those who wanted to marginalize sex-related businesses. What they found was impressive...but not in the way one would hope.

The researchers started with a list of four requirements that would need to be met for a study on the topic to be considered scientific. In situations like this, where laws and regulations may be challenged in court, scientific evidence isn't just a good idea. It's the legal standard, so meeting these scientific criteria is important.

Rape Myth #1: She's Probably Lying
The Rate of False Report

The standard figure passed around by victim advocates suggests a rate of false reports of 8% based on FBI crime statistics from 1997. This is comparable to rates for other crimes. However, citations can be found for rates as low as 1.5% and as high as 90%. In other words, huh? How do we deal with a range that big?

Luckily for those who want to sort out the truth of the matter, two papers came out in 2010 that shed considerable light by examining how false rape report rates are generated. David Lisak, Lori Gardinier, Sarah C. Nicksa, and Ashley M. Cote collected those prior studies that had the best (and most transparent) processes for sorting between false and merely unproven allegations. They also used a similar process for determining the rate of false reports of rape at a U.S. college.

Skepticism and Rape Adaptations

Now, the problem is not that Dr. Shackelford is an evo psych researcher. There are people doing good work in evo psych. The problem is that Dr. Shackelford isn't doing good work on this topic. In particular, the work he is presenting, relating female infidelity to rape of female partners by male partners, doesn't tell us anything that the already robust scientific literature on rape hasn't already told us.

Enjoy.

My God Can Beat Up Your God

Are you done, done, done with Easter? Were you unable to keep it a holiday of chocolate bunnies, Peeps, and zombie songs? Then perhaps it is time to spend this Friday or Saturday night with Vilification Tennis, for a couple of hours of religiously themed insults.

That’s right, it is time for Vilification Tennis to talk about religion. Think your religion can withstand the withering spotlight of Vilification Tennis? Come and see! Free graven images for all audience members!

Just remember, if you're not offended, they're not doing it right.

Among Thieves Author Interview

There's something rather odd about seeing one of your friends referred to as "one of the most anticipated debut authors of 2011," even when you think he deserves it. There's definitely something funny about seeing his name in quotes as though it were a pen name.

No, Douglas Hulick is his real name, and his very, very gray fantasy Among Thieves is coming out at the beginning of April in both the U.S. and the UK. I've read it. It's good. Not just be-nice-to-your-friend good, but twisty and turny and political and human and...yeah, good.

You can't read it yet (time to break out the #totallyrubbingitin hashtag again), but you can read what promises to be just the first of his interviews and see what more unbiased folks are saying about it to make it so anticipated. Check it out here.

CONvergence & Skepchickcon Schedule

This time next week, I will be done with my last panel of the day and ready to collapse. Instead, I expect I'll be going to a party. And then another party for my old roommate's solo CD launch. (Go, Scott!) It's a good thing I have a week of vacation to prepare for this.

Want to find me at CONvergence? Here are the places I'm committed to being.

Friday, July 2
9:30 a.m. Science and the Internet
Atrium 7
Exploring the sources for scientific information online. Where can you find real scientific information and where will you find bad research, bad data and bad findings?
Greg Laden, PZ Myers, G. David Nordley, Stephanie Zvan

2:00 p.m. Reading, Vista Suite (22nd floor)

3:30 p.m. Bulls**t Detection Kit: Why Pseudo-Science Doesn't Deliver
Atrium 7
Exploring pseudo science and why it is highly improbable. It is called pseudo science for a reason.
Ted Meissner (mod), David Walbridge, Greg Laden, Steve Thoms, Bug Girl, Stephanie Zvan, Lois Schadewald

8:30 p.m. Physics or Fantasy?
Atrium 7
Perpetual motion machines, cold fusion, free energy and other fake science stories. Where do they come from and what does physics really allow?
Jennifer Ouellette, Pamela Gay, Stephanie Zvan, Lois Schadewald

After that, expect to find me at the Skepchick party, then at Scott Keever's CD release party, assuming I haven't spontaneously converted to a puddle of goo from spending that much time on stage in one day. Yes, that's just one day.

