Cheers,
T.

you are indeed right – looks like they are politically correct on odd days of the week. Please add a link to the post you mention, and I will have a look (I do not read the cosmic variance site much).

Cheers,
T.

joAnne had a post once that derided India and Indians. I didn’t notice anyone say anything to her. India, according to many, is so “backward”. And yet, in this “backward” country, the supreme court recently ruled that lesbians have the right to marry, adopt children, and own property the same way as heterosexual couples.

Ha! The “Advanced” West!

thank you for visiting… and for the support. I think italians and americans are really different in the way they feel about these issues (different on a statistical basis, of course!).

What can I say… I think old ideas die with their promoters. We will see who lives longer.

Cheers,
T.

Someday I would like to tell a story where an online group of Italians roasted me for not being aware (I was in fact oblivious) of an Italian stereotype, about which they were very sensitive. I’m sure that they would have wished me to be more sensitive, and I’m sure that, at the time, I wished that they could have broken out of their silly stereotype. Generally, I think it is too easy for people to use stereotypes for fighting, instead of thinking about the issues.

There _is_ a reality about scientific women needing to fight hard to be accepted for their merits. And probably, *if*, back in 1981 during my first scientific presentation and my much more impressionable years, I had read someone describe my scientific presentation with that emphasis in the beginning, I would have been discouraged. Discriminatory and sexist attitudes _do_ exist, all around us, all over the world for many different reasons. Italy has more than its share of sexist attitudes, I would say, especially for the top level career women, but that is usually not important compared to other things to be addressed in the society. While this firestorm on Tommaso’s blog was underway last weekend, in the Italian astrophysics community, men and women were, and are, fighting for more women representation at the top. Here’s hoping there will be a little more thoughtfulness on everyone’s sides in the future.

————

Subject: [Dip-INAF] Cmitato Presidente INAF -Lettera a Mussi
Date: Saturday 01 September 2007 15:11
From: grandi@iasfbo.inaf.it
To: dipendenti@ced.inaf.it, associati@ced.inaf.it
Cc: petizione.mussi@iasfbo.inaf.it

Care colleghe e cari colleghi,

desideriamo richiamare la vostra attenzione sulla composizione del neo-nominato Comitato per l’individuazione del futuro presidente INAF. In tale Comitato manca personale INAF, ma sono presenti associati INAF, e ancora piu’ grave, e’ assente la componente femminile.

Abbiamo pensato di scrivere una lettera aperta al ministro Mussi, in cui si manifesta un certo disappunto e lo si invita a considerare la possibilita’ di includere una scienziata in tale Comitato. Per non bruciare le poche candidate italiane, si accenna anche alla possibilita’ di internazionalizzare il Comitato, rivolgendosi, eventualmente, anche a colleghe straniere di chiara fama internazionale.

Per sottoscrivere la lettera e’ sufficiente fare reply a questo messaggio

indicando Nome, Cognome e Istituto

Poiche’ il Comitato e il Ministro Mussi si riuniranno martedi’ mattina (4 Settembre) e’ nostra intenzione inviare la lettera lunedi pomeriggio per cui chiuderemo le sottoscrizioni lunedi alle ore 14.

Vi ringraziamo per la collaborazione

Cordialmente,

———-

Dear Alejandro: I wish that there was more in English about the Latvian Dainas! Someone should write an article about it. Hmmm………

the variant I mentioned above is Makruk, the thai version of chess: see http://www.xs4all.nl/~timkr/chess/makruk.htm … There, however, the moves are still different. I think what you are referring to are really the shatranj, where the elephant (predecessor of the bishop) moves as you mention.

Cheers,
T.

yes, I think the original version of chess, in India, had bishops moving by three squares at a time. I will check on a book of the history of chess though. Also, another variant of the game comes to mind, one that is played in Vietnam (I think). Tim Krabbe’ discusses it in his site somewhere.

Cheers,
T.

Not only literature. Dorigo, have you heard of people moving only three squares for bishop and queen? My father claimed this rule sometimes.

Alejandro: I forgot to mention that the Istanbul Archeological Museum has 2-3 half-room-sized display cases of cuniform tablets of the Gilgamesh epic from several sites, if you’ve never been there. The exhibit is not well-advertised. If I had known, I would have given myself more time in the museum.