No longer anonymous.

http://i0.wp.com/www.laurenhasten.com/headshotc.jpg?w=625

You can follow my FTM (female-to-male) transition on Twitter @LWHasten; I’m also on Instagram.

The blog and podcast will resume after the summer.  While the focus will still be on culture and politics, I’ll certainly be seeing things through a new lens.

2 thoughts on “No longer anonymous.

  1. Sean

    Hello and thanks for a great podcast, very informative and enlightening, and a great way to learn as to the role or remit of an anthropologist. I found you on iTunes and i’m glad i listened. You ask for listener feedback and suggestions in your podcast so here goes. Why are we (humans) so damn smart, sophisticated, capable and mindlessly stupid at the same time? I am a nurse and am costantly appalled at the sheer stupidity of some patients. People believe the weirdest crap ; homeopathy. crystals, food additive obsessions, super foods, fat melting miracle cures, cleansing of internal body parts . . . . . . . the list goes on. I have actually stood with a patient in front of an anatomical diagram and shown her a full sized liver, challenging her to show me the storage area within the organ supposedly containing all these ‘toxins’. Despite all the evidence before her, she refused to accept that she was wrong. What is it that they are seeking, why do they persist in hanging onto disproven medical procedures, patently false information or easily disproved claims. This isnt a question about conspiracy theories, its more a question of ‘why, in this era of safe food, safe travel and the wonders of scientific discoveries, do we persist in seeking to negate knowledge?’. If there is a question in there that you can answer or enlighten me on, please feel free. I would love to hear your take on this.
    once again, thanks for the great podcast. And dont worry, some of us can hear you talking to yourself in the room next door 😉
    Sean

    Reply
  2. The Anonymous Anthropologist Post author

    Hi Sean,

    Thanks so much for a great question. It demands a long answer and, as such, suggests an interesting topic for a future podcast. For the moment, I’ll briefly say this:

    The scientific method that you and I follow is based, essentially, on experience. In biology class they call it “empiricism.” A scientist sets up a series of experiments or observations and draws conclusions based upon the data she collects – the things she sees. One tests a hypothesis to determine its truth through firsthand experience. .

    Well, suppose I believe that my village shaman can make it rain? Sure thing, every time he does a rain dance, it rains thereafter. Maybe it’s a coincidence. Maybe he’s smart enough to smell the rain coming in beforehand. It doesn’t matter. He dances; it rains. He dances; it rains. My empirical data has shown me that the man can make it rain.

    Maybe once in a while, it doesn’t work. Maybe he’s having an off day. Or the spirits are angry at us. I’m not giving up on him. He’s more often effective than not. He’s kind of like Motrin that way,

    Reply

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