Saturday, July 3
12:30 p.m. Science and the Media
Atrium 7
Ways in which scientific findings are reported and distorted by the media.
Bridget Landry, Rachel Maccabee, Stephanie Zvan, Greg Laden

There are, of course, more parties that evening.

Sunday, July 4
12:30 p.m. Smart vs. Intelligent
Atrium 7
You don't have to be a genius to think critically.
Ted Meissner (mod), Maria Walters, Stephanie Zvan, Amy Davis Roth, Debbie Goddard, Pamela Gay

Also on Sunday, another old roommate, Anna Waltz, is reading at 11:00 a.m., and another member of my writers group, Dana Baird, is reading at 3:30 p.m., both in the Vista Suite.

Throughout the weekend, there's plenty of other great programming too, with more Skepchickcon, a bunch of Doctor Who programming, and this year's theme: villains. Put together the rest of your schedule here.

Anthology News

Two blog anthologies made recent announcements I'd like to share.

If you don't already know that The Open Lab is available, you've either been hanging out under a rock or you don't spend much time in the science blogosphere. I got to read several of the posts in blog form as one of the judges, and I'm looking forward to reading the rest very soon. A big congratulations to Scicurious on editing an excellent volume.

The Young Australian Skeptics Blog Anthology isn't out yet, but they just announced the list of posts. I'm honored, not only to have been included, but to be among the company I get to keep. I get to be in an anthology with some of my favorite bloggers. I'll let you know when it's available.

Podcast Available

The podcast for the Skeptically Speaking on which I was a guest, on the topic of Skepticism and Race, is available here. Desiree, Girl 6 and LaVerne were great, and I've gotten a bit of feedback that I didn't suck either. Check it out.

Also, during the show, a plug was made for a new speakers bureau (contact clearinghouse) for skeptical speakers, run by the Grassroots Skeptics. I highly recommend that if you are willing and able to speak publicly or deal with the media on even one topic of skeptical interest, you sign up. If you know people who apply critical thinking to an underrepresented topic or are members of an underrepresented group, please bug them until they sign up as well. More and different voices reach more and different ears. (If that description applies to you, I'll assume you've already gotten the point and are going to sign up now.)

Skepticism and Race

I will be on the radio this Friday evening to talk about skepticism and race, along with Girl 6 and LaVerne Knight-West.

On the next episode of Skeptically Speaking, a panel discussion on skepticism and race. Is the face of modern skepticism really as monochrome as it appears? How do we make our message appeal to a broader, more diverse audience? And how do racial demographics influence belief in pseudoscience and the paranormal?

Why me? Well, the easy answer is that I'm a fill-in for someone who couldn't be on the show. The slightly longer answer is that lack of diversity isn't just a problem for ethnic minorities. It has an effect on everyone's goals, and it requires effort from everyone to get it right. I'm very much looking forward to the show.

If you're interested in the topic, please submit a question on the show's site. I'll point to the podcast when it's available.

Votes Needed

I love it when the talented people I know get together and make something cool happen. In this case, my husband, Ben, and our friend Analiese set up a vintage-look photo shoot at a St. Paul landmark. In Ben's case, it was an opportunity to get a beautiful shot he's been wanting to do for a while. For Ana, it was an entry in a contest for a walk-on part on Mad Men, and for that, the shot couldn't be more perfect.

However, taking time to get that perfect shot means that there's very little time for Ana to accumulate votes in the contest. So, please, now and for the next four days, click over to Ana's contest page and vote her up. Five stars, once a day per unique IP. Ben and Ana would appreciate your votes, and I would too.

Let's not see such a beautiful collaboration go to waste.

Interviewed

Bora was kind enough to include me in his interview series for SciencOnline'09, and he posted the results today. It's a very strange experience being interviewed, especially when the questions include minefields like:

What are your thoughts on the never-ending debates between groups of people who are generally on the same side, but differ in one tiny detail, usually of strategy? For example, in the evolution/creation debate, silent vs. vocal atheists, or different strands of feminism (including the question of women in STEM), people who are on the same page 99% of the time, spend a lot of time aggressively arguing the remaining 1%?

He's a rabble-rouser, is our Bora. Let me know how well you think I handled it.

