-- C.A. Beard
On last month's Fix;
the answer to last month's Fix,
"Should the physics community in the US adopt professional birth control (to ease the employment shortage) as the AMA has done for medicine?"is
Personally, I don't think so. I believe in free markets, even when it makes life more difficult for yours truly. But for some physics specialties, this is already occuring, and in a manner exactly analogous to what the AMA does. To explain: the AMA was instrumental in calling for medical practitioners to be licensed. For the public good of course. The tricky part is that the AMA had a LARGE hand in "helping" legislators draft the rules governing state licensure. This often requires that an MD undergo a residency and pass some board exam. But of course the AMA also accredits residency programs - for a specific number of residents. This happy "coincidence" means that the AMA controls how many residents exist, and thus home many potential competitors can practice medicine. Nice.
Medical physics is well started down the same path. Hospitals practicing mammography must have their equipment accredited by Board Certified Medical physicists. Since a prereq for taking the board is 2~3 years experience, one must already be a medical physicist or get in a training program (residency) to gain the experience. Since the AAPM (American Assoc of Medical Physicists) is the accrediting body for these residency programs (of which there are now about 15), there will soon be much less oppurtunity for physicists from other areas (say laid off SSC employees) to cross over.
No one seems to think that this system smacks of conflict of interest. And it certainly is true that reducing cross-over physicists should ease the dreary job climate in medical physics, but at the expense of reduced competition. That's the problem with today's professional birth control. It leads to tomorrow's in-breeding.
I would prefer no such controls, but rather honest advice to under grads contemplating grad school. Of course, sitting Profs would then probably not have slaves for 5~8 years to generate the papers which keep their labs funded. Yes. Far better to sign up for unemployment in your mid-30s, after a few post docs and having your best work used on someone else's grant application.
On the Rep. Primary
With Iowa within TV station range of where I sit, much of the caucus campaigning is seen on the nightly news. There is a very ugly thing happening. Dole and Gramm are berating Forbes for using his own money in the campaign. When Reps. beat up one of their own using lines straight from the Dem handbook, you've gotta say - it's over. Dole says the Forbes flat tax will benefit the rich. Gramm can quote the square footage of the Forbes yacht and says that Forbes doesn't care about the comman man. These guys will not have a leg to stand on when Clinton uses these same arguments on them. The best thing Clinton could do to be re-elected is simply stay out of the way until Oct., then play back the ads used by the Rep. challenger during the primary and say, "Well shucks, if you like him, then you'll really like me."
Chipper Bore
reviewed by Joe Queenan
Throughout its history, America has given its heart to one fake populist after another. A list of rats who recently won America's affection includes Boone Pickens, Lee Iacocca, Donald Trump and Ross Perot. All rode a wave of popular acclaim to a brief moment of glory; all published unreadable, ghost written best sellers that are now as relevant as the 1956 Oshkosh Yellow Pages; all were unmasked as self serving mandarins who secretly loathe the hoi polloi.
The latest raging egomaniac to win America's affection by impersonating "jis plain folks" is Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and the richest man in the US. The previously reclusive Gates has lately been appearing everywhere, in part to hype his overrated Windows 95, in part to sell copies of his book. Billed as Gates' personal vision of the future, The Road Ahead is basically 286 pages shilling for Microsoft. On the cover, standing on the edge of a highway that seems to stretch forever, hands in his pockets, wearing a sweater that comes from the House of Ozzie, is the Ubertwerp himself.
"Hey, I'm just like you", that sweater says. "I'm an average guy. I care. I want to make your future better. Now give me all your money." The photo is the work of Annie Leibovitz, Vanity Fair's Diane Arbus, who probably borrowed the sweater from Jimmy Carter. If you've got $14 Billion, you really should dress like it. Ditch the sweater and penny loafers and get a suit and tie. What are you, still in high school?
The Road Ahead is not a good book. In fact, it's not a book at all. It's a catalog describing products that Microsoft will be hawking in the near future. It has a Buck Rogers flavor. Say you're driving in a strange place in the year 2004 and want to know what Chinese restaurants are still open. Being the natural upscale operations that they are, Chinese restaurants will be listed in a computer database of every Chinese restaurant in the solar system. So you'll punch them up on your car computer. Now that's handy.
