Thoughts and Interesting Stories---Jeff Clark

We have a lot of deer in our area, both near our house and for the first part of my commute.  I first totaled a car hitting one in either 1999 or 2000, and have been very cautious since then about trying to find routes that had fewer of them.  I had a go-to route that seemed to minimize the number of them running across my path. 14 months ago I totaled my car striking the side of a car that had been abandoned on an inner lane on the interstate.  I've had car accidents, none my fault to the best of my knowledge, but I've had them. 17 days ago I struck one on this route that seemed safer. (It ran off so I don't know if it survived; I had time to stomp my brake and hit it at a slower speed.) My car still functioned (I could drive it; no warning lights on the dashboard; both front light bulbs still worked) but one headlight was shattered and the grill and hood took some damage. I filed the claim through my insurance company, had an appointment with a body shop, planned on get...

Something good happened this week; I was informed of it yesterday when a colleague forwarded an email to me announcing it.  The announcement had to do with our university administration committing resources to something that needed doing; the fact that it had not been done had threatened the safety and work environment of dozens of my colleagues. I was clueless about it until in my job as ombudsperson I heard about it from multiple individuals. 95% of my job as ombudsperson (roughly) is focused on the individuals who come to me, brainstorming about their options and weighing the advantages and disadvantages of each. I've been around my university for over 36 years so I've picked up some knowledge of our system and as a mathematician I have a lot of training and experience in problem-solving. I'm not bad at counseling stressed individuals; professional development at ombuds meetings has helped me a lot with that. 5% of my job as ombudsperson (roughly) is managing upward. The...

I've been fond of Monty Python since I was a teenager.  Looking back now at their television and film performances you can see the tropes that they now express regret about (stereotyping women, people of color) and that is off-putting. At the same time their sense of humor was incredibly subversive and many of the concepts are still stunning to folk who experience them from scratch. I feel that way about much of the alternative humor I enjoyed in the 70's: Firesign Theatre, Bob and Ray, and so on. Mixed bag but much of life is that way. I have read many of the writings of the members of Monty Python; they were all Oxbridge graduates and very literate. One point that several of them have made repeatedly has changed how I think of teaching. When they were first cresting in fame and popularity, Monty Python came to America and did many live shows. Occasionally they would do two performances, a matinee and an evening performance, with exactly the same material. One show would bomb,...

I have never served in the military, although family members have, as well as the paramilitary (police). I have been in academia most of my adult life. Because I have an interest in systems and how to make them work better I was drawn early in my career to committee work, and along the way I would have disagreements with folk. As long as I felt comfortable that we shared the same goals and values I have not been bothered much by disagreements over means, and I have frequently learned from them when I listened to someone who was more right than myself. Although I have done a fair amount of public speaking, primarily at faculty meetings as chair of Academic Council one year and chair of our University Curriculum Committee for a decade or so, I have rarely sought to resolve disagreements publicly. My experience, in person and in what I have picked up from listening to others, is that folk are much more defensive in front of a crowd (I know that I have been) and more likely to dig in on th...

Our daughter loves the TV show Leverage, and I've enjoyed it when I've seen it; we were just talking about it over breakfast. It's a redemption tale (about a talented group of lawbreakers who decide to stop powerful people from hurting powerless people), and I've always been fond of those---LA Confidential is probably my favorite. In any event, one of the principles of Leverage is that redemption is ongoing. One of the characters discusses that as a key part of Judaism; as an ignorant Christian I can't speak to that but it resonates with me.  Many folk think of redemption in terms of an apology, which is an instant in time and often does not involve much sacrifice or in any way make right the injury caused by the sin. Easy things don't really count for much in the big scheme. Redemption attempts to make right the injured party or parties' damage but it also attempts to make right the sinner. That in particular is why it is ongoing, because people don't c...