CONvergence Schedule

This weekend is CONvergence. Here's where to find me, subject to change, of course. This is an SF convention.

Meet My Invisible Friends
Friday, 12:30 p.m.
Are you replacing your real friends with virtual ones? What are the RAMifications of social networking websites?
Annie Lynsen, Naomi Kritzer, Stephanie Zvan

Big Brother: Advent of 1984
Sunday, 12:30 p.m.
Is privacy as we know it gone? How does privacy work in this connected age?
Craig A. Finseth, Stephanie Zvan

Deconstructing the Paranormal
Sunday, 3:00 p.m.
A step-by-step look at an open-minded scientific approach to investigating paranormal claims.
Pete Lane, Stephanie Zvan, Rebecca Watson

I'll be checking out guest of honor programming and the Skepchick programming track. I might hit some writing panels, but I know most of the people on them and their opinions on the topics. Speculative fiction writing is a small community. Ben will have some of his photography in the art show.

We have a couple of other commitments this weekend, but we'll be around the con for most of it. Look for us above the pool, where the best people watching is, or near Atrium 7, where the skeptical programming is.

MythOS

I did something odd this weekend. I saw a friend's book for sale, and I didn't buy it. Not because I didn't want it. Not because I didn't want to port it home 250+ miles. Certainly not because I couldn't afford it.

I was being nice.

It wasn't officially out yet, and there were only a few copies. Besides, I can get a copy signed any time I want, more or less, and most of the people at WisCon only had access to Kelly for the weekend.

Today, however, MythOS by Kelly McCullough is officially out, and everyone can grab a copy of their own. I highly recommend it and not just because Kelly's one of my best friends or because I had some tiny little influence on the final product. I recommend it because Kelly is one of the few writers I've read who can write a romp with serious thematic elements. I have to point them out to him sometimes, but they're there, and neither they nor the wild ride of a story are compromised by fitting both in.

Don't let yourself be put off by the "Book 4 of 5" in the promotions. MythOS takes Ravirn and Melchior out of their normal Greek milleiu and drops them somewhere rather different. There's plenty of time to get your bearings as they get theirs. In fact, you may find Loki and Fenris more familiar than they do...sort of. The hand of Tyr, however, will surprise you, no matter how well you know your Norse myths.

You can check out the first chapter on Kelly's site, and there's an interview of sorts with him at SFNovelists, where you can find out what kind of character he is. Or you can just go pick up the book. It's worth it, I promise.

Cool Local Art/Science Event

Okay, I've mentioned this event before, talking about the radio show (podcast available). I'm mentioning it again because, well, because it's cool but also because I've completely failed to mention that I'll be there.

I know there are a few of you out there reading locally whom I haven't met. If you're interested in meeting up at the party (sorry, Monica, I know it's a school night), drop me a line by email or in the comments and we'll make sure it happens.

Darwin Day Party
Thursday, February 12, 2009, 7 to 9 p.m.
Bell Museum Auditorium
$10/free to museum members and University students

The speakers will present in the auditorium from 7 to 8 p.m. Birthday cake and refreshments are served after the presentations.

Celebrate the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birthday! Part of a world wide celebration, the Twin Cities' version is at The Bell Museum of Natural History this Thursday night. Join in the fun with cake, drinks and presentations by U of M scientists and educators. They will present funny, outrageous and controversial rapid-fire, media-rich presentations about Darwin and evolution. From the big bang to the human genome, hear the newest research and controversy on evolution and Darwin. The presenters are:

Keith Olive
Mark Decker
Sehoya Cotner
Greg Laden
Mark Borrello

More information about the Bell Museum.
Connect to these events on Facebook.

Also Opening on February 12th: Frans Lanting Photographs: The University of Minnesota Bell Museum of Natural History is proud to host the North American premiere of this internationally acclaimed exhibit. LIFE: A Journey Through Time, interprets the evolution of life on Earth through photographer Frans Lanting. Lanting's lyrical photos trace Earth's history from the beginnings of primordial life to the ascent of mammals through otherworldly landscapes and breathtakingly intimate portraits of animals and plants engaged in million-year-old rituals. Many of the exhibit's 62 photographs are matched with real animal, fossil, and plant specimens from the Bell Museum's collection. Born in the Netherlands, Lanting serves on the National Council of the World Wildlife Fund and is a columnist for Outdoor Photographer and has received the BBC Wildlife Magazine's Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award and the Sierra Club's Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography.