Or suppose you want to see a famous painting by Seurat, but don't feel like flying to Paris. With the aid of the art database that Gates already owns, you'll be able to call up the images, and maybe a few Rembrandts while you're at it.
This is typical Gates. Vicarious experience is better than reality because the vicarious experience involves Microsoft products, whereas reality involves market neutral entities like human beings. Of course, it is idiotic to suggest that looking at a computer screen bears any semblence to looking at the real thing. But that's the sort of world that Gates and his legions of megageeks are leading us to. Consider this Gates prediction:
If you are watching the movie Top Gun and think Tom Cruise's aviator glasses look really cool, you'll be able to pause the movie and learn about the glasses or even buy them on the spot ... If the movie has a scene filmed at a resort hotel, you'll be able to find out where it is and make reservations. If the star carrys a handsome leather briefcase, the Highway will let you browse the entire line of the manufacturer's leather goods or direct you to a retailer.The technical term for this scenario is progress .
Though he would dearly like to call himself a visionary, Gates' talent is marketing, not technology. The genius of Microsoft has never been to out invent its competitors, but to convince its customers that it has. Witness the triumph of Windows over Apple's vastly superior operating system. Gates would like to be compared to Gutenberg or Edison, but he's really just a high tech Ray Kroc. He has one basic talent. He knows how to sell.
In this sense, the book is classic Gates: an unoriginal inferior product decked out with all kinds of bells and whistles to disguise the fact that it's a kludge. The most important bell is the CD-ROM that accompanies the book. It requires a 486 with gobs of RAM to be viewed, but many readers will not have such a recent computer and for them the CD-ROM will be useless. This is like including ham and cheese with a book and exhorting the reader to buy some bread if he wants a sandwich. Or die of hunger, you pathetic loser !
On the subject of utter self-infatuation and contempt for the public, the book also contains a chapter describing Gates' new house, complete with computer renderings of the view from across Lake Washington and from the staircase to the formal dining room. Not even Trump pushed it this far.
This book is a big tease. Reading this hype encyclopedia is like being trapped in a store where some cretin comes on the loudspeaker every 30 seconds to say "Attention Shoppers." It is a 286 page distraction away from the real question which is, how is the information highway going to make life easier for anyone other than the ones who already have easy lives?
From thorne@stat.ncsu.edu Thu Feb 22 17:28:06 1996 Hi Stevey, > "Should the physics profession adopt professional birth control?" This was an incredibly timely survey question. I was walking back from lunch today with a group of people that included a former physicist. The research interests of this person with a Ph.D. in physics have changed. I may have his exact wording wrong but the message was clear. On the walk back, he said something to the effect of "I can't understand why anybody can be interested in studying anything but evolution." I pretty much agree with his sentiment but would have slightly modified it to read: "I can't understand why anybody can be interested in studying anything but evolution and/or genetics." On another subject, who do you want to be our next president (yourself excluded)? I'm hoping it's not Pat Buchanan. Here's my Pat Buchanan quote of the month (it came from an interview of Buchanan by Sam Donaldson) -- ``Listen Sam, you may believe you are descended from monkeys. I don't believe it. I think you're a creature of God.'' hope things are fine, JeffEd: With Gramm gone and Forbes dying there is not one Rep. I feel good about so it comes to throwing away my vote for the Libertarian candidate again.
2. Doug Wilken writes:
From wilken@magellan.cloudnet.com Thu Feb 22 18:59:25 1996 Dear Steve, > > "Should the physics profession adopt professional birth control?" > Yes. There are at least 50% more doctoral programs than necessary in this country. Or more. Or perhaps every doctoral candidate be required to learn how to set up their own business when they are done. One thing is for sure, no one is guaranteed anything. I'm sure our members have noticed that in most circumstances, a doctorate is a bonified handicap as far as employment is concerned. How is your job search going? -DougEd: Well, for about 40 CVs mailed I've had 4~5 phone interviews and one flight so far but no job yet. On the other hand, my office mate talked with 5 groups last August, got one interview and got the job. Timing may not be everything, but it's a lot.
