251 posts tagged with society.
Displaying 1 through 50 of 251. Subscribe:
Applied historical perspective re: surviving economic inequality?
I've had a thought in the back of my mind for a long time that we (the US at least) are moving back towards the Gilded Age, and possibly even Victorian England, in terms of levels of inequality and economic stratification coupled with legal oppression of certain groups (in the past, perhaps Catholics; today, perhaps.... a long list of other identities).
Has anyone written a kind of "here's what works" retrospective on surviving and thriving in those contexts, with an aim towards guiding people today based on what we know about the past? [more inside]
Searching for interesting essays about ads +/- internet
I’m looking for interesting essays about advertising, especially but not solely in the context of the ad-supported web. [more inside]
Legal versus illegal sales of marijuana
Watching The Gentlemen (TV series on Netflix), where the plot involves huge amounts of money being made from marijuana growing in UK, I started to wonder about states in the US where recreational weed has been decriminalized, and how the dynamic of buying and dealing may have changed. [more inside]
old phrase "send money for your society" in letter?
I found a number of letters from my grandmother to her brother who had moved away, encouraging him to "send money for his society" home to his mom. What does it mean? [more inside]
How can I become hopeful about the future?
My main interface with the world is news media and Mastodon. The narratives presented there are dire. Inevitable climate disaster. Global authoritarianism. Societal breakdown. How can I convince myself there are 80% odds the rest of my life will be bearable? [more inside]
Groups improving health
It’s well known the NHS in the UK is struggling for capacity; it’s also well known the country as a whole has a problem with chronic diseases which is adding to the challenges our healthcare services face. I’m wondering what groups, state or otherwise, are trying to improve the nation’s health using all the known lifestyle interventions? I’m interested in groups at either the local or national level. [more inside]
Did Grace Kelly have an affair with Crosby and Sinatra?
Hi all, I am an old film buff, and I was wondering if the rumours are true, did Grace Kelly have an affair with Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra during her last film High Society (1956)? I know she may have had an affair with Crosby during The Country Girl (1954) but not sure if she had an affair with both of them in the latter film or even during her time as Princess of Monaco?
How does someone like Rep. George Santos get so far in life?
It's intriguing to me that our society doesn't filter out someone like George Santos from holding office at an earlier stage in his life.
He seems to have a long history of telling a lot of people a lot of different things. Did people really believe him? Wouldn't he earn a reputation that preceded him?
Not interested in judging his politics or his character.
But I am curious what factors may have allowed him to get as far as he has in life because it might reveal something interesting about human nature for me.
The life of a woman in early 19th century New York
If you were a woman born into a wealthy family in 1801, in the Hudson Valley in New York, what major inventions, events and publications would impact your upbringing and young adulthood? What would you remember? [more inside]
Diversity/equity/belonging
Diversity/equity/belonging/etc. means different things to different people. What component of DEB (etc.) would you like to be more in your community's or mainstream society's awareness(es)? [more inside]
When Is It Time to Leave?
I am transgender, visibly and vocally. I am married to a cis-male and have a child who doesn't care about the gender binary. We all live in the US. I think you can see where this is going... [more inside]
Deep dives on non-Western cultures?
Western popular media often filters out facets of cultures that don't reflect our own. Does anyone know good resources for being exposed to a wide variety of the differing facets other cultures have evolved/retained in their unique environments? Things like castes in India, ideograms in Chinese writing, arranged marriage in a variety of cultures. [more inside]
Recreational drugs in professional reviewing
We know that certain artworks (e.g. movies or music) are intended for people under the influence of alcohol or other recreational drugs. But what about professional reviewers? Do they ever acknowledge using recreational drugs before or while forming their opinion? Should their opinion be more or less valuable on this basis?
Unemployed and Job Hunting
Should I take a job I don't want? [more inside]
Obscure academic paper on social instability from successive shocks
I read an abstract / short news article about ten years ago on the concept of successive shocks to any social system (marriage, village, church/group, town, the nation-state) leading to collapse of that system. The main context was societal instability arising from several shocks.
I've 'searched high and low for and come up with nothing useful.
TW: This uncovers some nasty stuff so unless your area is war / conflict proceed with caution as my question goes down the conflict wormhole. I have three links below to military, terrorism and crisis events studies. [more inside]
The Lady said, "I Want to be Alone".
