Sunday Mailbag

Today's going to be generally light and pretty lean.

After this, we're going to go dark until Friday, January 3. We need to work on the changeover to the Senate cycle, and we need to do a few other things. We'll be back full force on the third, and going forward.

Happy (Early) New Year!

Politics: A Cry for Help (Responses)

B.B. in Dothan, AL, writes: Q.F. in Boulder asked "Are we truly the failed country I now see?"

I recommend A Brief History of Equality by Thomas Piketty.

Piketty writes "since the end of the eighteenth century, the march toward equality has been based on the development of a number of specific institutional arrangements that have to be studied as such: equality before the law; universal suffrage and parliamentary democracy; free and obligatory education; universal health insurance; progressive taxes on income, inheritance, and property; joint management and labor law; freedom of the press; international law; and so on."

Taking this long view, I suspect he may have the right of it. The country is certainly better off than when I grew up in the 1960s. I see this era as reactionary to societal changes that have been occurring since the 1970s. Those changes (e.g., Roe v. Wade) were quite substantial, which then caused conservatives to react. Now we are approaching the time when we will be a minority-majority country. Reactionary racism was always to be expected, as white and/or privileged people fear loss of power, influence and money.

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J.G. in Chantilly, VA, writes: To Q.F. in Boulder: Many of us, myself included, share your pain and anxiety. Know that you are not alone.

The United States is never as bad as its worst moments and people, nor is it as good as it sees itself. It is not exceptional among nations, and certainly not loved more by God. Rather, the U.S. is a complex mix of the great, the good, the mediocre and evil, showered with ignorance. In some moments, one of these qualities is dominant, but the others are never far away. That means that greatness and goodness are still with us, waiting to be found and released.

Reach out to others who help you feel better. These people or groups need not be political, but they might be. Local elections or actions can renew a sense of purpose and control and are a great way to meet people who share your values.

Feel free to turn off the news, especially anything concerning President Musk and his Orange First Lady. Do things you enjoy. Rest, eat well, and exercise the way you want. Get therapy if needed, meditation can also help.

And stay entertained!

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L.E. in Santa Barbara, CA, writes: In the aftermath of the election, my spouse and I decided we needed to spend more time out in the physical world (a.k.a. "nature"), once again. This has allowed us to relax and embrace those things that are so important to us, without the constant static of the political and social divisions. We are birders who don't keep lists and look equally at insects, plants, and geologic formations/structures (including the mountains in the distance and the ocean nearby).

There are many ways to do this while positively engaged with other human beings. We have found that when people are out in the natural environment, they generally do not talk about political/social issues. At the same time, we also know many, if not most of them, share our values and goals.

Some suggestions on where to start:

• Contact a local Audubon Society. They often have walks with guides. They are very patient with novices and this is where we got our start.
  
  Depending where Q.F. is located in Boulder, here is the link for the Boulder Audubon and here is the link for the much larger Denver Audubon. They don't appear to have much on their calendars, at the moment, but Q.F. can call and e-mail to find out how to connect.
  
  
• Contact a nearby botanic garden. Our botanic garden has lots and lots of events, monthly, including bird walks, plant identification walks, and more. Colorado Info lists 11 different gardens and arboretums in Colorado. Q.F. could contact those that are nearby and ask about any programs. (The Denver Botanic Gardens are HUGE and look like they have many programs.)
  
  
• For any kind of nature viewing close up, binoculars can help. There are many, many low-cost but decent quality binos, if Q.F. does not own any and has a limited budget. We recently discovered and have been using this optics vendor in Irvine, California who also ships nationwide. (Note: their website does not play nicely with my iPad Mini, so I usually have to pop onto my Mac to search their site.) And to pick the binoculars that are the best for a person, searching the web for "choosing binoculars" yields an enormous number of articles. Here is an Optics4Birding page that might help, but Q.F. also might be able to just call them and find someone who can help them figure out what they need as a "starter" pair.
  
