when playing a scientist on tv

Last night Lena and I were talking to mum on what would be called a vid-phone if we lived in a scifi story. I said something and mum told me that I was such a scientist. This is not really true. I am an engineer. A software engineer. A scientist asks a question, and then tries to work out the answer from a controlled experiment. An engineer takes synthesized science and math and builds things. That is more what I do.

I saw a T-shirt somewhere which was sized for a little one which basically said “I am a Jedi like my father before me” and “I am a wizard like my mum who went to Hogwarts”. It is of course a joke T-shirt to appeal to split franchise families. To take it a step too seriously, I think if I were to have a child I would like them to say “I am scientist like my grandparents” or “I am an engineer like my father and my other grandfather” or “I am a healer like my mum and other grandma”^[1]. Star Wars, at least under the reign of George Lucas, has always leaned too heavily on destiny for my taste. The second half of Return of the Jedi focuses on the whiny blonde farm boy with Jedi powers he inherited from his (as it turns out from the prequels, his even more whiny) father. Meanwhile thousands are fighting and dying in the trenches and in space just outside of the window. I haven't read Harry Potter, but the Wizard/Muggle dynamic strikes me as potentially problematic as well.

Nate Silver, for those who haven't been paying attention, is a rising star in the data journalism and political pundit arena because of his predictive election models. In 2012 he correctly predicted that the race wasn't close and Obama would easily win reelection. At the time his model proved controversial among some Republicans because it showed how hopeless the race was for them. This year his model says that the race is much closer than what the raw polls are saying. ie, his model is saying that Clinton is a favorite, but you shouldn't bet the house on it. So of course this year it is the rabid Democratic leaning press which is hysterical about his prediction. (Not exactly the take they had last time). HuffPo in particular, (who have an absurd competing model which shows Clinton with a 99% chance of winning), have complained that Silver is creating a panic amongst Democrats. My take is: dude. Chill out. It is just a model. It might be right. It might be wrong. The only way to find out is to wait until election day and run the experiment. If you are a Democrat, you probably SHOULD be nervous that Trump MIGHT win. And for that reason, you should go out and vote. Actaully I saw some Clinton GOTV copy which referenced Nate's forecast. So somebody has the right idea.

Anyway, that is why I got labeled as a scientist, by my actual scientist mum.

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1. Better even than that would be “I pursue my dreams with the support of my family”.