So, where did I leave off? Oh yeah, I was talking about my so-called social life which revolves around the interesting characters I encounter in the bars of Itaewon.
One of my favorite people is Bradley who happens to be a scientist by trade craft profession. Neuroscience to be precise. And what I know about neuroscience is pretty much what I read on the link above. I don’t know why smart people tolerate me, but I’m glad they do. I’m always learning hearing about the most intersting things.
For example, I encountered Brad on Wednesday at Shenanigans and he was celebrating a pretty significant discovery in his field. In his attempt to explain said discovery he re-purposed the dart scoreboard and drew scientific diagrams replete with arrows, lines, and circles demonstrating how the nervous system, or more precisely, the brain, responded to specific electronic probes in ways they had never previously observed, and well, hell, I was pretty drunk by then so all I can say is it was like being in the presence of Einstein or something. Brad was very excited and animated as he tried to get my mind to wrap around the concept, I know that much. When I asked him about some practical applications for this discovery he indicated it was far too soon to know, but one possibility being better able to target drugs for various disorders. Suffice to say, he’s doing some big stuff and is getting recognized for his work in high places these days.
Of course, given my limited expertise we talk about more than science. Like politics for example. It should come as no surprise that Brad having been indoctrinated educated in some of the best institutions of higher learning (including Yale) America has to offer, leans more to the left than I do. But we both seem to enjoy the hell out of going back and forth on whatever topic we put on the table for discussion. And our debates are always pleasantly respectful, which is all too rare these days. No Othering whatsoever.
Wednesday we got into how (in my view) science has frequently become politicized, and I threw out global warming as my prime example. He disagreed that that was the case, but conceded that in today’s politically charged environment, contrary views on the subject tend to be drowned out. I in turn granted him that pumping pollutants into the air was not an ideal situation, irrespective of whether it is causing the earth to warm. My big gripe is that the “solutions” being proposed by the warmists disproportionately impact the poor and downtrodden in the third world, and that we should be pumping more fossils fuels to drive prices down and invest those savings into research for cost effective renewable energy sources. Well, you get the idea of how our discussions go.
We keep it lively by talking about women and religion as well. I’m going to say this right here and now–that whole “the lonely lives of scientists” meme is pure bullshit, unless Brad is the happy exception to the rule. The stories he tells about some of the people he meets are beyond fascinating and I must admit evoke within me more than a fair amount of envy. Lucky bastard.
I’ll go for that ride!
Met another guy at the bar who is “biking” around the world. He started in Japan, is now in Korea, and leaves next week for Russia. I had to admire his passion.
Last week I enticed Young Chun out to Itaewon. I’m not sure he was impressed by my drunken persona. I let loose some of the lamest jokes in my repertoire and he just smiled. A sad smile I do believe. Still, I enjoyed his company and some of my bar buddies engaged him as well. One even bought a book on the spot. Another friend kept calling him “Arthur” which Young managed to take in stride, or at least ignore. I’ve ordered up a couple of more hard copies of the book at his request. Will he come to Itaewon to fetch them? We shall see. Speaking of the book, Young’s doing a free download promotion through this Sunday (May 31). So now’s the time to order!
Ran into another fellow (didn’t get his name) at the bar and he professed to be a big fan of LTG, which is always nice to hear. I pretty much assume I’ve got 3-5 regular readers, but another guy I know saw me in Dolce Vita and said he had read about my trouble there and was happy I had made a reconciliation after my disappointment a couple of weeks ago.
Also got a nice email from a Matthew in Florida who is also waiting for his security clearance to finalize so that he can take a DoD job in Korea. He’s also a scientist so I reckon we’ll get along just fine. He said he finds my blog “helpful and pretty funny”, so of course I like him already!
The wife is off with the family tonight and I reckon I need to find something to do to keep me entertained on a Saturday night. Itaewon beckons!