An Amazing Teacher: Randy Lynn

The most important message I received in high school was the one that I was most prepared to reject. The message came from an overly enthusiastic, impossibly uncool teacher who knew way too much--and more importantly, cared way too much-- about his subject matter.

His message is one of three messages I've kept with me.

"If anyone is going to change things, you are."

When I was in high school, I knew there was only one subject I wanted to pursue for the rest of my life. I loved literature, and I was going to be a writer. I took every English and literature class offered including honors courses and Advanced Placement courses throughout my high school career.

The thing is, though, they don't let you get away with only taking language and literature classes for your entire career. It turns out, you have to take other subjects to get a wide selection of experiences before you commit to a career. You have to take science, math, physical education, and even history and political science before they let you graduate with a full degree.

As I was moving into my senior year at Harrison High School, I was through with the other classes. I had taken science, math, history, and everything else. I'd taken advanced placement versions of everything so that by the time I reached my last year of required schooling I didn't have to take anything I didn't want to.

So I signed up for nothing but English and Chorus classes. Sadly, there were only two of each offered at my level each semester. Since I had block scheduling and had finished most of my other requirements, that meant I had a few choices. Each semester I could take two classes outside of English and Chorus to round out my senior experience. My first semester, I choice AP Government, and AP Physics.

Physics worked for me because I was already marginally interested in science fiction, and, frankly, the background has helped me immensely. I was interested in government because it was an election year. My senior year of high school occurred during the incredibly 2000 election.

So I signed up for the class, thinking nothing of it.

The class changed my life.

Every previous class in government or history had presented the facts and even made them interesting to me. Only Mr. Lynn made me feel like government was something I could touch with my actions. He made government real, tangible, and changeable. For him, an election year meant not just completing one's civic duty, not just having a single voice, not just filling out a ballot.

Participating in an election meant being a part of history. It meant being an American. It meant having the power to affect everything that would effect our lives.

I didn't vote in 2000. I was only 17. Legally, I wasn't allowed to.

But Mr. Lynn filled me with a desire to make my voice heard. He let me know that being a citizen means having a responsibility to the people around me. Having a vote meant more than being a person. It meant that I was a citizen. I had a voice. I had a duty to my neighbors.

I couldn't WAIT to vote in the midterm elections in 2002.

Every year since then, I have voted. I have voted in every presidential election, every congressional election, and even most midterm state elections. I even vote in runoffs, local jurisdictions, judgeships, local referenda, and utilities agreements. (I think I've missed 8 elections in the past 12 years over two states, which means I vote 4-5 times a year, every year.)

What's more, is because of Mr Lynn's influence, I pursued a degree in political science. When I got to college, I was still convinced I'd be a writer. I took several English classes along with my core classes and imagined that words alone were enough. But when I was confronted by empty holes in my schedule, I signed up for classes in politics.

At Berry, I found that Mr Lynn had only begun to prepare me for a love of the political process.

In college I discovered that politics was a slippery snake, with facts and fictions as slippery as myths, and foundational ideas that tried to redefine the world. Still, the truths with which Mr Lynn had armed me, the scaffolding of our Constitution, the cornerstones of our ideals, and the eternal truths of our ethical heritage stuck with me.

I graduated with a degree in government and philosophy and continued on to a Masters in Political Theory and Philosophy at the University at Virginia, though I stopped just short of a Doctorate.

The man's passion stuck with me.

Even after I spent some eight years in school studying and exploring the concepts of political science, I couldn't leave well enough alone.

By the time I graduated grad school, I hated politics. You don't even know the depths to which political entities will sink to get reelected/win subsidies/win votes in committee/receive free lunches. Politics is so disgusting, and I've seen so much of it first hand.

And every time I tried to get away from it, I heard Mr Lynn's optimism. "If anyone is going to change things, you are."

Dammit, that's too much to lay on a high schooler.

But it's the biggest truth anyone ever laid on me in those days.

And I've followed it.

Through college. Through political internships in DC. Through work with think tanks in DC. Through political work in DC. Through graduate school.

I have even participated in the legislative and judicial processes. I have worked on a few campaigns including serving as a campaign manager for a US congressional campaign and as a social media manager for a judicial candidate. I lost one, but I won the other. I've affected politics at the national, at the state, and at the local levels.

And I'm not going to ever give up.

I may be more focused on my own writing (See, I told you I'd be a writer!), but I have no doubt about Mr. Lynn's words. If anyone is going to change things, I am.

I only had three high school teachers that affected me this way. Mr Randall Lynn, Ed Deavers, and Anita Hanson.

Ed Deavers taught me that dedication, passion, creativity, and grace in the face of defeat mean more than any easy wins. He taught me that I have to take risks and put myself on the line to succeed, and that the more risks I take, and even the more times I fail, the more likely it is that I will survive.

Anita Hanson taught me pure, practiced, and developed expression can change the world. That honesty and creativity take sacrifice, and that true dedication to art will render beauty. Her words, her encouragement have made me the write I am today.

But it's Mr. Lynn that gave me something to write about.

