I Speak of Dreams

Pablo's First Law of Internet Discussion

A few words of advice for people barging into established blogs, ready to lay down some contrarian opinions:

Heed Pablo's First Law of Internet Discussion

Really.  Truly.  It will save you much personal embarassment.

What is Pablo's First Law?

Regardless of the topic, assume someone else commenting

knows more about it than you do.

The origin of Pablo's First Law Of Internet Discussion was a comment in response to post at PZ Myers' Pharyngula blog, Advice to New Commenters.   

The Law itself was preceded by a few words from PZ:

• As this is a science blog, a greater proportion of the readers and commenters here well- educated, and, if not scientists, are reasonably well-versed in logic, observation, empiricism, debate, and rationality. As such, their responses will likely be pointed, eloquent, articulate, and highly opinionated.
• Any comments you make will be judged, and often judged harshly for grammar, intellectual consistency, knowledge of the subject addressed, and openness of tone. Get used it; this is the deep end, not a wading pool.

Pablo had a preface to  his law:

• This place is for discussion, and, as such, your opinion is welcome. However, other people's opinions are also welcome, including their opinion that your opinion is silly or wrong.

And there is another thing to remember: 

You are entitled to your own opinion,

but you are not entitled to your own facts.

Or more pointedly, the 1950 Bernard Baruch version:

Every man has a right to his own opinion,

but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts.

If you remember that, you may save yourself from the foolish flaw that is the arrogance of ignorance.

Free Cultural Resources for Your New Devices

Sometimes I use this blog as a notebook -- more than bookmarking, a way of reminding me of things I want to get back to.

Dan Colman at Open Culture published a list of free books, movies, textbooks etc. available for several platforms.

Three online books I'm going to study:

eMarketing: The Essential Guide to Online Marketing (3rd edition) by Rob Stokes

How Language Works (edition 3.0) by Michael Gasser

Educational Psychology (3rd edition) Kelvin Seifert and Rosemary Sutto

 

The Loud Hands Project: Autistic Self Advocacy

I support this project.  Here's the text from the IndieGoGo page:

Our Story:

The Loud Hands Project is a publishing effort by the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. Currently, we are raising money towards the creation of our first and foundational anthology (Loud Hands: Autistic People, Speaking) and accompanying website.

Loud Hands: Autistic People, Speaking features essays, long and short, by Autistic authors writing on autism acceptance, neurodiversity, Autistic pride and culture, disability rights and resistance, and resilience (known collectively by the community as having loud hands). Questions posed to the contributors might include what does autism mean to you; why does Autistic culture matter; what do you wish you had known growing up Autistic; how can the Autistic community cultivate resilience; what does "loud hands" mean to you; and how do you have loud hands?

The anthology is the first of a projected series featuring contributions from Autistic writers stressing the preservation and celebration of Autistic culture and resilience. The website will host shorter and multi-media submissions along the same lines, along with additional materials and videos, and serve as a focal point for the project and community.

Our Impact:

The Loud Hands Project is about survival, resilience, and pride. The Loud Hands Project is necessary because autistic youth face systematic oppression, abuse, and bullying every day. It does not “get better” for us--typically, upon graduation, it actually gets worse. This must change.

The Loud Hands Project is a structured, multi-facetted response by the Autistic community to the systematic disenfranchisement, bullying, and abuse experienced by autistic youth, young adults, and self advocates. Taking the form of a publishing effort by the Autistic Self Advocacy Network and spearheaded by Julia Bascom, The Loud Hands Project consists of multiple prongs organized around the theme of what the Autistic community refers to as "having loud hands"--autism acceptance, neurodiversity, Autistic pride, community, and culture, disability rights and resistance, and resilience. We focus on cultivating resilience among autistic young people and empowering us in building communities and cultures of ability, resistance, and worth. To quote Laura Hershey: “you weren’t the one who made you ashamed, but you are the one who can make you proud.”

With your donation, you are helping to build a world where all people and all voices are valued and listened to. By helping to fund this project, you are supporting the Autistic community as we raise our voices, speak out, and come together to rewrite the world into one where we all can belong, be safe, be valued, and contribute.

What We Need:

We need to raise ten thousand dollars ($10,000) to help cover the initial costs of putting together and distributing our first anthology and launching our website. Please consider making a donation--every little bit helps!

Other Ways You Can Help:

Spread the word! Check out the share tools on our page, and please use them! You can visit our Facebook page, tumblr, and twitter too, and tweet about the project using the hashtag #loudhandsproject.