I came across this question about visual acuity on Quora and eagerly answered it.
Oh, this is just converting to a Snellen equivalent, I thought and happily described the math needed to convert an acuity value of 6/9 to one of 20/whatever. I did the math and derived an answer. Voila! I am awesome at Quora! I so rock!
I decided to check my answer at this site, which confirmed my math. But it also showed me that vision tests could be done in meters. I know, what a concept, right?
So I added a qualifying paragraph into my answer, stating that I was presuming that 6/9 was measured in feet, but if it referred to meters, then some adjustments to calculations might need to be made.
Only then did it slowly dawn on me that, hey, most of the planet uses the metric system. In fact, only the United States, Myanmar, and Liberia still use the imperial system, and Myanmar plans to switch to metric soon, if it hasn't already. So this question about a 6/9 acuity probably didn't need a Snellen equivalent at all; the asker probably just wanted an explanation of how visual acuity measurements are derived and what they mean.
Egg on my face! I sounded like a blithe, US-centric jerk who didn't even notice the eye-rolls--and that is exactly what I was.
So, again, I rewrote my answer and exchanged the presumptuous pronoun 'we' for 'I' in a couple of places where it desperately needed to be changed. I added some commentary about being American to explain some of my presumptions and then gave the answer that was probably desired in the first place.
It's scary to realize how easy it is to write as if your culture is the be-all and end-all of the world. It's scary to realize how easy it is to presume that of course, everyone thinks as you do--and all of this with no intention whatsoever of offending anyone.
Originally posted on LiveJournal.
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Saturday, January 19, 2019
Ignored Your Blog?
Today I started reading someone's blog post entitled, "Ignored your Blog for Months? 13 Tips for Getting It Back on Track" by Miranda Hill.
I chuckled, admitted to God, "Yes, I have so ignored my blogs," and resolved to at least let you all know what I've been up to.
What I've been up to is school. I attend Western Governors University and am pursuing a bachelor's degree in Healthcare Management. We also suffered a death in the family in December, along with another family member's ongoing illness, so December was pretty much a mess in terms of personal life and education. I am now back on track with school and am looking to complete the second class of my current term soon--but it's been a struggle. Including my current class, I need to complete 27 more courses to finish.
To do this, I have had to put all of my writing on hold. Every once in a while I will, out of wishful thinking, look at an open submission call and think, Oh, I really want to write a story for that! But I am deluding myself. School really is taking all of my time and attention, and any time or attention I don't devote to school is stealing from it and from my professional future.
It's to the point where I'm thinking of quitting voice lessons for a while so that I can save the money and not have to commit to daily practicing. I already have stopped attending Thursday night choir practices at my church--because I can attend the practices on Sunday mornings, when I wouldn't be studying, anyway. I've stopped visiting Eastern Star chapters that I don't belong to, because attending their meetings takes time away from studying.
Not writing, though, is driving me batty! When I don't write, I don't generate ideas for stories. I feel creatively dead at the moment. I don't know how I ever came up with story ideas; that happened to some other person. Every once in a while, usually on a Saturday, I tell myself, To hell with school! I'm going to write. MUST. WRITE. SOMETHING! And so I do, just to get it out of my system--and it feels wonderful! But I also feel guilty about it.
Sometimes I wish this were a creative writing degree--but I hate those, because I hate trying to come up with ideas and plots on cue. I suspect I would fail miserably if I pursued a degree in creative writing. But sometimes, I am so tempted.
So that is why I've been absent, why you've seen no posts from me on anything. I still have bouts of wishful thinking and self-delusion. One of those might turn into a finished article or two, but I'm not holding my breath at this moment.
Love to you all! I will post here occasionally, to let you know how the studies are going, but for now, I have to make this sacrifice, because the degree is worth it.
I chuckled, admitted to God, "Yes, I have so ignored my blogs," and resolved to at least let you all know what I've been up to.
What I've been up to is school. I attend Western Governors University and am pursuing a bachelor's degree in Healthcare Management. We also suffered a death in the family in December, along with another family member's ongoing illness, so December was pretty much a mess in terms of personal life and education. I am now back on track with school and am looking to complete the second class of my current term soon--but it's been a struggle. Including my current class, I need to complete 27 more courses to finish.
To do this, I have had to put all of my writing on hold. Every once in a while I will, out of wishful thinking, look at an open submission call and think, Oh, I really want to write a story for that! But I am deluding myself. School really is taking all of my time and attention, and any time or attention I don't devote to school is stealing from it and from my professional future.
It's to the point where I'm thinking of quitting voice lessons for a while so that I can save the money and not have to commit to daily practicing. I already have stopped attending Thursday night choir practices at my church--because I can attend the practices on Sunday mornings, when I wouldn't be studying, anyway. I've stopped visiting Eastern Star chapters that I don't belong to, because attending their meetings takes time away from studying.
Not writing, though, is driving me batty! When I don't write, I don't generate ideas for stories. I feel creatively dead at the moment. I don't know how I ever came up with story ideas; that happened to some other person. Every once in a while, usually on a Saturday, I tell myself, To hell with school! I'm going to write. MUST. WRITE. SOMETHING! And so I do, just to get it out of my system--and it feels wonderful! But I also feel guilty about it.
Sometimes I wish this were a creative writing degree--but I hate those, because I hate trying to come up with ideas and plots on cue. I suspect I would fail miserably if I pursued a degree in creative writing. But sometimes, I am so tempted.
So that is why I've been absent, why you've seen no posts from me on anything. I still have bouts of wishful thinking and self-delusion. One of those might turn into a finished article or two, but I'm not holding my breath at this moment.
Love to you all! I will post here occasionally, to let you know how the studies are going, but for now, I have to make this sacrifice, because the degree is worth it.
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