TORONTO, ONTARIO - I generally tend to believe that humor can add to productivity, but this date on the calendar often makes me wonder. Besides the antics that can distract from productivity that often occur on this date, it's difficult to take any gesture that is the least bit surprising seriously when it comes out on this day. It makes me wonder if the day should not just be declared a holiday.
April 1st is a day when one has to be alert when listening to the media. The best of the April Fool's jokes are those that are credible enough that a casual listener won't catch the details that make them incredible, and thus believes the story. I was listening with heightened alertness today when the story came up of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's apology to Zofia Cisowski. Cisowski's son Robert Dziekanski died after being tasered by the RCMP as he entered the country at Vancouver Airport in 2007. The public apology came as part of an out-of-court settlement between Cisowski and the RCMP.
I actually wasn't certain that this was a real story. Considering the date on the calendar and the despicable behaviour of the RCMP in apparently covering up what actually happened that day, a public apology seemed out-of-character, and thus exactly the kind of thing that could be an April Fool's joke. Of course, nobody would actually be so cruel as to compound this tragic case with an April Fool's joke; both the settlement and the apology were very real, and should finally bring some closure to a very tragic event.
Yet, the very fact that I could have even suspected an April Fool's joke demonstrates the difficulty in doing anything on this day. It's risky to engage in business negotiations on this day, as any change in position might just be a joke. (That's not far-fetched--I once did that with a partner company to see how they would react and let the joke sit for several minutes before backing out of it. It was quite informative.) Can a personal e-mail be taken seriously on this day? I suppose that depends on the people in your life.
Combine those handicaps with some of the jokes I've seen played in the corporate world on this day, and it's a wonder anyone tries to do anything on April 1st. I've seen IT people set people's monitors to display upside down, desks moved across the office, and phone lines set to always call time as well as things that were much easier to work around.
We can always use another holiday. I would suggest that the impact on productivity would be minimal if April Fool's Day were made a holiday.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Education: On Jaime Escalante
TORONTO, ONTARIO - The passing yesterday of legendary high school mathematics teacher Jaime Escalante has prompted an outpouring of memories about his impact on students in East Los Angeles and later Sacramento. Most people were introduced to Escalante through the 1988 movie Stand and Deliver, which dramatized how he had taught Advanced Placement Calculus at Garfield High School. In the wake of the movie, Escalante went on speaking tours, and I had the opportunity to see him speak at Stanford University.
There was a surprising low-level hostility in the audience at Stanford. A significant portion of students felt that Escalante had sold out by going to Sacramento to teach instead of continuing to teach in East Los Angeles, not knowing the school politics that had caused him and a supportive principal to leave Garfield. Escalante probably didn't win any of them over, as he focused on his recipe for success rather than his conflicts in the school district.
Walking away from that speech (and likely influenced by the movie), I was left with a two-point vision of why he had been so incredibly effective, with the first point different than Escalante would have stated. Exceptional teachers have to be able to express understanding of students, culturally and emotionally. A Bolivian like Escalante had the cultural and language skills to reach inner-city Hispanic students. It wouldn't have been impossible for someone of another background to do the same thing, but it would have been much more difficult, possibly prohibitively so. Every student may have the capacity to exceed expectations, but not everyone has the ability to motivate them to do so.
The second point has come to be uncontroversial, if not universally implemented. Expectations are incredibly important. If students are not faced with high expectations, they will not overachieve. Some may need more motivation and need to work much harder to reach for the high expectations, but every student has a better chance to succeed when they are expected to succeed. Almost without exception, this is a part of the formula at every school where students demonstrate high levels of academic achievements.
Jaime Escalante became a legend because he was the right person to reach young adults and set high expectations for a generation of students. The fact that even a legend wasn't allowed to continue working his magic said more about the educational system than about Escalante. (And the fact that he couldn't afford health care in his final days said more about the health care system.) Now, we have just memories of Escalante, and a movie to inspire us, rather than a passionate individual.