3. Brian Donahue writes us;
From donahue.brian@mayo.edu Thu Feb 22 20:25:15 1996 Steve, Certain specialties, like neurosurgery, have been very successful at controlling their own numbers. Anesthesiologists, however, have not. Until recently. Now it seems a nuclear bomb has wiped out almost all desire to do anesthesia, nearly overnight. BrianEd: Of course Brian is right about this. As residency programs are set up by sub-specialty, some areas of medicine have maintained a tighter birth rate that others. And the explosion of nurse anesthesiologists can't have been a help.
4. From across the pond, out man in London writes:
From dgay@ri.ac.uk Fri Feb 23 11:28:23 1996
> "Should the physics profession adopt professional birth control?"
The real problem is that physicists needs to convince all the employers
that they need to hire physicists. Then there is not a problem. Otherwise,
we should all go on strike!
--
David H. Gay email: dgay@ri.ac.uk
Royal Institution of Great Britain http://www.ri.ac.uk/DFRL/D.H.Gay
21 Albemarle Street Phone: +44 (0)171-409-2992
LONDON W1X 4BS, UK Fax: +44 (0)171-629-3569
***
"640K ought to be enough for anybody"
-- Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft, 1981
Current catalog of Microsoft applications that will run
in less than 640K follows...
5. And Texas Tom pens;
From ApogeeTom@aol.com Fri Feb 23 11:31:30 1996 From: ApogeeTom@aol.com Date: Fri, 23 Feb 1996 11:31:54 -0500 To: sglanger@oakland.edu Subject: Re: LastCall >"Should the physics profession adopt professional birth control?" They should work on space-time physics and invent retroactive birth control: see who just isn't contributing anything to the world, time travel back, tell his folks he or she is going to be a real bozo, and give them a day-after abortion pill (RU-486 or the new, better "RU-Pentium"). Just a thought, Tom
6. Jack Ryan writes:
From jackryan@netcom.com Sun Feb 25 20:42:09 1996
Steve:
Greetings from inside the Beltway for one last time. Your man in
Washington is relocating to the Lone Star State, and glad to be doing
so.
> "Should the physics profession adopt professional birth control?"
That question brings back the "modified" old adage...
Love is chemistry
Sex is physics
And really good sex is engineering
There are entirely too many pictures conjured up by my minds eye based on
that question.
As for humorous news from my area, todays Sunday Washington Post (2/25)
has an editorial SUPPORTING the extensions of the Whitewater investigation
commettees in Congress. To quote,
"For an administration that professes to want a quick end to the Senate
Whitewater hearings before the electrion year gets into full swing, the
Clington White House seems to be doing everything in its power to keep
the probe alive."
It then talks about the differnt times that subpeonad documents keep
turning up, how documents are "mistakenly overlooked", etc. They conclude
"Who knows where all this will lead? The committee clearly needs time to
sift through these late-arriving papers as well as to interview witnesses
now unavailable because they are key figures in Whitewater-related
trials. So like it or not, the Senare committee is unlikely to go off
into the sunset at month's end when its mandate expires. Clinton
officials have done their share to extend the committee's life."
Interesting, no, from an organ of the liberal press, eh, Steve.
Personally, I think Whitewates is a load of smoke which was made worse by
an incomptetent attempts to hide the fact that the Clintons were just as
morally bankrupt in the 1980s as the Republicans they duly excoriated in
their 1992 electron campaign. Criminal, most likely not. Hypocrites, YES!
Until the next time,
Jerry
Ed: Interesting only in that they cover it now, since it domininates the
House's daily business. Even a Tory may gainsay the King if enough of
his neighbors get hauled off to debtor's prison. At some point, it simply
becomes too embarrasing to continue brown nosing. Of course, all this was
known (and covered in this rag) in 1994.
-- Pat Buchanin in an interview with Sam Donaldson, supplied by Jeff Thorne
"Those guys didn't move an inch," said Slinko after he and his student crawled from the wreckage of the plane. The foursome continued play, although Brown said his concentration was rattled, "Jack Nicklaus says concentration is the name of the game you know."
