Angie Lynch

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  • Females Just As Mathematically Capable As Males
    Mar 25, 13

    When I was in junior high, my class was asked to write a paper analyzing the results of research we conducted independently. As 12-year-olds, our research wasn’t methodologically correct, but that wasn’t the point. We were supposed to get interested in a phenomenon and study it as best we could from start to finish.

    Budding feminist that I was, I decided to study the incidents of girls raising their hands in classroom discussions. For a week I sat in the back of all my classes and counted the number of girl hands raised versus boy hands raised and how each answered questions when called on. My anecdotal evidence showed a much higher rate of boys raising their hands. Girls tended to raise their hands only when they were confident in their answers whereas boys were more willing to wing it. Similarly, girls would start their answers with language that hedged against the possibility that they were incorrect, such as, “Well, I think it’s because….” I myself fell squarely within the typical female response. I rarely raised my hand in school, despite often being certain of the answer, and would answer questions in only the tiniest of voices.

    As adults we’ve all heard the information on cognitive bias and the reason for less frequent/more hesitant female classroom interaction, but as a kid it was new to me. And when I read this article, which discusses a recent study that suggests female students are as equally competent in math as their male counterparts, that school experiment came flooding back to mind.

    It makes so much sense. Of course women are equally as skilled in math. Again, from my own experience I know that the top two graduates from my high school class, both female, entered college as Chemistry and Aerospace Engineering majors, respectively. Both programs are heavily math-based and you won’t fare very well without being confident around an equation.

    The former tests of math ability just weren’t built to adequately gauge the settings under which each sex performs the best. I am no scientist and not intimately knowledgeable about this research area, but it absolutely makes sense to me that if females in the classroom are reticent to raise their hands it might take a moment in a fast paced competition setting in order for females to feel comfortable and be willing to jump in full bore.

    I think we need more research like this to learn when men and women perform at their optimal level. I think we need research like this that shows women are indeed smart and capable mathematicians. We need more research like this to encourage young girls to try out courses of study within the traditionally male-dominated STEM* fields.  It’s not the subject that sets male and females apart, it’s the environment and it’s refreshing to finally see researchers addressing the issue.

    *Science—Technology—Engineering—Mathematics

    image via



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  • Donut Ho: Easy Donut Holes Recipe
    Mar 22, 13

    I did not grow up depression era, but as a participator in the organic food movement, I tend to hoard scraps and wallow in a puddle of “waste not, want not” when it comes to food. Bacon rinds get frozen to be tossed into bean soups. Chicken bones are hoarded in the freezer to become stock. Pie crust trimmings get tossed in cinnamon and sugar and baked to make hot little cookie scraps to be popped into the family maw—I’m shockingly resourceful for a yuppie.

    I’ve even invented (and mastered) a sport I call “inside camping,” wherein I enter the lair of the 30-year-old bachelor and manage to create a meal of food using only 3 dented cans languishing in the pantry, a frozen bulk bag of unappetizing vegetables, skim milk, and biscuit mix to make a tasty vegetable pot pie of sorts. Yer a wizard, Kristie.

    So it should come as no surprise that when I make breads or cinnamon rolls and have leftover bits of dough, I turn them into additional food. Far be it for me to waste the .11 cents of flour, water, and yeast, right? Better that I spend .60 cents of electricity heating up the deep fryer and making DONUT HOLES. Because fried! And science! And starving people! And then also FRIED!!

    You can use whatever dough recipe you want. Donut holes aren’t particular. They just want to be rolled in cinnamon and sugar and loved, you know? Here’s a good basic recipe for cinnamon roll dough that just so happens to function beautifully as a donut hole recipe. It gives you the freedom to make some cinnamon rolls and some donut holes, or just a giant batch of donut holes that will feed 2-12 people (on a scale of gluttonous vs normal– I fall toward the “2.”)

    Donut Ho
    Print
    Recipe type: Breakfast
    Author: Kristie Thomson Webber
    Serves: 6
    Donut holes, cinnamon rolls, really the only difference is the fryer.
    Ingredients
    • 2.5 t active dry yeast
    • 1 C lukewarm water
    • 3 C AP flour
    • 1.25 t kosher salt
    • 3 T sugar
    • 6 T unsalted butter, at room temperature
    • .25 C nonfat dry milk
    • .5 C instant mashed potato flakes (I know, the shame! I only use them for baking)
    Instructions
    1. Just put all of the ingredients into your breadmaker and put it on the “make dough” setting. Once risen, you can either roll out and make cinnamon rolls, or cut into nubbins, roll them into balls, and toss them (carefully) in small batches into your deep fryer set to 350 F, turning constantly with a metal slotted spoon until they’re golden brown and puffed all around. Then drain, place them on paper bags to remove excess oil, and toss immediately with cinnamon sugar. Serve hot and with dip if you like.
    3.2.1226

    It’s that easy. Potential dips include creme anglaise, chocolate sauce, salted caramel, raspberry jam, and anything else you can think to add!