  
• Other resources. Every person has their own favorite set of nature identification guides. We like the Peterson guides, as they cover the gamut of flora and fauna, but also have several more bird guides. As Q.F. connects with folks in their area, those folks will be able to point Q.F. to guides that work well, locally.

We wish Q.F. all the best and hope they can find something that helps get them out of their isolation and connecting with like individuals, without the political undercurrent.

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C.W. in Carlsbad, CA, writes: Dear Q.F.: Welcome to the club. We were in shock here for several days. On the balance, we have come to realize that a good portion of the voters here are both poorly informed and highly transactional. It seems at the very least this country is in for harder lessons than in 2017. And as bad as the election was for my mood, the series of CEOs and world leaders going to Mar-a-Lago to grovel was worse.

In any case, I feel you are in good company. There are a lot of us out here in similar situations. I have been part of the GOTV ground game now for 20 years. (I personally knocked on more than 1,000 doors this fall—not bad for 72, eh?) Estranged family members? Yep! At some point, you have to let them go. My mom went to her grave thinking TFG was some kind of genius miracle worker. Even though I live in California, I drive through its Central Valley a lot, and the MAGA presence there is quite overwhelming in places.

Now, as for advice. We are still working on a game plan, but it's coming. I think you are wise to cut back on your social media presence. My perception is that most of the risks over the next few years will not be from the government, but from the fascist elements of the general population that feel justified now in operating on their own. But don't be alone! Instead, check into organizations like Indivisible to see if they have a local group, or any local political or topical interest group, and reach out to them directly. Finally, get a copy of On Tyranny by Professor Timothy Snyder. It's a short read but quite informative, and empowering. There's other things to read, but start with that.

You're still you, despite the changes in this country. Revel in that fact, and that there are at least 70 million of us all over the United States. It's going to take more than this jerk to bring us down. Be well!

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M.M. in San Diego, CA, writes: Please keep in mind that only about 15% of the adult population in the U.S. follows politics, and only a portion are the MAGA true believers with the disconcerting viewpoints.

The other 85% aren't interested in politics and probably cannot tell you too much factual information about the people they vote for, if they vote at all. They don't support authoritarian proto-fascism; they're just unhappy about the cost of living and voted in hopes of a change. The country isn't full of mad, ravening reactionaries, though it might seem that way because they make so much noise, which only the rest of the 15% hears.

If you are feeling isolated and want to meet some like-minded folks, check out your county Democratic Party office. You'll find plenty of grassroots volunteers who share your values. Perhaps a new face at this time might help buck up their spirits, too.

Please take care, and I hope this malaise passes soon.

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B.B. in Pembroke, NH, writes: In response to Q.F. in Boulder, I too feel your pain.

Like most Democrats, my wife and I were depressed after he got elected in November. In the past eight years we also lost friends and family over this guy. Luckily my wife and I have the same political views. (I can't imagine what it would be like being married to someone who is MAGA). After many conversations, we decided to take a break from politics for a while. Have we given up the fight? No, we have not, but we need to concentrate on our mental health for a while. So I think you stepping away for a while is a start. I think once they (MAGA) realize what this guy will do, feeling the consequences of the decisions made, they will start feeling despondent and the rest of us can start breathing again. Please don't give up.

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P.M. in Palm Springs, CA, writes: I and many people close to me felt as you still do after the election. Your feelings are justified. And it is sad that you are mostly alone and not active in a workplace with others. What has helped me is getting involved with others of similar feelings and leanings. It's what I did in 2017 and have continued since. The morning after the election I swore that I was done with politics, activism, meetings and even the news. I still watch little news, but stay up on what's going on with sites like Electoral-Vote.com and Political Wire. But there are groups in Boulder and elsewhere that you can get involved with, that you can meet with, talk with, and work with. Just being with other people of similar persuasions will cheer you up and give you hope.