There was a surprising low-level hostility in the audience at Stanford. A significant portion of students felt that Escalante had sold out by going to Sacramento to teach instead of continuing to teach in East Los Angeles, not knowing the school politics that had caused him and a supportive principal to leave Garfield. Escalante probably didn't win any of them over, as he focused on his recipe for success rather than his conflicts in the school district.
Walking away from that speech (and likely influenced by the movie), I was left with a two-point vision of why he had been so incredibly effective, with the first point different than Escalante would have stated. Exceptional teachers have to be able to express understanding of students, culturally and emotionally. A Bolivian like Escalante had the cultural and language skills to reach inner-city Hispanic students. It wouldn't have been impossible for someone of another background to do the same thing, but it would have been much more difficult, possibly prohibitively so. Every student may have the capacity to exceed expectations, but not everyone has the ability to motivate them to do so.
The second point has come to be uncontroversial, if not universally implemented. Expectations are incredibly important. If students are not faced with high expectations, they will not overachieve. Some may need more motivation and need to work much harder to reach for the high expectations, but every student has a better chance to succeed when they are expected to succeed. Almost without exception, this is a part of the formula at every school where students demonstrate high levels of academic achievements.
Jaime Escalante became a legend because he was the right person to reach young adults and set high expectations for a generation of students. The fact that even a legend wasn't allowed to continue working his magic said more about the educational system than about Escalante. (And the fact that he couldn't afford health care in his final days said more about the health care system.) Now, we have just memories of Escalante, and a movie to inspire us, rather than a passionate individual.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Transport: Yet Less High Speed Rail
TORONTO, ONTARIO - When the initial announcements were made in January, this blog addressed the fact that much of the high-speed funding in the United States is not actually going to high-speed projects. Well, now it turns out that even less of the money will go to high-speed projects than was first thought.
Recently, the San Jose Mercury News reported that Caltrain will electrify its commuter line between San Francisco and San Jose, a project estimated to cost $1.23 billion. This seemed like an impossibility, considering California's near-Greek financial status and a similar shortage of funds at the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board that runs Caltrain. Yet, the "Murky News" revealed that there is funding available for the project--using funds designated for high-speed railways.
The preferred routing for California's high-speed route between San Francisco and Los Angeles uses the Caltrain right-of-way between San Francisco and San Jose, and the line would need to be upgraded for electric power and higher-speed running (currently, the limit on the line is 79 mph, lower in a number of locations) in order to host the high-speed service. Thus, Caltrain qualifies to use a portion of the high-speed funding for its upgrade.
As a practical matter, this is probably a very good use of stimulus funds. Caltrain is already one of the best commuter rail systems in North America, with rush-hour "baby bullet" trains running between San Francisco and San Jose in under an hour (try driving it in that!) and regular service throughout the day. Converting to electric propulsion will reduce emissions and noise in the residential areas along the line and allow for faster service that will be cheaper to operate (allowing the operation of more trains). It will also allow eventual extension of the line deeper into San Francisco through a tunnel which realistically could not have hosted diesel trains. The peninsula will have a truly world-class commuter rail system that, if supplemented with other transit connections, will attract riders and have an impact on highway mobility.
Yet, the idea of a high speed rail initiative was to link cities not currently connected with a viable alternative to the automobile and commuter aircraft, not to upgrade a commuter rail service. I'm personally in favor of the Caltrain electrification initiative--and have been since the mid-1990's--but think this smells like dishonesty in federal funding (and state funding through the high speed rail bonds). Maybe it's time to stop pretending there is such a thing as high speed rail funding, and just start calling it "Rail Transformation Funding" or something along those lines. Caltrain will be transformed, but it won't be high-speed any more than the existing "baby bullet" express trains are high-speed. Selling the funding as something else just breeds the anti-government cynicism that is already far too prevalent in the United States. It's time to stop feeding it.