    Cheater tip: If you don’t feel like making dough, just buy a batch of cinnamon rolls in a can. Form into a wad, then cut off 1″ chunks to roll into circles. Fry those. I won’t tell.

    image credit Kristie Webber



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  • Redefining Fit: Why You Should Stop Dieting Right Now
    Mar 20, 13

    There are a lot of diets out there. Like—a lot. So how do you know which one works best for you?

    Here’s a secret about all those pills and point systems and food restrictions: they work—if you stick to them. But after you get tired of no-carb, no-fun cauliflower pizza or detoxing once a week or drinking magic shakes—then what? You gain weight back, that’s what.

    Did you know the number one predictor of weight gain is being on a diet?

    Whaaat? But it’s true. There are a bunch of studies that say so.

    I’m here to tell you (again, because I think we all need a reminder) that you should stop dieting right now. Not after you lose those 20 pounds, not after your favorite jeans fit again. Right now. RIGHT NOW.

    Because here’s the thing: eventually, you’ll get tired of fighting cravings. You’ll grow weary of never eating dessert. You’ll get sick of not being able to go to happy hour with your friends. You can’t sustain long-term deprivation of things you want, crave, and enjoy. Even granite, the strongest rock, erodes and wear away over time. Diets are not sustainable. They wear away at your willpower and make you feel horrible when you finally give in.

    And then bingeing happens, or old habits happen, or something else happens and BAM! You’re right back where you started with maybe even more weight than you started with.

    So what’s a girl to do?

    Start enjoying your life right now. Tell yourself it’s okay to eat cookies if you feel like it. Stop with the guilt, with the “should” or “shouldn’t” and start listening to what your body is telling you. Your body will tell you that it doesn’t want cookies for dinner every night. Your body will tell you that it wants/needs vegetables. Your body will you that carbs are okay. So is fat.

    Your body doesn’t want cake and cookies and beer for every meal—and it will tell you, but you have to listen.  It may be hard to hear over the daily battles with your willpower, which is reason enough to stop fighting with yourself. Being in tune with your body may take time—and, as these things go, your progress will wax and wane. I don’t have an easy solution for myself, let alone anyone else, to get there but, like everything else, I’m sure the Internet holds the answers you seek.

    In the meantime, consider this: what if eating what you feel like eating is okay? What if there are no bad or good foods? What if it’s okay for you to never diet again?

    Think about it. And start listening to the answers—the real answers, buried deep inside you.

    Your body, as well as your soul, will thank you.

    Photo credit Stock Exchange



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  • Triple Dare: Put On A Bikini, Take A Photo Of Yourself, Publish It On The Internet
    Mar 18, 13

    When Brittany told me this weekend that she A) bought a few bikinis, B) was going to have her picture taken wearing said bikinis, and C) post those pictures on the internet, way too many emotions flowed through my heart.

    I love my dear friend, and because I love her, I was immediately D) scared for her, E) proud of her, and F) nervous as all get-out for her.

    I didn’t doubt she’d look good; she always looks good. But putting on a bikini, having a photo of herself, then posting it on the internet for all the world to see forever and ever?

    That’s what nightmares are made of, no matter what size jeans you wear.

    But then she did it.

    In the words of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis: “This is f*cking awesome.”

     

    Brittany climbed Bikini Mountain, and she has come out the other side braver than I thought she could ever be.

    Plus, it doesn’t hurt to have boobs like that to fill out a bikini top, amirite?!

    Brava, B! You win everything today.

    UPDATE: Huffington Post picked up Brittany’s article and has taken it up a notch. BRAVA!

    photos credit Brittany Gibbons



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  • Some Like It Curvy: The Ashley Madison Edition
    Mar 15, 13

    I have this face. A face that says, “Tell me all of your secrets.”

    And this total stranger, sitting in the waiting room with me at my doctor’s office—she told me her biggest secret.

    I don’t know why I am going to tell you this, but I just need to tell a woman. Any woman. I have a profile on Ashley Madison.

    Who is she?

    It’s not a person, well maybe it is, but it’s a website.

    A website for what?

    It’s for married women, looking to have an affair.

    *crickets*

    Can I ask you a few questions? I’m a writer.

    Sure. Just don’t use my name.

    I don’t even know your name.

    Good. Let’s keep it that way.

    So I pulled out my iPhone, hit the record button, and I began asking her questions.

    How did you find out about the site?

    I saw it on TV years ago and was disgusted by it, but it came in handy when I decided to have an affair. I didn’t want to fool around with friends or co-workers.

    Why did you decide to have an affair?

    Complicated. A lot of factors. Primarily, I am not really in love with my husband. No connection. No intimacy. But, we have kids, and until they grow up, I am going to stay with him because he is a great father.

