No, I didn't begin as a critical thinker; nobody does. We begin as responders to physical and psychic stimulation. I happened to grow up in chaos, so became a critical thinker out of a sense of self preservation. It is only in hindsight and after a good deal of education that I learned what I was doing was evaluating…

My point is that studying English taught me more than literature. I'm in publishing, so, in fact, my English degree is spot on.AS for the good paying job, a lot of those are skill dependent, so rather fragile. When your skill becomes outdated, your job prospects diminish. When you have a background in literature,…

Joanne Woodward made her dress from a pattern. She and Paul Newman didn't have much money then, even though they were highly regarded actors, and she didn't think she'd win, so she just whipped up a dress the week before the Oscars.

If you're of a certain age and single, people at work think you've no life so, of course, you can take over for someone who has a 4th graders soccer game, or you wouldn't mind working late ... again, or, my personal favorite, as said to me by a co-worker, "Well, you're alone, so life's easy for you. I mean, you're in…

Yes English.

The stand up comedy scene is rough for women, not just because of the gatekeepers who routinely choose guys, but because there's a danger that men don't have to deal with, namely being assaulted or harassed by other comics, bartenders and security guards. For the short time I tried it, I had to occasionally physically…

Ew. Creepy campaign.

I've no way of knowing why Cumberbatch was cast as Khan. Seriously bad choice for a lot of reasons, but none of them are about the talented actor himself. I'm sure his popularity among women and gay men, an audience that doesn't usually go to action movies, had something to do with it.

How can 95 million documents be accurately evaluated for security purposes? The sorting is being done by algorithm, which means that someone has set a series of parameters that are very broad and can be used to construct supporting evidence rather than find it.

According to Neilsen here are more female than male regular moviegoers. Overall it's a pretty even match. Women go to action movies and to quieter films. Men go to action films, but tend to go to less loud movies if their female companions take them - or they're film students or actors.

Yes, but these are lifetime risks. Meaning that like all cancers, the older we get the more likely we are to get cancer. The greatest risk is on women over 60.

BRCA genes are tumor suppressing proteins, not cancer causing mutations.

HOLD ON!

The study that said HRT was dangerous was a self reporting study that was unclear about the link between cause/effect. Most notably, women lied about their eating habits, exercise regimen and weight. So, although there is a link between stroke and HRT, it's most noticeable in smokers, diabetics and the obese. The…

When Erin put back that outfit,maybe it wasn't because she was "too old for this outfit" but because the outfit no longer suited her sense of self. I find that clothing has to do more than be trendy, it has to fit into what I'm doing as well as how it fits my body and my personality.

Having worked with a major corporation and examined CEO pay as part of a project, it's not just experience as a CEO that counts when negotiating salary. I've found that internal candidates who have been groomed to succeed a retiring CEO often get a very large salary —unless they're female. Female candidates are…

Movies are increasingly ageist. This inordinately affects women who seem to exist only between the ages of 23 and 25. It's not just casting a 23 year old ditz as a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist in Superman Returns, it's casting Chris Pine at 27 as a Starship Captain, and other people who are much too young and…

Psychological analysis of art is an acceptable practice, especially when the art is focused on psychological issues like neurosis, egotism, narcissism and the inability to have healthy relationships. It's not just Woody's Allen's work that focuses on the psychological state of being, but, he does it almost…

Writing clearly, succinctly and with purpose.

Mostly doctors make me feel as if - or try to or scare me into believing that they know what 's best for me, regardless of what I choose as treatment. I've had doctors lie about what was wrong with me to do surgery they think is desirable/profitable, and to get me to try drugs to treat the "depression" they tell me I…