Education

A.C. in Kingston, MA, writes: I had to chuckle at B.D.P. in Ferndale using calculus as a subject where AI could be useful. I've been teaching calculus for over 20 years now, and playing with generative AI since it became widely available. My experience has been exactly the opposite. It routinely spits out misinformation, and since math, especially basic math (calculus I is typically taken by high school students or in the first semester of college), is so concrete, it's very easy to spot when something is wrong. I have noticed that AI has a better success rate on even-more-basic high school level math (particularly Algebra I), but it's still reasonably easy to catch students using it because it might use terminology I haven't brought up in class yet, or use an algorithm I haven't taught.

In fact, whenever I fire up ChatGPT and ask it a question on a subject about which I know more than the average person, I'm lucky if it hits 50% accuracy. I asked it to give me a list of Christmas carols in Dorian mode, and not a single song was actually in Dorian mode. (It did provide a word salad describing what Dorian mode is, and why so many Christmas carols are in it, though!) I can only assume that it's just as hit-or-miss on things I know nothing about.

I've taken two approaches simultaneously to combating the use of generative AI in my classes. The first, and I realize this is easier in a course that doesn't assign papers, is that anything that involves assessing whether students have mastered a specific mathematical skill happens in the classroom is proctored. No exceptions. I don't grade homework; in honors and upper-level classes I don't even check it, and in lower-level classes I check if for completion only, and stress to all students that their responsibility is to identify which problems were difficult and come in with specific questions for me. The second is newer, and I've only been through it once at this point: I have my calculus students use AI to answer a multi-step open-response problem, and then analyze the response for accuracy. This has led to interesting discussions on the limits of AI and deepened students' awareness of their own level of subject mastery.

Finally, a personal anecdote as a student. I'm currently halfway through a certificate program in digital instructional design at the university where I'm an adjunct. It's entirely online and asynchronous, and every week we're required to make a discussion board post and respond to at least two classmates (pretty typical for asynchronous courses). There's one classmate whose posts have consistently rubbed me the wrong way, and I've avoided responding to her lest I say something I regret. On a lark I decided to run a few of her posts through one of those AI detectors—they all came back "likely AI generated." Sounds similar to how your students are perceiving the AI essays as D-level work.

I'm sure AI will eventually evolve to the point where its use won't be so obvious, but it's not there yet in the subjects I teach.

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J.R.A. in St. Petersburg, FL, writes: I suspect I am probably not alone in thinking that while you guys are smart—dummies don't get to Profess—it is not merely about politics, and listening to you opine on other topics is just fun.

(Z)'s response on ChatGPT is an excellent example, dabbling in pedagogy as it did, which I know from other people's letters is a popular behind-the-scenes topic.

Off the final graf of that—making students write out the penalties will likely be helpful. I know that because I had a middle school algebra teacher who wasn't familiar with that bit of pedagogy, and bought my silly 13-year-old's argument that just writing down the initials of the theories which should be used to figure each problem was enough... in consequence of which, I no longer know what those theories are. Oops.

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D.W. in Phoenix, AZ, writes: You wrote: "this was recommended by the Office of Student Conduct, a question that reads something like this: "If a student is caught cheating once, the penalty is _______________; if they are caught cheating twice, the penalty is _______________."

Hmmm.... If a student is caught cheating once, the penalty is election to the House of Representatives; if they are caught cheating twice, the penalty is election to the U.S. Senate?

Ohhhh, the humanity!

Sports and Games

R.H. in Wayland, MA, writes: You write that chess has barely changed over the centuries. I must take issue with that. I have been a tournament player since 1973. My peak rating was only as an expert (one step below master) but for a number of years I was chess correspondent for the Associated Press, where I got to watch the world's top players up close.

The most obvious change has been the rise of computers, which has had a ripple effect. In the 1980s, computers were an object of scorn, even among weak amateurs like myself. But that changed rapidly as computers got more powerful. A computer beat Garry Kasparov in 1997. Another machine held reigning world champion Vladimir Kramnik to a draw in a match in 2002 and beat him in 2006. Since then, it has been pointless to have any match between man and machine. The computer is far stronger than any human being.