    So you went to this website, and I assume the men have made online profiles. Can you tell me the type of men you find there?

    There are two groups of men:

    1. 20 somethings with a MILF fantasy who have realized that while they may be striking out with ladies their own age, older, married women are like fish in a barrel. A no-strings, sex barrel.

    AND

    2. The 40+ midlife crisis men.

    Group #2 can be broken down into subcategories (both of which are lies):

    1. My wife doesn’t want sex anymore. Which, bullshit, she just doesn’t want sex with you anymore.

    AND

    2. I’m in an open marriage. This is also bullshit…unless you have a notarized letter from your wife stating such, you are not in an open marriage.

    That said, 99% of the men on the site are professional, executive types.

    So, do they send you messages, or how do you connect with these guys?

    First, you create a profile, then you can search for people based on preferences like location, height, weight, age, etc.

    You can reach out to people, or they can reach out to you.

    • The men have to pay for to use the website, and the women do not have to pay. Men buy “credits” so they can contact women via wink, email or chat. Women can do all of those things for free.
    • Profile photos can be public or private, and if you want someone to see your private photos, you send them a “key”.
    • Penis pics are kept in a special “rated” section; so you know they’re there and can decide whether or not to look.

    I have yet to hear from an older married man who has successfully started an affair on Ashley Madison. The younger men seem to have better luck, so long as they don’t mind screwing women who are 20 years older, since that seems to be the women demographic.

    Everyone on the site lies about their age and height. Whatever the profile says, subtract 2-4″ and add 5 years.

    Have you gone on any dates?

    Yes, but I have not slept with anyone, yet.

    I have, however, met someone that I have a pretty intense connection with.

    By intense connection, are you saying this is like butterflies-in-your-stomach dating all over again?

    Yes, but you still have to manage a normal day-to-day life. You can’t be all gaga.

    It’s also, unlike dating, in that you can’t be demanding of each other or have unrealistic expectations. You have to just take what you can get, when you can get it and be grateful for that time. And you are aware that it is time that both of you are taking away from your spouse and family. So the meetings are few and far between.

    I find time around the edges of my life.

    What if you find someone amazing, and you decide to leave your marriage, would you ever trust this person? Or is this just about sex?

    It’s actually less about sex than it is about connection and intimacy. I have found someone amazing, and I would never marry him. EVER!

    But, to be fair, if my marriage ultimately dissolves, I won’t ever marry again. This guy or anyone else. Once is enough for me, and I was married very young. I never really ran wild and free.

    This is the first time I’m really free to figure out what I like. I don’t want to marry him or live with him. I don’t have to worry about his genetics, or what sort of father he’ll make, because I don’t want to have kids with him. I don’t care whether or not he’ll be a good provider. I have my own job and don’t want him to support me. I’m not concerned with whether or not he’ll be faithful. I already know he’s not.

    How long will you do this?

    Use Ashley Madison or have an affair?

    Both. I guess…

    I’m probably done with the website because I’ve met someone. I just really wanted to meet one person for something long term. I will have an affair until it ends.

    Do you feel guilty?

    No.

    I know I’m supposed to, but I don’t.

    I have given so much, for so long… My entire family takes, with no thought or consideration for me. I know it’s my job, but I have reached the limit of what I can give without being replenished in some way. Some women can be selfless forever. I am not one of them.

    ***

    With that, her name was called to go see the doctor. Honestly, I didn’t even catch her name. I sat there, thinking about all that she had just told me, and how this was oddly making some sense to me. It wasn’t making sense because she was having an affair. It was making sense because so many people take so much from me every single day. And I give it all, many times with nothing in return.

    She was doing this for herself.

    ***

    As she turned to leave, she looked back one more time,

    Hey Writer, they’re going to wonder why I just don’t get a divorce.

    Why don’t you just get a divorce?

    My kids are happy. Their family is intact. People are going to say that it’s better for the kids for unhappy parents to get divorced, and I think they’re wrong.

    I’ve been through my parents’ divorce. It was terrible. I don’t want to put my kids through that. They deserve to see both parents every day. They deserve an intact family.

    And our marriage is not “bad.” We don’t fight. There’s no abuse in the home. We’re not mean or cruel to each other.

    And yes, I am aware of how much damage is caused by infidelity. I have lived through it. It has been done to me, and it was heartbreaking.

    And no, this is not about revenge. I have no desire to get even. It’s not tit-for-tat. It’s just about me.

    What about his wife? 

    I don’t know the answer to that. It’s not her fault, though. People in affairs are being selfish. At least we are, anyway.

    ***

    And off she went. This curious woman walked back into the doctor’s office, leaving me with the most unique interview I’ve ever conducted in my entire life.

    Lady, whoever you are, thank you for the interview, and thank you for making the waiting room more interesting.

    image courtesy of AshleyMadison.com



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