Theory

Tom Kando  

I was reading a review of the movie Oppenheimer - about the UC Berkeley theoretical physicist who invented the atom bomb. 

So I started to think about the word “theory,” and how much I love theory, something on which I spent a good part of my life. 

What IS theory? 

I am a sociologist, and much of my discussion of “theory” is about SOCIAL theory, although not just that. 

When I was getting my PhD at the University of Minnesota, all candidates were trained and tested in four basic subareas: (1) Social Organization, (2) Social Psychology, (3) Statistics and Methodology, and (4) Theory. Today, the subareas within Sociology are quite different, much more politicized (Gender Studies, Social Inequality, etc.). Be that as it may, it is significant that “Theory” -pure and simple - was one of the chief areas of graduate sociology. 

One way to answer a “what is?” question is to first ask what it is NOT. You then come up with something, and you posit that this thing is the opposite of what you are trying to define. 

So what is the opposite of “theory?” 

Is it empirical facts?

Is it practice, or action? 

Is it practicality or Pragmatism? 

Is it reality? (As opposed to “fantasy”)? 

Is it applied or applicable knowledge? 

Is it the “concrete” (as opposed to the “abstract”)? 

Is it “useful,” as opposed to “useless”? 

Most people don’t have much respect for “theory.” They equate it (use the word synonymously) with “bullshit., ” which in turn is a synonym of “nonsense.” People say, “them’s are just words. What matters is action, not just talk.” 

Or: 

That’s just book knowledge, useless knowledge, the domain of pointy-headed academic eggheads and intellectuals, who know little about real life. 

In the age-old mutual town-gown hostility, such attitudes are widespread among the “town” people. Even among my college students, there was a frequent hostility towards theory, something often viewed as useless, as bullshit. Most painfully to me, many students found theory BORING. Furthermore, this is part of a populist attitude which has always been extremely widespread in America. This reflects the fact that, despite much inequality in Americans’ life conditions, our dominant ideology has always been extremely egalitarian. It also includes the charge of elitism leveled at academia, a charge that is not without merit.  Read more...

The Boy who Loved to Sing

A story about the Pesky 'Schwa' sound in English

By Madeleine Kando

Once upon a time, on an island in the big blue ocean, there lived a little boy who liked to sing. But singing was not allowed on his island. His daddy told him that it scared the fish away, and without fish there was no food.

So, all the little boy could do, was whisper his songs. ‘Twinkle, twinkle little star..’ he would sadly whisper-sing, sitting on the beach, trying not to scare the fish away. If you have ever tried to sing while whispering you know how hard it is. It’s like watching a black and white movie about the wonderful colors of flowers.

Not only was it forbidden to sing, but even sounds like ‘b’, as in ‘bat’, ‘d’ as in ‘dog’ and ‘g’ as in ‘good’, were considered too scary for the fish, so you had to say: ‘how to you to. Woult you like to ko for a walk? Even saying ‘I was a very good boy’ was forbidden. You had to say: ‘I wass a ferry koot poy’.

If you wonder what it was like to live on that island, try to speak English like a German. You will soon ‘realice that it iss not ass tifficult ass it sounts, putt it iss not ferry pretty’.

‘Putt tatty’ whispered the little boy, ‘why tit Kot kif us focal korts, if we are not aple to use them?’ ‘Stop asking silly questions’ replied his father. ‘Focal korts are like your appentix. A useless remnant of the past’.

One day a big storm came and all the houses ended up in the ocean, the trees lost their leaves and the birds lost their feathers. They all looked like plucked chickens, trying to take off, but flopping down on their beaks.

 
Lo and behold, when the survivors woke up, they no longer knew how to whisper and only could make the sounds that were previously verboten. All the ‘whisper sounds’ were gone!
So this is how they spoke: ‘Whad habbened? Does addywadd dow whad habbened? All the houzes are broguen! Whad zhould we do? Read more...

The Generations and the Changing Culture.

 Tom Kando

One way to look at history is through the lens of generations. The following labels have been proposed to classify American generations over the past one hundred and forty years: the "Lost Generation,"    the “Greatest Generation,” “the “Silent Generation,” the “Baby Boomers,” “Generation X,” the “Millennials,” “Generation Z” , and “Generation Alpha.” 

