Something I learned

ImageMagick and Lambdas

I finally got to writing the article about the problem; here is the link.

Environmental Security Hypothesis

I listened to this interview with Macken Murphy. In it, they talked about some of the science behind people's mating preferences. I liked one evolutionary reasoning they mentioned in relation to men's mating preference when it comes to a woman's weight. Machen talked about how modern society prefers thinner women, but this wasn't the case before. Lots of traditional societies prefer heavier women.

There is evidence that cultures with more stress and scarcity prefer heavier mates, while the opposite is true. Evidence also shows that this happens over time; Playboy Mate's cover models tend to get heavier when the economy is down. They also did a study at a university where they asked male dining hall students who were about to have dinner about their preferences for women by showing pictures before and after they ate. Before the dinner, the men preferred heavier women than after. So, there is cultural, time, and personal evidence for the preference. 

This is called the environmental security hypothesis, which states that people will prefer mates with better survival traits in times of stress. If a famine is about to approach, a heavier woman signals that she is better equipped to handle it and reproduce during it. 

I definitely see how this preference is different back home in the Middle East, for example. It's not that people are stressed there; it's just culturally different. Some of my distant relatives commented on how thin my sisters are. 

Gratefulness

My partner interviewed with a northern California judge this week for a 1L summer internship. She heard back on Friday, and they extended her an offer. Assuming the rest of the paperwork goes well, she has an internship with a federal judge, which is a big deal for a 1L student, I'm told. So, I'm grateful that all her effort and sacrifice throughout law school so far is paying off. And then I'm grateful that all the secondhand stress I experienced will not be wasted; I'm kidding, only a little, though.