Recently, the San Jose Mercury News reported that Caltrain will electrify its commuter line between San Francisco and San Jose, a project estimated to cost $1.23 billion. This seemed like an impossibility, considering California's near-Greek financial status and a similar shortage of funds at the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board that runs Caltrain. Yet, the "Murky News" revealed that there is funding available for the project--using funds designated for high-speed railways.
The preferred routing for California's high-speed route between San Francisco and Los Angeles uses the Caltrain right-of-way between San Francisco and San Jose, and the line would need to be upgraded for electric power and higher-speed running (currently, the limit on the line is 79 mph, lower in a number of locations) in order to host the high-speed service. Thus, Caltrain qualifies to use a portion of the high-speed funding for its upgrade.
As a practical matter, this is probably a very good use of stimulus funds. Caltrain is already one of the best commuter rail systems in North America, with rush-hour "baby bullet" trains running between San Francisco and San Jose in under an hour (try driving it in that!) and regular service throughout the day. Converting to electric propulsion will reduce emissions and noise in the residential areas along the line and allow for faster service that will be cheaper to operate (allowing the operation of more trains). It will also allow eventual extension of the line deeper into San Francisco through a tunnel which realistically could not have hosted diesel trains. The peninsula will have a truly world-class commuter rail system that, if supplemented with other transit connections, will attract riders and have an impact on highway mobility.
Yet, the idea of a high speed rail initiative was to link cities not currently connected with a viable alternative to the automobile and commuter aircraft, not to upgrade a commuter rail service. I'm personally in favor of the Caltrain electrification initiative--and have been since the mid-1990's--but think this smells like dishonesty in federal funding (and state funding through the high speed rail bonds). Maybe it's time to stop pretending there is such a thing as high speed rail funding, and just start calling it "Rail Transformation Funding" or something along those lines. Caltrain will be transformed, but it won't be high-speed any more than the existing "baby bullet" express trains are high-speed. Selling the funding as something else just breeds the anti-government cynicism that is already far too prevalent in the United States. It's time to stop feeding it.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Culture: Do I Have a Personality?
TORONTO, ONTARIO - There's been a fair amount of attention paid recently to a study that claims that the octopus has no personality. While not exactly a pressing issue of the day, it came as a surprise to those of us that went to an aquarium just enough as children to think we knew something about marine life--and had learned that octopuses (yes, that's the plural in my dictionary) did have a personality. At the Seattle Aquarium, for example, the octopus was the only cold-blooded creature that tended to be named by its caretakers. It turns out, as is often the case when dealing with specialists, that researchers don't have the same conception of personality as the general population.
Personality certainly isn't an easy thing to define. This web page shows some attempts to put it in meaningful words. To the average person, it basically comes down to how interesting an individual seems to be. Someone that does exactly what society would expect in every situation and doesn't speak very often is usually regarded as having no personality. Someone that dresses, speaks, behaves or just moves in a way that is different than average, that in some way is distinctive, is regarded as having a personality.
Scientists have decided to define personality differently when studying animals. For them, to make the concept quantifiable, they chose to define it simply as "consistency in behavior." Thus, the octopus that behaves differently in different situations is labeled as having no personality, as occurred in the study. That's the opposite of what the aquarium employees meant, when the octopus seemed to be playing games with them and varying its antics when they wanted to clean the tank, they thought that was personality.
In fact, as I am not the first to point out, applying this definition is not only different than the popular use of the word, but actually almost exactly reverses its use. The boring guy who always does the same thing? By this definition, he has personality. Someone who dresses differently depending not just on one outside factor but based on everything that goes into mood, has no personality. By this definition, I clearly have no personality, as my behavior can surprise even my oldest friends.
Technical people often create definitions that do not match popular perceptions. The lesson of the headline about the octopus is that, when dealing with specialized fields, we can't (as generalists) assume we know what a headline or even a summary means. The terms used may have a very different, specific meaning. I suppose if we did claim to understand, even when we really didn't, by definition we could claim to have a personality.