1. The Lost generation consisted of people born from 1883 through 1900. This term also applies to Europeans, as its meaning has to do with the millions who served and died in World War One. A separate meaning refers to American and other expatriate writers and artists who lived in Paris after World War One, for example Hemingway. 

2. Journalist Tom Brokaw is responsible for the label “greatest generation,” which he applied to Americans born between 1901and 1927. Those who came of age during the great depression and World War Two, and who built the “American Century.” Brokaw praised that generation for its valiant and selfless fight against fascism, among other things. It was said that, unlike later generations, when the GIs returned from World War Two, they simply settled down, many went to college, most went to work and built families. No complaints, no PTSD, etc. I am not making judgments; merely reporting. Of course, our society was extremely different from now. Progress in race relations, gender equality and other societal attitudes was still in its infancy. Altogether, the Greatest Generation consists of sixty-eight million Americans. The best example of a member of this generation that I can think of is my mother Ata, who was born in 1913 and died in 2017. 

3. I am a member of the “Silent Generation,” which follows the Greatest Generation. This generation consist of the forty-three million Americans who were born from 1928 through 1945. The birthrate during this period was low, due to the Great Depression and World War Two. As this generation came of age, it tended to conform more unquestioningly to traditional norms. This was Doris Day America. At the same time, having survived the Great Depression and defeated Fascism, there was a sense of optimism and progress, albeit attenuated by the nuclear angst of the Cold War. My two sisters Madeleine and Juliette are examples of the silent generation. 

4. The next generation was that of the Baby Boomers. Although I am somewhat too old to qualify for this generation, I feel a greater affinity with it than with the Silent Generation. I was a late bloomer. The Baby Boomers are the largest generation. They are the seventy-six million Americans who were born from 1946 through 1964, the result of the exploding birthrate after World War Two. This generation’s formative experiences include the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, the Counterculture and the civil disorder. It was  progressive. It was also a pampered generation, as America’s economy was fabulously wealthy. The cultural revolution produced much creativity and artistic and cultural experimentation. Many of the musical superstars of this era were members of the silent generation, but their millions of followers at Woodstock and elsewhere were mostly baby boomers. Examples of this generation include my wife Anita and myself (in spirit, anyway). 

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The Queen of Pillows

by Madeleine Kando

My husband calls me the Queen of Pillows. That’s because no amount of pillows will satisfy my need for a good night’s rest. You see, there is an art to using pillows. If it isn’t done just right, you are destined for a restless, sleepless night.

When I was young and clueless about the magic of pillows, any old pillowless couch would do. My desire for sleep safeguarded me from falling into the abyss of my current pillow obsession.

As I got older, pillows started to become extensions of my physical body. I couldn’t drift into slumber land without a good amount of pillowy support for my head. Then my arms and knees started to demand equal rights and before I knew it, it had become a pillow junkie.

I even give my pillows names. Skinny Henry goes under my head, Fat Kurt to support my legs, and Average Amy goes under my arm.

I dread going on vacation. The first thought that pops up in my head is: ‘Will this Bed and Breakfast have a bed with monstrous, rock-hard pillows that look great on the website but will ruin my sleep?’

Who invented pillows anyway? They don’t grow on trees you know. Someone must have thought them up, like cars and refrigerators. So, I went on a pillow expedition and found out that the first pillows showed up 9000 years ago in Mesopotamia (Iraq). They were made of stone and were not used for comfort, as you might think. They were to keep creepy crawlies out of your hair and your mouth while you were sleeping.

Carving stone was expensive and only the wealthy could afford these torture devices, which turned pillows into a status symbol. Bamboo, jade, porcelain, wood, and bronze were used. It must have caused a lot of c-spine injury or at the very least pinched nerves. The ancient Egyptians must have been a grumpy group.

Then came the Dark Ages and using a pillow became a sign of laziness and indulgence. As a manly knight, you couldn’t be caught dead with a pillow under your head. Only pregnant women were allowed pillows. And the kings of course, since they were exempt from all worldly rules.

The Japanese Geisha used smaller, hard pillows to keep their neck raised off the ground at night. This way their elaborate hairdo remained perfectly coiffed for days on end.

The ancient Greeks and Romans came to their senses and started stuffing their pillows with cotton, reeds, or straw. Then, along came the Industrial Revolution, and finally everyone had a pillow to rest their weary heads on.

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