This has had a number of effects. First, games are no longer adjourned and sudden death time controls have become the norm (and endgame play is arguably weaker today than in previous decades as a result). They've revolutionized opening theory and made phenomenal memorization an even bigger requirement for success at the top. This in turn (among other things) has led to younger and younger players at the top level and the decline of older players at that level. Just a month ago, Gukesh Dommaraju became world champion at age 18 (previously, Kasparov was the youngest at 22). In the January 1980 top ten list, the youngest player was 27 and the oldest 50. Five were in their 40s. Today five of the top ten are 25 or younger.

The so-called grandmaster draw of 15-20 moves (often not leaving known opening theory) was ubiquitous 40-50 years ago and is no longer tolerated today. The advent of the "increment" on the clock (adding, e.g., 30 seconds after every move) has eliminated time scrambles where a player might have to make 10-20 moves in a minute or two.

One of the biggest changes is the rise of Chess960, where the players begin from a randomly selected opening position. I'm sure that there have been many other changes too subtle for me to notice or think of off the top of my head.

(V) & (Z) respond: We know about some of the many ways in which players have changed their approach to the game. But the question was about rule changes, and the rules of basic chess have changed very little in the last 200 years.

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R.P. in Kāneʻohe, HI, writes: As an evolutionary biologist myself, I enjoyed both the question from K.H. in Albuquerque about the evolution of sports, and the excellent answer you provided. I was also delighted by the question from B.K. in Martha's Vineyard about the process of this "evolution" (how rules change over time). I think your answer was interesting and informative (as usual), but in combining the contexts of these two questions, I thought I'd comment a bit more on the evolution of chess.

Keeping with the theme of evolutionary biology and its associated terminology, your answer to B.K. was focused on a microevolutionary scale (i.e., changes in rules akin to changes in gene frequencies within a population). On a macroevolutionary scale, the Internet tells me that the earliest form of what we now call chess was Chaturanga (which had pieces homologous to modern chess pieces), dating to around 300 B.C. This, and its descendants over the ensuing centuries, were actually four-player games. It didn't evolve into a two-player game until around 600 A.D., when it was called Shatranj, and didn't take the form we're now familiar with until the 19th Century. To be clear, I am absolutely not an expert in chess! However, I've previously revealed my personal interest in the modern-incarnation of four-way chess previously on this site, when I showed the view from my living room during the presidential debate between Trump and Harris. I mention this because my son and I use this to play a version of chess we invented ourselves: two-player four-way chess, wherein we each person controls two sets of pieces. Our rules have evolved somewhat substantially (on the microevolutionary scale), for the latter two of the three reasons you gave for why sports evolve over time. There aren't any safety concerns (the first of the three reasons you gave), but we've refined the rules to the point where the balance of play is about right (my son does win 95% of the time, but only because he's a much better player), and the excitement level is MASSIVELY greater than the more familiar modern chess. Later today, I'll suggest to my son that we try a version where the queen can move like a knight. I'll let you know how it goes.

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W.S. in Pittsburgh, PA, writes: You mentioned the New York Jets, so I though I would pass along this Onion item:

Jets Fans Required To Sign NDA Before Leaving Stadium

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ—With security checkpoints having been set up near every exit, New York Jets fans were reportedly stopped and asked to sign nondisclosure agreements Sunday before leaving MetLife Stadium. "By signing this document, you are agreeing that you will never discuss the details of what happened on that field today with anyone outside of the venue," said a legal representative for the Jets, adding that none of the tens of thousands of fans in attendance would be allowed to exit the premises unless they accepted the terms of the rigid confidentiality clause, agreeing never to mention the words "awful," "embarrassing," "loss," or "Aaron Rodgers" during the offseason and in perpetuity thereafter. "The results of this game are privileged information that can never get out to the general public without doing great harm to owners, players, and—frankly—you people, who have chosen to be fans of such a humiliating football team. So it's for your benefit as well as ours that no one knows what happened here today. If any results of that pathetic display you just witnessed leak to the general public, rest assured you will all be held financially liable for any sports bloopers that may result." At press time, the Federal Communications Commission had been served with an injunction to blur out the scores of televised Jets games for the remainder of the season.

