Learning – …on the B.L.

I am a huge fan of knowledge. It’s really the reason I love to read. I want to know everything about anything. As a kid, I’m pretty sure I took “knowledge is power” literally, and I’m not sure I ever stopped. Knowing things makes me feel more secure in the world; I don’t mind not knowing things or the absence of knowledge.

Me trying my super hardest to soak up all the knowledge.

The invention of the internet then high-speed internet then smartphones has made my pursuit of knowledge so much easier. If I don’t know something, I pull out my phone and do a quick Google search. Some of the things I learn stick for good, others may not. I grew up in the era before home computers were everywhere. Hell, I grew up when cell phones were a luxury. If I wanted to know something, I had to open a book or a dictionary. Now, my home had a dictionary and an encyclopedia, but those only do so much. So I kept a notebook with a list of things I wanted to know, and when we would take our frequent trips to the library, I would find the answers to my questions.

Instant gratification did not exist as a child on my search for knowledge; however, it does now. And I take full advantage of Google. My search history is diverse and sometimes a bit frenetic. “David Bowie’s birthday” may be followed by “who founded quantum physics” followed by “what gun did Billy the Kid use.” Why oh why do I need to know these things? Frankly, I don’t. But I want to. I like finding answers to my questions. I like collecting information. I like being the person who is full of random facts.

I have been called a know-it-all. I used to say “Well, actually” with my pointer finger extended. Then I realized that’s incredibly off putting. So I replaced “well, actually” with “fun fact!” and jazz hands because I have to gesticulate when I speak. Sometimes I don’t even realize I know something about a topic until someone says something, and I realize I have a factoid to add to their statement… Or correct their statement to make it factually correct.

When people find out I’m a knowledge nerd, a perpetual learner, an eternal student, a seeker of truth, they often want to know some fun facts. I realized it’s rather difficult to come up with fun facts on the spot when not prompted by conversation or information. So I compiled a handful of fun facts that I can spout at a moment’s notice. Some of these are fun facts and others are just facts that I like to tell people are fun because knowledge is cool, and no one can tell me different.

The pound sign, or hashtag if you will, was originally called the octothorp. Yes, it is also known as the number sign. The symbol itself has roots dating back to ancient Rome, the modern incarnation can be seen in variations since 1850. There wasn’t an official name for the symbol, which appeared on the bottom right of a telephone keypad. So Don MacPherson, a Bell Telephone Laboratories engineer, created the term octothorp. Octo- for the eight points in the symbol and -thorp in honor of Olympic medalist Jim Thorp. There you have it.
Qatar, Monaco, and Cuba have the highest number of doctors per capita at 77, 71, and 67 respectively.
Magnolia trees are older than bees. They were [probably] pollinated by beetles until bees evolved and started pollinating the flowers and plants of the world.
The average international height of men is 5’7.5”, but average height varies drastically throughout the world. Timor has the shortest men on average, and the Netherlands boast the tallest average men.
David Bowie had heterochromia, which is an eye condition causing the eyes to be two different colors. It is very rare in humans, but it is far more common in animals. Several dog breeds see frequent occurrences of the condition, such as: Huskies, Border Collies, and Australian Shepherds.
French and Russian have a lot of cognates, or words that sound similar and mean the same thing. I could get into the history of the two countries and how that affected Russian’s linguistic evolution but that’s another story entirely.
Queen Elizabeth I died on March 24, 1603, which is exactly 391 years before my little brother was born on the same day.
Women are 73% more likely to be injured in a car accident than men. Funny, men and women have different insides, but crash test dummies are all modeled after the male anatomy. The crash test dummies used for women in cars are just small men. Cars are literally not designed to protect women. This isn’t necessarily on purpose, but data bias is a real thing and causes real, inherent problems in the world. But you know, we’re just women.
Dr. Jen Gunter, a respected gynecologist, said that menstrual cramps are much more painful than a heart attack. Take this with a grain of salt because heart attacks in women often come with no pain because, SHOCKER, heart attack symptoms are different in men and women. Still menstrual cramps can be absolutely debilitating; I speak from experience.
Nigeria has been home to some of the most famous African writers, and many are of Igbo descent. Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Flora Nwapa, Christopher Okigbo are among them.
One of the ways scientists proved all human life originated in Africa is through study of linguistic evolution, also known as evolutionary linguistics. Language originated in Southern Africa and evolved uniquely into families with specific characters. As humans dispersed, their language evolved and became simpler. Languages tend to lose phonemes, a distinct unit of sound, as they evolve away from their mother language. Africa is home to languages with more phonemes than other continents/countries and their languages. Like any science, this is a whole lot more complicated and fascinating than I’m making it. Today, the Taa language, spoken by people in Botswana and Namibia, has the most phonemes with a total of between 93 and 109, depending on the source. Rotokas, native to Papua New Guinea, has the least phonemes at eleven.

Yes. I really know all of these things off the top of my head. I did fact check to make sure my knowledge wasn’t outdated, but these are things my brain has decided are important enough to store long term. I’m not complaining; though, I look like a real nerd, which is on brand for me.

I love to learn. Some of these things directly correlate to my interests: women’s issues, books, and history. Some of these things were researched because it had something to do with my education: linguistics, language, and words. Yet some, I just have no idea why I know them other than I probably looked it up once upon a time, and it stuck. Permanently in my noggin.