I'm curious to know about the body of work (literature and science) concerning those people who try to leave society to live their lives alone but society won't let them. I remember a book from college about a colony of women who migrate to another planet but know eventually, men will come. Also, movies where people go into space to get away from humanity but it either follows them or destroys them because they try. [more inside]
Post Doctor Appt. For Depression
If it’s not depression then what is it? [more inside]
Depression and Seeking Help
How do I tell my fiancé when he already has enough going on? [more inside]
Book Club on whatever new social issue(s) we’re facing tomorrow
I want to start an online book club. Given the current societal issues, what are some good books to start with? [more inside]
I think I have depression
Can I self treat mild depression? [more inside]
How many people are rude?
I know this presents many difficulties... but have there been any studies done on what percentage of the population is unpleasant in public situations? Like, rude to customer service people, cutting people off in traffic, unpleasant on public transport, etc. etc. I'm not talking about acts rising to the level of criminal abuse and harassment of others (although I'm sure many of those people would be captured in the stats). But how many people are just rude?
(Goes without saying but I am NOT looking for anecdotes. Just sources of research.) [more inside]
Hey, that's not funny...here.
Help me settle a debate with a friend: in the way that Russian culture is known for its dark humor and to the degree to which dark humor is acceptable there, are there any places that are the opposite and have a culturally low tolerance for dark humor? Anecdotes and academic studies welcome! [more inside]
touching post-Covid19
A relatively trivial covid19 question. Is the current crisis going to permanently change our attitudes and conventions around touching each other? e.g. handshakes, hugs etc? Are there any resources that deal specifically with this aspect of post-covid19 life? [more inside]
Why would people with kids postpone marriage in 19th century Europe?
I'm doing research on families who were living in Europe (mostly France, but not only) in the second half of the 19th century, and I have noted a pattern of unmarried people having children together but getting married years after the birth of the child. [more inside]
Disconnected from Society?
Lately, I've been thinking about how I don't feel a strong connection to my culture (American-Chinese) but at a loss how to change it. [more inside]
Reading and watching recommendations: weight loss, society, and you
What media have you consumed that has made you feel better about body image in the context of unintentional weight loss, other people's reaction, and your own feelings about it? [more inside]
Does it make sense to be a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts?
Hey Mefites:
I'm considering joining as a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, which purports to be a group of 30k people focused on "supporting innovation in creative learning and development, public services and communities and economy, enterprise and manufacturing".
Any help in deciding on whether or not the group actually does anything for its members and society would be helpful. [more inside]
Guidelines for behaving in a socially responsible way toward taxes?
I'm trying to be socially conscious. When it comes to taxes, the government offers many potential deductions, e.g. tax-deferred retirement accounts, deducting mortgage interest, opportunity zone funds, and some states have lower tax rates. At what point would utilizing these rules go from "being fiscally smart" to a resentment-provoking situation of "taking advantage and not paying your fair share"? [more inside]
"You're so Cute" as an Insult
Every so often I'll do or say something that someone views as ignorant or not done well, and they will say "Aw, you're so cute". This has happened multiple times with different people. I don't know how to respond other than feeling annoyed. It feels like I'm being belittled, and that they know it has feminine connotation when they use it as an insult. (I have been called cute in kinder ways, but that term still bothers me for some reason.) Did they mean it as an insult, or is there a better way to look at it?
[more inside]
technology doesn't arise in a vacuum
I'm looking for short works of speculative fiction or anthropology that discuss how society and nature shape technology. Ideally, they should address this question: how do different kinds of social norms, cultures, laws, physical environments, and biologies influence what science or technology is developed in the first place, and how it is adopted? [more inside]
Help me find podcast episode about jobs that can't be more efficient.
I'm looking for a specific episode of a podcast which contained a comment about how certain industries - medicine and education - for example, can't always be made more efficient or productive. I believe that the episode was from Freakonomics or Planet Money, but I can't seem to find in my googling of their transcripts. [more inside]
What was life like for sixth century North Indians?
If you were a North Indian somewhere in the middle of the social hierarchy in the sixth century, what would your life be like? What would be a reasonable profession for you? What kind of stuff would you eat? Would you be hungry? Beset by disease? Or more or less happy? What would your social life consist of? Looking for information both general and specific.