Also Opening on February 12th: Lynn Fellman's DNA Portraits: The expanding field of genographics uses genetic markers to trace the patterns of human migration from our common origin in Africa. Recent advances in genetic research has spurred Minneapolis artist Lynn Fellman's imagination - she's taken the science to an art form by combining maps, DNA sequence data, and colorful graphics to create stylized portraits as a way to visualize one's deep ancestry. This exhibit features a sampling of her portraits, as well as a series of panels and banners that explain the science behind her art.

Or, Perhaps, News Today

All right, want to see what I've been working on? You can finally check it out. We'll be tweaking it to add functionality and prettiness over the next couple of weeks, but you can get an idea while I go to bed finally.

It all started with a conversation over a couple of Leinie's stouts (no, really, yum) and some lovely Ethiopian food. I think my exact words were, "I'm really enjoying blogging, and I think I'm writing some good stuff. I just wish there were a way that it could, I don't know, do something."

Hopefully, this will do something.

Presenting Quiche Moraine.

Elite Bastardry

I consider myself as pretty egalitarian, but I may have to start rethinking that assessment. This is the third Carnival of the Elitist Bastards to feature my blog. And this one comes with a rank in Starfleet. How cool is that?

Okay, it might be more cool if you knew what I was talking about. The Carnival of the Elitist Bastards is a fairly new blog carnival, formed in protest of the political fetishization of the "average Joe." It celebrates excellence, expertise and a wee bit of justified arrogance. For the record, the included posts do justify the arrogance, if I do say so myself (which I do).

So go check out this month's carnival at Submitted to a Candid World. When you're done and wanting more than this month's short list can provide, head on over to Cafe Philos for last month's. Excellent reading both.

Podcasting

I know you've always wanted to know what I sound like, right? Of course, you say, which is why I went and picked up a radio/podcast gig. It was all just for you.

Okay, the truth is that Mike is moving up from host to cat-herder for the Minnesota Atheists Sunday morning radio show, Atheists Talk. They needed new on-air talent to try to take his place, and Mike asked whether I might be interested. I believe the email said something about being a radio goddess.

This morning was the shakedown show with many lessons learned along the way, but we all came out of it still pretty happy with each other. I think I'll be doing this again. Next time, I might even tell people about it beforehand.

Oh, and if you do actually want to hear what I sound like, or listen to Austin Dacey, who had much more interesting things to say than I did, the podcast is available.

ScienceOnline'09 Update

Woo hoo! I'm happy to announce that I now have a co-moderator for the Science Fiction in Science Blogs session at ScienceOnline'09 in January. Peggy Kolm of, among other blogs, Biology in Science Fiction and Women in Science, will be joining me. Peggy is exactly the person I would have wanted as a co-moderator, had the choice been left up to me, and I was tickled to hear that she can make the conference.

The description for our panel has been updated a bit:

Science fiction has inspired curiosity and enthusiasm in generations of children. How can science bloggers draw on SF’s power to entertain and educate? What science can we find in fiction beyond the old multi-page calculations of rocket trajectories? What does the practice of science look like in SF? In the past, scientists like Asimov and Clarke were the ones writing SF. Who’s producing the good stuff these days, and what makes a good bad example? Many modern SF writers blog too. What opportunities exist for cross-promotion and educating the writers? And which bloggers are already doing it all right?

It is, however, still a work in progress, which is where we can use your help. A discussion page has been set up for the session. Go tell us what you want us to be prepared to talk about, whether it's a question you want to see answered, a writer you want talked up, or a field or discipline you want covered.

For that matter, just drop us a note to let us know you're coming to the session. It's an early one, and just knowing we're going to have an audience will help us both as we contemplate being verbal at that time of day.

Last Month's Explosion Continued

Transcriptase is the new site where some writers who had material in the Helix archives have reposted their work. We're talking free fiction here, people, good stuff, including a story from Janis Ian.

Go. Read. Enjoy.