Politics and The Psych Degree

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I got a degree in psychology back in college, looking for a science career, though I eventually went back to my first choice in computing.  Still, I don’t regret the degree at all (a psych degree is actually good as a minor or a complimentary degree for most anything), as it helps me get some great insights into human behavior.

One insight that comes to mind this holiday season is that Freud would have a field day with U.S. politics.

First, there’s the bizarre sexual issues, issues that indicate a kind of regressed or immature sexuality for so many people.  We’re actually to the point where rape being a bad thing is something people discuss as opposed to going “yeah, it’s bad.”  People are freaked out over contraception, something you think we’d be used to by now.

Secondly, there’s the daddy issues, and the press is really bad with this.  There’s the bizarre fawning over machismo which is often false machismo – and then just as soon as people show any machismo, there’s fear of angry daddy.  There’s an acceptance of adolescent posturing on war, and little thought on actual repercussions – I mean seriously, if there’s a war with Iran there will be impacts we have to cope with, whether a war is, was, or will be necessary.

Third, and related, there’s really little talk of long-term planning.  How do we get from A to B?  What of the repercussions?  What of sustainability?  What do we really want to do as opposed to say we’ll do.  Is this policy or that real long-term planning or a dodge?

Now I could have a Freudian field day with a lot of politics, but I suspect one of the big issues is that we don’t want to take a look at the pathological state of our own politics.  We don’t want to confront the immaturity, the parental issues, the regressed adolescent sexual issues, etc.  We know it’s there, but it seems we’re happier playing the games.

I’m not.  A lot of people aren’t.  Perhaps we need to get the media and politicians to catch on . . .

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

Skill Portability: Direct Skill Portability

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(9/17/2016 – These posts have been expanded in a book, Skill Portability: A Guide To Moving Skills Between Jobs)

So my little guide to “how to do Skill Portability” is an acronym, DARE.  This is not just because I love acronyms, but because it’s handy to remember that skills fit into four categories that let you determine how you can use them in your career.  Be it training plans or a resume, you want to think about what your skills mean to your career.

The D?  That stands for the easiest kind of portability – Direct.

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Recipe: Quick Provincial Soup

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Whew, been awhile between posts.  Sorry gang, had a trade show and a lot to do.  So now let me emerge from the Steve Cave with this lovely recipe.

Quick Provincial Soup

4 servings

This is a variant of a Mediterranean vegetarian recipe from a cookbook.  Unlike a lot of my recipes it does involve adding salt, so use low-sodium diced tomatoes.  The original recipe ALSO used pre-herbed tomatoes which I despise because of the lack of control.

  • 1 1/2 cup water
  • 2 14 oz cans diced, sodium free tomatoes drained (or about 3 cups diced tomatoes).
  • 2 tbsp mixed italian herbs
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • Half a large cabbage head, shredded.
  • 14 oz white beans, low-sodium, drained and rinsed
  • 4 tsp olive oil.

 

  1. Place water, tomatoes, herbs, salt, pepper in a pot, bring to boil, and lower to simmer.
  2. Add cabbage to mixture.  Simmer, covered, stirring every few minutes until cabbage is wilted – that’s about 15 minutes.
  3. Stir in beans and heat through.
  4. Spoon into bowls.  In each, mix 1 tsp olive oil.

The result . . .

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