Novels or films that feature the creation of human society anew
Hivemind! Does anyone know of novels or films that feature the birth and development of human society? Perhaps astronauts arrived on a distant planet and from three of them, a small isolated population developed with its own laws and myths and religion? Or travelers are ship-wrecked on an island and create a community that lasts generations with a new language and a totally different way of social organization? I'm specifically looking for examples that last several generations, perhaps even hundreds of years, rather than castaway stories (i.e., not stuff like Lost, Lord of the Flies, etc.). Thanks!!! [more inside]
Girl Scouts in the News
On a regular basis, I hear a story about a girl scout or her troop, doing something for the community with larger, positive social implications. Or, how a girl scout and her friends have managed to get a bill introduced in state legislation (Today, a GS troop in Oregon got bi-partisan support for a bill to prevent animals and children from dying in hot cars). [more inside]
What deep insights into human cultures do non-specialists miss out on?
A question for anthropologists, linguists, cultural historians and other humanities scholars. What's the most thought-provoking custom, idea, metaphor or sociocultural phenomenon you've encountered in the academic literature that non-experts will probably never get to hear about?
For example, the "sound-painting" of the Siwu , the absence of fiction or art among the Pirahã people [pdf], or the popularity of communism in 500 AD Persia [pdf].
Or to put it another way: in all your years of digging around in dusty old journals, what was your biggest "whoa" moment?
Reading material suggestions based on Black Mirror
I was never a fan of science fiction, especially that of the "Star Wars" variety, but lately I have been really liking the show Black Mirror on Netflix and I'm looking for books / stories / novellas in a similar sci fi vein. [more inside]
Infected by Ideology
The struggle session at the beginning of The Three-Body Problem was fascinating. What are some books, etc. exploring the general concept of ideology driving an entire society to madness? [more inside]
Escapist Visions of a (more-or-less) Functioning Society
I've been binge-watching Parks and Rec over the past few hours. It's hitting a sweet spot because of its warm portrayal of competent, caring people who manage to get things done for the public good despite opposition. Mr Smith Goes to Washington is a bit too saccharine, but is the right ballpark. The Goblin Emperor scratched this itch perfectly, even though it's not about a democratic society. Books, TV or movies. [more inside]
How are generations punctuated?
I had thought generations began after World War II, which "banged the gong" by changing when people were having babies, and we've been in that cycle since. But my googling says generations have gone back to the 19th century, to non birth-wave related events, like social change from industrialization. But if the birth rate was steady, how would you ever define the beginning and end of a generation? Ala, the distribution of age groups would be uniform.
Making a lot of preventable mistakes at work
How likely am I going to fail probation? Is there still hope? [more inside]
Could my ethnicity play a role in my disappointing love life?
I am a 27 year old woman, and have always had horrible luck with relationships. I'm starting to wonder if my ethnicity, culture, background (Asian-Indian/Hindu) could have something to do with it? [more inside]
Semantics of the word Negro
I'm a 33 year old white man. I have always been uncomfortable with the word negro, for a bunch of reasons. So my question is: can I sing along with Beyonce's Formation? [more inside]
Great New Job Opportunity but Scared
How do I deal with fear of failure starting a new position and what if I hate it? [more inside]
High Risk HPV Transmission
Can HIGH risk HPV be transmitted by performing oral sex? [more inside]
Total Life Failure, What Should I Do?
I have managed to fail at all societal goal-posts as a single late thirty-something woman with no husband, children, job, money or property in Asia, what do I do next? [more inside]
Why do people believe other people?
This might at first seem like a dumb question, because we take it as a given that people should believe other people. But when you ask a stranger a question, and they give you answer, you believe it - why? Or similarly, why do people believe their parents, religious figures, professors, etc.? [more inside]
Can we arrest Trump or Carson, for example?
I'm trying to figure out if some of the presidential primary candidates have said things in on the campaign trail that could warrant arrest. I'm thinking there are (at least) two kinds of potential offenses: slander/libel and harassment/threats/intimidation. However, my understanding is that these must be committed against individuals, not classes. Walk me through this, please. [more inside]
Books, anthropology research papers etc on permissive culture
I am looking for any research or books on how we in the west went from conservative to permissive in our culture, specifically around clothing styles, movies, marriage norms etc. Details and a word of caution inside. [more inside]
Are we still Bowling Alone?
A while, I read Putnam's Bowling Alone and Fishman's The Walmart Effect and I enjoyed them. I didn't necessarily agree with everything they said, but I enjoyed them. A lot has changed since they were written. I'd like some recommendations of more recent books that are along the same lines as those -- books about social change written in layman's terms that aren't overtly biased.
Looking for articulations of basic rights
I'm looking for examples of what a culture or social group has articulated as the basic rights owed to any person or at least any member of the culture/social group. The universality is the point here. Obvious examples include the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights or the United States' Declaration of Independence and Constitution/Bill of Rights. What other examples can you give me? [more inside]