Film

S.K. in Sunnyvale, CA, writes: I hadn't thought about the impact that seeing a movie on the big screen (as opposed to television) may have on our opinion of a film until you mentioned it, but it may explain the soft spot I have for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country—which I guess dates myself somewhat.

I won't begrudge you for favoring "Save the Whales," as long as you don't mention those fanfic trilogies J.J. Abrams started, in either the Star Trek or Star Wars franchises.

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G.R. in Tarzana, CA, writes: Your answer regarding the film It's a Wonderful Life shows just how fortuitous happenstances can impact many of the touchstones of our lives and how they became such. While the 1946 Frank Capra film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, it received mixed reviews, had dreadful box office and lost money, even damaging Capra's career. It was such a failure that no real attention was paid to correctly renewing the copyright and in 1974 it fell into public domain. That was also the time period where independent television stations were becoming abundant by claiming the channels not being used by the major networks. With limited budgets, they filled up most of their air time with cheap local programming and even cheaper movies that could be replayed endlessly. It was during that Christmas season that stations discovered the film, ran it endlessly, and from obscurity it became the holiday classic we know today.

A second fortuitous happenstance involved me personally when I was a writer for HBO's Not Necessarily the News. We were writing the review of 1988, during which President George H.W. Bush's son Neil was involved in the collapse of Silverado Banking Savings and Loan, which cost taxpayers over $1 billion. I knew that It's a Wonderful Life would be the perfect allusion to make. Normally, in television, you can parody, but you can't use actual film footage without getting the rights. However, since the film was still in public domain, we didn't need rights, and therefore I got to write a piece that featured numerous clips, and that allows me to say that I did a project with James Stewart and Lionel Barrymore.

(V) & (Z) respond: Yeah, but what's your Kevin Bacon number?

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C.R. in Pittsburgh, PA, writes: Great answer to D.O. in Sudbury about whether The Godfather, Part III would have succeeded with Robert Duvall and without Sofia Coppola!

As a professional actor, I have my thoughts on this subject. I agree that Robert Duvall would have made the film so much more interesting and believable. But I believe Sofia Coppola was dismissed too lightly. She looked believable in the part and would have done just fine if her director/father would have sprung for a talented, knowledgeable dialect coach. The character of Mary Corleone was to have grown up in New York with her mother and not in Nevada with her father. But Sofia Coppola had a very pronounced Southern California dialect, which was manifested in her tone, pitch, and enunciation (especially in the word "Dad,") and in my opinion, it ruined her performance.

I enjoyed the "re-framing" of "The Death of Michael Corleone" and it would have been better to release it that way.

Science Fiction

C.F. in Waltham, MA, writes: I can only imagine how many people sent you this in response to the question about the Death Star wandering into Federation space. It is a very old fan-fiction video:

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J.S. in Germantown, OH, writes: I wholeheartedly agree with you, in that Deep Space Nine was always my favorite of the "classic" series (although, because of my age I will always have a special place in my heart for The Original Series). I've never forgotten Garak's line: "Do you know what the sad part is, Odo? I'm a very good tailor."

Glad to find someone else who prefers this series to some of the others!

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T.H. in Edmonton, AB, Canada, writes: Re: Andor

YOU. HAVE. TO. WATCH. IT.

IT. IS. ANTI-FASCIST. ART.

(Season 2 drops on April 22, 2025.)

Who Let the Dogs In?, Part IV

B.D. in St. Agatha, ON, Canada (a.k.a. "The 51st State"), writes: Yeah, take some time off! I, for one, need to catch up on your posts and just how many sovereign countries the incoming administration is threatening. I'm losing count. When you come back, please explain that to all of us... I'm way behind because we got a new rescue dog, not a dachshund, much taller, and probably as long:

My niece, who is a vet, think she's a Labradoodle, and our border collie thinks that's probably right. He thinks she is way better than my kids' bulldog puppy, who is insane as well as ugly. Our cats are not impressed. But they will soon assert dominance, and things will settle down.