--------------------- Computerized Beer ----------------- DOS Beer: Requires you to use your own can opener, and requires you to read the directions carefully before opening the can. Originally only came in an 8-oz. can, but now comes in a 16-oz. can. However, the can is divided into 8 compartments of 2 oz. each, which have to be accessed separately. Soon to be discontinued, although a lot of people are going to keep drinking it after it's no longer available. Mac Beer: At first, came only a 16-oz. can, but now comes in a 32-oz. can. Considered by many to be a "light" beer. All the cans look identical. When you take one from the fridge, it opens itself. The ingredients list is not on the can. If you call to ask about the ingredients, you are told that "you don't need to know." A notice on the side reminds you to drag your empties to the trashcan. Windows 3.1 Beer: The world's most popular. Comes in a 16-oz. can that looks a lot like Mac Beer's. Requires that you already own a DOS Beer. Claims that it allows you to drink several DOS Beers simultaneously, but in reality you can only drink a few of them, very slowly, especially slowly if you are drinking the Windows Beer at the same time. Sometimes, for apparently no reason, a can of Windows Beer will explode when you open it. OS/2 Beer: Comes in a 32-oz can. Does allow you to drink several DOS Beers simultaneously. Allows you to drink Windows 3.1 Beer simultaneously too, but somewhat slower. Advertises that its cans won't explode when you open them, even if you shake them up. You never really see anyone drinking OS/2 Beer, but the manufacturer (International Beer Manufacturing) claims that 9 million six-packs have been sold. Windows 95 Beer: You can't buy it yet, but a lot of people have taste-tested it and claim it's wonderful. The can looks a lot like Mac Beer's can, but tastes more like Windows 3.1 Beer. It comes in 32-oz. cans, but when you look inside, the cans only have 16 oz. of beer in them. Most people will probably keep drinking Windows 3.1 Beer until their friends try Windows 95 Beer and say they like it. The ingredients list, when you look at the small print, has some of the same ingredients that come in DOS beer, even though the manufacturer claims that this is an entirely new brew. Windows NT Beer: Comes in 32-oz. cans, but you can only buy it by the truckload. This causes most people to have to go out and buy bigger refrigerators. The can looks just like Windows 3.1 Beer's, but the company promises to change the can to look just like Windows 95 Beer's - after Windows 95 beer starts shipping. Touted as an "industrial strength" beer, and suggested only for use in bars. Unix Beer: Comes in several different brands, in cans ranging from 8 oz. to 64 oz. Drinkers of Unix Beer display fierce brand loyalty, even though they claim that all the different brands taste almost identical. Sometimes the pop-tops break off when you try to open them, so you have to have your own can opener around for those occasions, in which case you either need a complete set of instructions or a friend who has been drinking Unix Beer for several years. AmigaDOS Beer: The company has gone out of business, but their recipe has been picked up by some weird German company, so now this beer will be an import. This beer never really sold very well because the original manufacturer didn't understand marketing. Like Unix Beer, AmigaDOS Beer fans are an extremely loyal and loud group. It originally came in a 16-oz. can, but now comes in 32-oz. cans too.
2. Renee Redman sends the following;
>>> The heaviest element known to science was recently discovered >>> by univeristy physicists. The element, dubbed "administratium," has >>> no protons or electrons and thus has an atomic number of 0. >>> However, it does have one neutron, 15 assistant neutrons, 70 vice- >>> neutrons, and 161 assistant vice-neutrons. This gives it an atomic >>> mass of 247. These particles are held together in the nucleus by a >>> force mediated by the exchange of meson-like particles, called >>> morons. >>> >>> Since it has no charged particles, administratium is chemically >>> inert. >>> However it can be detected experimentally by its property of impeding every >>> chemical reaction it comes in contact with. Administratium has a half life >>> of approximately three years, during which time it does not actually decay >>> but instead undergoes a reorganization of particles, in which assistant >>> neutrons, vice-neutrons, and assistant vice-neutrons exchange positions. >>> Some investigators report that the atomic mass actually increases as a >>> result of this process, but this apparent contradiction to the Law of >>> Conservation of Mass is difficult to confirm, as administratium itself >>> seems to interfere with the accuracy of mass spectrographs used to measure >>> it. >>> >>> Administratium has been reported to occur naturally in the atmosphere, >>> where it tends to concentrate in certain locations, such as government >>> aencies, large corporations, and universities. It can usually be found in >>> the newest, best appointed, and best maintained facilities. Toxicologists >>> warn that administratium has been shown to be toxic and recommend plenty of >>> fluids and bedrest after even brief, low-level exposure. >>>