Randy Lynn taught me that every revolution, every movement, every moment of growth starts with a single person. It takes dedication, it takes passion, it takes conviction, but it is possible to change the world if you care enough. If this world is ever going to change, then it starts with me.

Thank you Mr Lynn for teaching me that. My only regret is I didn't get to tell you how much you taught me.

Figuring Out Gravity

I’m struggling with my science.

I'm currently working on a science fiction novel as I mentioned here. One of the primary things that one needs to contend with in any science fiction novel is the existence of artificial gravity and propulsion through space.

I know. I know. Everyone else ignores it. And those that don't really mess the whole idea up.

In StarTrek, you have gravity plating on every deck of these massive ships. They use energy currents to produce a stimulating effect on gravitons to pull the crew and objects towards the bottom of the ship. The force can even be fluctuated to increase or decrease the pull. But how do you not have increased pull the higher up the ship you go? Or why are the gravitons only working in a single direction? Doesn't gravity pull objects towards it no matter what direction they are oriented? Why don't things close to the plating at the ceiling feel a pull upwards?

In Defying Gravity you use magnetism in the astronauts spacesuits. While that is extremely likely to be a direction we take the problem of gravity in the near future of space travel, it leaves multiple problems. For instance, is EVERYTHING on the ship magnetized to keep it from flying away? And magnetic hairspray? Ugh. They were lucky I liked the story.

Other stories such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Ringworld, and Babylon 5 attempt rotation, but that requires HUGE ships that can rarely be docked and certainly cannot travel close to or in the atmospheres of other planets.

Some have even used super dense material such as black holes and acceleration around, toward, or away from them to create the force of gravity.

So I'm struggling with gravity.

The thing is, so is science.

With the completion of the LHC and the discovery of the Higgs Boson, we are only just beginning to discover the foundational principles of mass. The Standard Model upon which the existence of the Higgs was predicted does not even begin to account for theories of gravity, its relationship to mass, and whether it can be isolated.

In fact, our understanding of gravity is currently limited. We don’t rightly know if it’s a force, a form of acceleration, or a function of mass.

Theories exist that express gravity as a force. In these theories, gravitational forces are similar to the electromagnetic force that attracts inverse charges in atoms, electrons, quarks, and gluons. We’ve managed to isolate and explore such forces down to the tiniest levels we have just discovered, but when it comes to such a force on larger bodies, we are left clueless.

The idea is that everything that has mass has gravity, and that is proven. We all exert forces on one another, and just as I am pulled to the center of the earth, the center of the earth is pulled toward me. The more massive the object, the more its gravitational pull. That’s why planets have stronger pulls than moons, stars have stronger pulls than planets, and more massive stars have even stronger pulls.

The use of mass to produce a field of gravity, then, would hardly be artificial. It would be actual gravity that could be manipulated by manipulating mass. You could use (as I suggested in my previous blog) a flow of energy to stimulate Higgs bosons to generate mass. If enough energy was used, or the Higgs on certain elements were used to create more massive or denser particles, one could, given several hundred years of scientific development, produce enough gravitational force to simulate the acceleration/force of earth’s pull on the human body.

However, if you introduce gravity in that way, there are some serious problems. If a station generates the same massive gravitational pull as a planet, there's no way the station could be situated anywhere near a planet. Already the pull of the moon seriously affects both people, animals, and natural cycles on this planet. Adding an artificial moon with the gravitational pull of an earth-sized planet would wreak havoc on a planet's eco-system. The stations would have to be established outside of the reach planetary orbits.

There’s also no way to use it in spacecraft. For one, it would make it very difficult for one spacecraft to interact with another, such as a docking station. They would have competing gravity fields, which would make coming into any sort of contact difficult. Conceivably, the smaller ships could moderate their fields as they approach planets or stations, but they would be affected by the station's gravity once they got close enough. Their approach would have to be carefully orchestrated to dim their gravity as they approach, and their orientation would have to be based on the station's center of gravity. That would determine the "down" position for the last stages of the flight. 

(Of course now that I've typed a lot of that, that would be a great way to establish a principle of gravity. In fact, if I cannot find another way, I may be revisiting this idea!)

In order to generate a form of artificial gravity, one would have to simulate gravity without mass. 

One theory is to use linear acceleration. After all, we experience gravity as a form of acceleration. We are pulled toward the earth at 1 standard gravity (1g) or 9.81m/s². That means that in free fall, we approach the center of the earth with an increase in acceleration of 1g. The only thing that stops us from continuously falling is the physical barrier of the earth. 

Conceivably, if you continuously increased a ship's acceleration by 1g for ever with the floor oriented away from your direction of acceleration, your inhabitants would experience earthlike gravity. But as soon as you slowed or, God forbid, stopped your inhabitants would immediately feel it and either begin floating or slam into the ceiling.

So that's out.

What's a science fiction writer to do?

Manipulation of the Higgs could create mass, but we have the problems mentioned above...

Perhaps the problem is I've been thinking of gravity as a force that attracts and pulls. Could I use an alternative force that pushes? Maybe an extrapolated use of the Casimir Effect? It along with an understanding of large mass gravitational force is already forming the basis for my outer-orbit propulsion systems.