So I hope you enjoyed and learned a thing. Maybe this even sparked a sense of wonder and will elicit some random Googling and dives down the knowledge acquisition rabbit hole. Either way, I like fun facts!

bisous un обьятий,
RaeAnna

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Worth A Read Yes
Length 320
Quick Review “Not Racist” is inherently racist. We’re all racist, but some of us are actively fighting against racism in the world and within ourselves, and that’s called antiracism.

wp-1581561740133 — Reading How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi in Houston, Texas. | Dress | Headband |

I didn’t know who Ibram X. Kendi was until this book. Now I’m a fan. I would love to go to coffee with him and discuss racism, history, and the meaning of life. He seems like the kind of guy who will point out how you’re being an asshole and let you grow from it because he spends How to Be an Antiracist pointing out the times he was a racist and grew from it. These are my favorite people; the people who acknowledge their growth by admitting the reality of their pasts. If only all of history could do the same, the world would be in a much better place. Books like this one are a step in that direction. It calls attention to history at large and personal to demonstrate and juxtapose how the two intertwine and affect each other. History is an amalgam of individual’s choices for good or bad, and all of those choices converge to create society, thought, and policy, which in turn influence individual choice for good or bad.

Kendi doesn’t state anything revolutionary. If you’re tuned into policy, psychology, history, anthropology, sexuality, philology, African/African-American studies, sociology, gender studies, feminism, ethnic studies, etc., you’ll be aware of most of the topics and ideas in How to Be an Antiracist. The difference is in the wording. Kendi writes clearly and effectively, saying what he means even, especially, when it makes people uncomfortable. I had to stop taking notes and writing down quotes because there were so many poignant moments of blatant honesty. He names things as they are instead of finding a polite way of identifying racism, “Only racists shy away from the R-word – racism is steeped in denial.” As a writer, linguist, and reader, I’m a words person. I like them to be exact, and Kendi is the same. I love that Kendi does not like the word “microaggression” because of its inexactness. As an advocate, I have always used the exact words to describe things because anything else gives room for people to make excuses and shirk personal responsibility. Kendi calls racism racism, especially when it makes people uncomfortable. I’ve always believed people are uncomfortable because they can see themselves in it.

How to Be an Antiracist is told through personal anecdotes, world history, policy, and culture. Kendi points out what’s wrong with society, policy, and everything by pointing out the ways he has had to face and overcome his own racism while breaking stereotypes, destroying myths, and shedding light on the truth.

The book is pretty much summed up in the quote, “We know how to be racist. We know how to pretend to be not racist. Now let’s know how to be antiracist.” For more clarification on the term antiracist and the title, this quote speaks for itself,

“The opposite of “racist” isn’t “not racist.” It is “antiracist.” What’s the difference? One endorses either the of racial hierarchy as a racist, or racial equality as an antiracist. One either believes problems are rooted in groups of people, as a racist, or locates the roots of problems in power and policies, as an antiracist. One either allows racial inequities to persevere, as a racist, or confronts racial inequities, as an antiracist. There is no inbetween safe space of “not racist.” The claim of “not racist” neutrality is a mask for racism.”

How to Be an Antiracist is intellectually stimulating and emotionally draining. Racism is rampant, systemic, cyclical, institutional, and ingrained in culture, history, religion, and policy. So many lines felt like a punch to the chest. I will never have to live in a world where my skin is viewed as a crime and a threat. I will never be able to comprehend that kind of pain, but Kendi’s words cut, making me ache to hug the pain away for every person who has been wronged, forgotten, abused, and left behind. I was also left to question, ‘What would I have done in that White person’s shoes. Would I make those same racist choices? Or would I have been better, done better?’

Not only is Kendi a brilliant writer and scholar, he is a role model. Everyone has internal biases, which is a nice way of saying: we’re all racists. It’s hard to confront the ugly parts of ourselves, but society can’t move forward until we do so. Kendi is setting an example and a new standard for the way allies, advocates, and activists create change. He does so from the very first page in his introduction where he calls himself out for his racist ideas and misconceptions about the community he belongs to.

People often think books about racism or Black culture are antiwhite, but that, in and of itself, is a racist idea. As How to Be an Antiracist states, “The only thing wrong with White people is when they embrace racist ideas and policies and then deny their ideas and policies are racist.” Calling attention to racism is just that: calling attention to racism. It doesn’t matter your background, ethnicity, education, intelligence, skin color, we are all capable of being racist, but we are all capable of combating that and being antiracist.

Memorable Quotes
“Internalized racism is the real Black on Black crime.”
“Racism itself is institutional, structural, and systemic.”
“The Black child is ill-treated like an adult, and the Black adult is ill-treated like a child.”
“Racist ideas make people of color think less of themselves, which makes them more vulnerable to racist ideas. Racist ideas make White people think more of themselves, which further attracts them to racist ideas.”
“The use of standardized tests to measure aptitude and intelligence is one of the most effective racist policies ever devised to degrade Black minds and legally exclude Black bodies.”
“Racist ideas love believers, not thinkers.”

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

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Title: How to Be An Antiracist
Author: Ibram X. Kendi
Publisher: One World (Penguin Random House)
Copyright: 2019
ISBN: 9780525509288

Tag: Learning

11… Fun Facts I Know and Love to Share

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi