The Science Of Stereotype
By Beth in Uncategorized, Quotes, NBA, Adam Sandler, Bracketology, NCAA, Reign Over Me, psycho babble, stereotype on March 25 2007
There is a new book out called The Enlightened Bracketologist: The Final Four of Everything. It’s co-written by a sports journalist and a literary agent. The former makes sense since Bracketology, a method for sports fans to keep track of which teams they are betting on to win, is traditionally associated with basketball, March Madness, and determining which collegiate teams will make it into the NCAA Finals.
Authors Mark Reiter and Richard Sandomir were recently interviewed on “The Today Show” where they talked about applying their Final 4 methodology to pop culture and most specifically illustrated one of the studies from their book in which they determined which bald-headed figure in modern culture was the most popular. No, it was not Homer Simpson, but he was a finalist. Other studies found in the book include “A Jew/Not A Jew” and “Women’s Magazines Sex Cliches.” If you’re shaking your head about now, you get where I’m coming from with my frustration with this ridiculous study.
Wait, there guys were actually paid to write this book and are collecting phat royalties off it?
Ok, so maybe I’m just jealous that these guys thought of a clever way to pitch their bogus, fun-filled project to a major publishing house and get paid a wad of cash to indulge their fancy. It’s conceivable. But I’m also concerned about the consequences that such ideas bring forth into the world. Why must we reinforce the idea that people need to be sized up and classified on the basis of superficial criteria? Who and what determines that criteria? Why judge people at all on the basis of some artificial construct?
While you can claim I’m rushing to serious accusation here, insidious as it might sound, such manufactured ideas have a way of seeping into the underbelly of our day-to-day conscious decision making. While in fact schema are necessary to function in everyday life (yes, I took my Psychology back in college) as they help us digest the world around us without sensory overload, they have a way of causing frequent errors in our judgment.
There was a line last night in “Reign Over Me” I held close to my heart. It was said by Don Cheadle’s character to his daughter when she called to her father (something along the lines of), “Your friend is here. The one that acts younger than JoJo.” Perhaps it wasn’t so much Cheadle’s words but the manner he affected when he retorted, “Don’t do that. Don’t judge him like that. It’s not kind.”
So shoot me. I’ll opt for a bit of kindness and a little understanding over shiteology any day of the week.
