Back in the saddle

I know hardly anyone reads this blog, so my absence was probably not noted by many. However, as a matter of self-discipline I am making a pledge to post something at least 2x a week for the rest of the year.

I've been meaning to write about Steven Pinker, a Harvard psychologist and neuroscientist interested in language. His specialities are verb tenses and swear words. An interesting combination. He spoke at SU recently, and while his talk was somewhat disappointing, the reading I did before his lecture was not. One interesting concept, that I've actually written about here before, is the way in which languages use gender. So, for instance in French or Spanish , if I were to say "I had dinner with my neighbor last night," you would know if that neighbor was male or female. Not so in English. Does that make French and Spanish speakers more aware of gender? Does it change the way we think about gender? In the study I wrote about some time ago the issue was the assignment of gender to inanimate objects, like bridges. Assigning male or female articles to those items changed the way they were perceived.

The other thing Pinker talked about, which I found interesting, was the use of indirect speech, or innuendo. He pointed out how the use of indirect speech maximized payoffs. If the person didn't take the hint, you were no worse off, but if they did, you could gain tremendously. There is basically no risk. So, if you are offering a bribe, do it discreetly.

As a female instructor, let's put these two items together. How to best bribe me for a better grade?