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S.Y. Skokie, IL, writes: You guys opened the subject, so here's a story about a dog that followed me home to my dorm in Carbondale, IL, and was with me for the next 13 years.

Emil the Wunderdawg could do a lot of things other dogs couldn't. He would catch a frisbee 8 feet in the air while spinning upside down. I'd let him out in the morning before class and see him later that afternoon by the Dairy Queen mooching ice cream. Once during class in a large lecture hall, he came walking down the aisle toward the lectern with a frisbee in his mouth. He saw me and sat down next to me. The professor asked, "Is he taking a collection?"

The best story is when I was home at my parents' house during Spring Break and my Dad let Emil out before we went to bed. It rained all night but by morning he had not showed up, so I got into my car and drove around the neighborhood. Two blocks away I spotted a large pack of soaking wet, very muddy dogs standing outside of a yard surrounded by a 6' chain link fence. I looked the pack of dogs over, no Emil.

"He's got to have something to do with this," I'm thinking. In the middle of the yard is a giant dog house. I honk my horn. A huge St. Bernard walks out, followed by Emil, dry as a bone. He sees me, hops the fence, looks over his filthy dirty brethren and says, "Hey guys, I gotta go, my ride is here," and gets into my car. I never knew if that St. Benard had a litter but they would have been interesting puppies. Emil was a pit/hound dog.

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M.M. in Centralia, IL, writes: Enjoy your break. When you're all back, Sky (below) is telling the bartender he wants to treat the staff dachshunds to a nice alcohol-free doggie beer to celebrate the new year, whatever it may bring:

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D.R. in Chicago, IL, writes: My daughters insist that I relate this story.

We had an old refrigerator and wouldn't close properly unless you held it securely for a few seconds. As the dad, I was often nagging my daughters to shut the fridge properly.

One day, I was sitting at the kitchen table working on my computer, when our dog, Rhythm (a German Shepherd-Rottweiler mix) strolled into the kitchen and swung her backside against the refrigerator door. The door opened and then she began snacking on our food.

I quietly called my daughters to come and look.

We all laughed, chased away the dog, and began to discard her snacks.

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D.R. in Hillsboro, VA, writes: Electoral-Vote.com's New Tech Support Hund:

Gallimaufry

P.M. in Port Angeles, WA, writes: To throw insult onto ignominy, I'll state that my aunt Betty made the most remarkable fruitcakes imaginable. She would begin right after the winter holidays with marked-down dried fruits and put them to marinate in brandy for 10 months or so. Then she would take the well-inebriated fruit offering and meld them with an amazing pound cake batter to make the moistest, tastiest fruitcake ever created.

This supported me through my younger years, until my heart was Stollen by my new aunt-in-law, Helga, who created that Germanic masterpiece for the winter holiday season. I never learned her secret, but her Stollen with butter from the farm up the road was a staple for breakfast on Christmas and several days afterward.

As for hot dogs, a very good mustard with dill relish is called for, unless you are in New York City, at a street cart, then Sabrett's onion sauce (and perhaps sauerkraut )is de rigueur for your Nathan's. Ketchup is for hamburgers, along with sweet relish.

For pineapple on pizza, that is only acceptable if you also add diced spam to it; otherwise, it is a California abomination.

"Real" chili is Tex-Mex and made without beans, but excellent chilis are made with your bean of choice, Mesquite, pinto, kidney or red beans.

(V) & (Z) respond: Note that we did not say that ketchup is our preferred hot dog condiment, merely that we think it's acceptable. (Z), in particular, favors mustard in that situation, and in many, many others. In fact, at any given time, he has about 20 different varieties of mustard "on tap."

Final Words

R.B. in Santa Monica, CA, writes: Marco Polo, responding to claims he made up the things recounted in his memoir: "I have not told half of what I saw."

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