Personality certainly isn't an easy thing to define. This web page shows some attempts to put it in meaningful words. To the average person, it basically comes down to how interesting an individual seems to be. Someone that does exactly what society would expect in every situation and doesn't speak very often is usually regarded as having no personality. Someone that dresses, speaks, behaves or just moves in a way that is different than average, that in some way is distinctive, is regarded as having a personality.
Scientists have decided to define personality differently when studying animals. For them, to make the concept quantifiable, they chose to define it simply as "consistency in behavior." Thus, the octopus that behaves differently in different situations is labeled as having no personality, as occurred in the study. That's the opposite of what the aquarium employees meant, when the octopus seemed to be playing games with them and varying its antics when they wanted to clean the tank, they thought that was personality.
In fact, as I am not the first to point out, applying this definition is not only different than the popular use of the word, but actually almost exactly reverses its use. The boring guy who always does the same thing? By this definition, he has personality. Someone who dresses differently depending not just on one outside factor but based on everything that goes into mood, has no personality. By this definition, I clearly have no personality, as my behavior can surprise even my oldest friends.
Technical people often create definitions that do not match popular perceptions. The lesson of the headline about the octopus is that, when dealing with specialized fields, we can't (as generalists) assume we know what a headline or even a summary means. The terms used may have a very different, specific meaning. I suppose if we did claim to understand, even when we really didn't, by definition we could claim to have a personality.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Photos: St. Patrick's Day Parade
A leaping leprechaun made his way down Yonge Street during the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Toronto, Ontario on 14-March-2010.
TORONTO, ONTARIO - This week's update to my photo site features the St. Patrick's Day parade. Perhaps it was the late-breaking weather, but one of the prime spots for watching the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Toronto, Ontario--the turn from Yonge Street to Queen Street--was remarkably uncrowded, allowing better-than-usual coverage of the event on 14-March-2010.
Margin Notes: Selling Out, Red Robin, Gelato
A sign with a very strange message was found on Dundas Street West in Toronto, Ontario on 17-March-2010
TORONTO, ONTARIO - I have to admit I never really understood the phrase "keeping it real," as "real" is just too hard to define. In light of the above sign seen at an art gallery on Dundas Street West here in Toronto, I think I've lost all hope of understanding what it means to anyone.
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Maybe my sanity would have been intact had I taken the subway home that day instead of walking. A subway train I was on yesterday on the Yonge-University-Spadina line apparently had a new automatic stop announcement system, using a male voice instead of a female one, that included the street names on the University stations, announcing, "This is Osgoode station, Queen Street West" instead of "Arriving at Osgoode, Osgoode station." It didn't seem to be a live operator doing the announcements. I like the idea of including the street names, but if this proves to be a permanent change, I will miss the more pleasant old voice.
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Residents of Seattle are mourning the closing of the original Red Robin restaurant near the University Bridge. I never actually ate there, but I found it refreshing that while the chain is closing that location, they solicited memories of the establishment and are quite forthcoming about its origin as a tavern on their history web page. For a family-friendly restaurant, that's pretty honest.
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After eating a burger, it's time for dessert, and increasingly across the world, that means gelato. People keep encouraging me to go back to school but I don't think what they had in mind was Gelato University. Yes, there's actually a university in Italy for learning the business of gelato. Unfortunately, I think the market for gelato in Toronto is close to saturated.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Radio Pick: NUMMI
TORONTO, ONTARIO - I've been hoping to feature an episode of This American Life sometime that was not a collaboration with NPR's Planet Money, but then they produced another collaboration of note that I feel I must cite as this week's radio pick. Story-telling, documentary, economic analysis, news value--this week's episode of This American Life had just about everything. The 59-minute program on NUMMI, a soon-to-close auto manufacturing plant in Fremont, California was really about General Motors, sociology, culture and many other issues.
Listen to streaming media of This American Life "NUMMI"
Listen to streaming media of This American Life "NUMMI"
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