Do I go with the very, very limited understanding of gravitons and extrapolate ad nauseum until it looks more like science fiction hand wavium?

HELP!

If you have any ideas, and I know my friends are smart, please help.

Words Matter

Words matter.

I truly believe that. It's one of the principles upon which I live my life. I know that the right words used in the right context can change the world when deployed correctly.

It's just sometimes hard to believe that my words matter.

I find it so easy to neglect my writing. If I'm only writing for myself, or ranting away into an unhearing void, then what obligations can I have to maintain my blog?

I tell myself that no one really cares what I have to say. That my words don't matter yet.

I don't think I can say that anymore.

This morning I received one of the most meaningful emails of my life. A friend and former coworker of mine told me that my words had actually made a difference, that something I had written changed her perspective on an issue and gave voice to things she had trouble saying herself.

"Your writing matters .... You're making a difference."

I don't think there are any better things you can say to a writer.

Guess I'm out of excuses.

Body Shaming

Yesterday, while avoiding work, I came across a personally upsetting story. A 13-year-old girl in St. Louis was having trouble with bullying. Classmates had been taunting her and sexually harassing her because she happens to have large breasts. When the girl's mother reported the issue to the school and the school district she was given the most appalling piece of advice. Instead of sympathizing in any way with this poor girl, the school district instead suggested that they consider getting the girl a breast reduction.

I'll let that sink in.

Not only was the school's response wholly unsympathetic to a very real problem of sexual harassment and bullying, but they contributed to it. They blamed the girl's body for the problem. "Kids will be kids," they seem to say, " and if your daughter had a less sexual body, she wouldn't be facing this problem in the first place."

I cannot tell you how much this angers me, in part, because I've been there.

I hit puberty a bit earlier than most of my peers, and by seventh grade had fairly pronounced curves myself. I was wearing a bra long before any of my friends and had size C breasts before any of my friends were out of their training bras. I was actually nicknamed curves and got a reputation for being promiscuous before I even bestowed my first kiss.

So I know exactly what this girl is going through and what she will face moving forward. People will assume she is a very sexual creature before she even has an idea what that means. People will accuse her of wearing revealing clothing, when she is wearing the exact same things as her friends. Boys will claim she is flirting with them simply because in their minds they have sexualized their interactions with her. And people will blame all of this on her simply because of the shape of her body.

I was actually discussing this with a friend of mine the other day. Our looks play a huge part in how people view and judge us, even though there's nothing we have done to develop these bodies. The friend I was talking to about this has a very boyish figure, with very small hips, no ass to speak of, and  small breasts. She was complaining that she could never fill out her jeans to her satisfaction and would give anything to have my curves.

Another friend of mine has an incredibly lithe athletic body. She's petite and adorable, and, in my opinion, has one of the best bodies I've seen. She complained that she wanted my breasts and was actually contemplating a boob job to get them.

I told both of them that while I love my body (you know, when I'm not actively hating it), my curves have created problems for me that they would not appreciate.

For instance, a short time after college, I worked in an office with a very conservative manager. I was told when I began working there that they expected a very modest style of dress, and that I should do my best to adhere to it. I had no problem with that. I had no interest in looking sexy for the office, and I promised to choose my clothes carefully.

Still, about two months into working there, I was taken into my boss's office and told that my outfit that day was far too revealing and that I would either have to put on a cardigan (provided by the boss's wife and about 3 sizes too large) or go home. I was shocked, but agreed to put on the cardigan.

The offending outfit? A pair of loose-fitting slacks and a turtleneck sweater. Apparently the sweater that covered me from neck to wrist displayed my breasts in too enticing a way for my boss.

Two weeks after that, I was called in again. Another problem with a revealing outfit. The long sleeved sweater I was wearing was an over-sized loose knit. Because it was flesh-toned, though, the boss claimed it made me look like I was putting my body on display.

Even though I had a shirt on underneath it, he claimed it was far too sexual for the office.

Another cardigan.

I was not wearing anything sexual to that office and had made a particular effort to wear conservative clothing every day. Yet, because of the shape of my body, even those conservative outfits were considered sexual.

As I told my friends who wished for larger breasts, I'm constantly asked to reevaluate what I'm wearing because it might be considered too sexual.

Button up shirts? Nope, the buttons strain, drawing attention to my breasts.

Turtlenecks? Suddenly I'm a 50s sex kitten.

Tshirts? Let Laci Green tell you about that. 

V-necks? Draws the eyes right down.

Scoop necks? Displays the cleavage perfectly.

And every time, it's somehow my fault for the way my body is.

So to the school that actively blames the 13 year old girl's breast size for her bullying, to everyone who attempts to derive someone's character or motives because of the shape of their body, to anyone who has made someone ashamed of their body, grow some decency.

Our bodies are none of your business. How we dress or don't dress does not grant you license to draw conclusions about our character.  The shape or size of a woman's breasts, hips, stomach, thighs does not give you an excuse to treat her any differently. If you sexualize someone, then that's on you, not on her.

So knock it off. It's not appreciated.