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nvciox
askacademia_test
0.97
Life w/o either Mendeley or Zotero? File organization drama. I know this topic has been all chewed up, but I'm interested in hearing from folks who've found an alternative both to Mendeley and Zotero for \*organizing\* their files. I've used Mendeley for ever, but the new lack of mobile access is the final straw - I need to be able to save articles via mobile devices. I've looked at Zotero, but honestly, it looks like a pain. (Is it worth it? I'm still happy to reconsider.) I'm just dying here for a solution that: \- offers a folder nesting structure for files \- that can sync (over iCloud, Dropbox, whatever) \- and that you can add files to over mobile (iOS) devices. I've been using the Highlights app for highlights and notes, so don't necessarily need that to be part of the package. Exporting citations would be a nice benefit, but really, i'm open to workarounds. I just need a simple way to organize and add new files, across devices.
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I used zotero through my PhD. Worked well and is working better and better as more sites sync to it (ex. Google books is now synced and many smaller newspapers and university websites are catching on). My only problem was it would crash frequently when I was working with an online file from my university cloud through outlook. I had to download the file and work offline to insert citations or bib. note on this: i am in the NE USA so have crappy internet, it worked way better in Canada.
Readcube Papers might work for you? It's subscription-based, but the mobile app is quite good, allows mobile uploads, folder nesting ("lists" in Readcube's terminology), and (as of last year, anyway) unlimited storage with your subscription. It also syncs notes, highlights, and such, exports citations, and has tools to find new relevant papers based on your library and lists. It's not perfect, particularly for very large and diverse libraries unless you are very careful about organizing, but it seems to hit all the criteria you mention.
1
3,929
1.333333
uozvwk
askacademia_test
0.86
What is better second author or second to last author? Suppose you worked a lot on a paper but cannot be first or last due to PI-ship reasons. Which position would you take second author or second to last author?
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First: Main contributor. Last: PI or supervising professor. Second: Made real contributions. Second to last: Got coffee, maybe did some lit review.
Second author
1
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6onziw
askacademia_test
0.78
Do hiring committees investigate undergraduate institutions? My undergrad has been doing some political actions I don't want to be associated with. Sometimes I wonder if a hiring committee will go to look up info about my various institutions and will see that my undergrad has been doing things like getting Title 9 exemptions so they can fire transgender professors, or how they fired divorced professors, or discriminate against LGTB students. I didn't know it was that kind of place when I first went, and I've distanced myself from it as much as possible, but I don't know how much weight things like this have when committees look at my background.
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I don't get why responders in this thread think this is a silly questions. It's actually not. Real talk: some hiring or admissions committees I know and have worked on would absolutely think less of a degree from Liberty or BYU than from a similar, more a-political institution. In fact, I know some people who have earned degrees from Liberty University who won't even list the diploma on their resume anymore for exactly this reason.
No
1
26,189
1.090909
2n7xm4
askacademia_test
0.76
I need to hear success stories of mentally-ill people in academia I see threads on here semi-often of people asking how to apply to grad school with a mental illness that affected their GPA or what not. I really need to hear some success stories right now, from people on here who have made it through academia with a mental illness, or know someone who did. I want to know it's possible, because I can't see myself doing anything but academia, but everywhere I turn it seems absolutely impossible.
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Matilde Marcolli is a mathematician at Caltech who has spoken publicly about her struggles with bipolar disorder.
Diary of a High-Functioning Person with Schizophrenia: Legal scholar Elyn Saks talks about her struggles with, and surprising triumphs over, mental illness.
1
2,051
1.125
nhmgvt
askacademia_test
1
Advice on improving Academic Writing! I'm trying to form a habit to practice academic writing regularly. My experience so far has taught me that I need to focus on following things: 1. Grammar 2. Critical Thinking:to form sound arguments and synthesize material 3. Overcoming procrastination: because I'm absolutely terrified of writing. I'm brushing up grammar and studying about critical thinking through MOOC courses. (I can link it up in the comments, if anyone is interested). However I've come to realization that I need to practice alongside learning all this. If not, this goal will easily take a backseat for me. Presently I'm trying to follow Patricia Goodson's Becoming an Academic Writer. (I also intend on going though books by Paul Silivia and Helen Sword) What I need help with: 1. I'm confused about what to tackle during these exercises (for example, setting aside time daily for writing). Should I work on some specific project or take on any random topic that comes to my mind? 2. What other aspects of writing and practice should I focus on? (About me: I'm a psychology undergraduate, looking forward to start MSc in Clinical Psychology. English is not my first language)
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There is no substitution for reading and writing more. Do more of it. You can start by writing down your experiment plan as if it were a paper's Materials and Methods. Then to the Results and so on. Make your lit. Review into introductions and so on.
You need to write alongside a good writer -- edit and criticize manuscripts together. Your mentor will tell you why your outline is trash because it does not flow logically; why each of your sentences make no sense and are ungrammatical; and why the words you choose are basic or invalid! You are trying to standardize it way too much -- writing is not a Science, you just have to write, then re-write, and have multiple audiences read your writing. Eventually you will have the audience's perspective in your mind and you will become a great writer!
0
2,076
1.483871
a89krw
askacademia_test
0.82
If you take a break from academia and work on your own business or research startup, does that experience count when you return to academia? Does your previous experience count or do you need to start from scratch? Non-native English speaker here. This is probably a stupid question but I am curious. Case 1: Suppose I am at an assistant professor and I am an academic for 5 years. Now I leave academia and work on my business which fails after 5 years. Now I apply to become an academic again and the position asks for 5 years of experience. Will I be able to join it showing my 5 years of assistant professor position. Case 2: Same case but now, I want to apply to a position that is above assistant professor (say associate professor). It requires 8 years of experience. But I have 5 years of experience in academia and another 5 in a business. Will the business experience count? Case 3: Same case as case 1 but instead of working on a business I was working on a research business of mine (say a research biotech firm). Will the 5 years in the research firm count towards associate professorship where 8 years of experience is required?
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It is unlikely that you'd even get a tenure track job much less credit for your time outside academia unless you've kept up your publishing and/or teaching. Every year hundreds of people in your field likely graduate with a fresh PhD, and you would compete with them for jobs. The time to do something like this is before graduate school or (on the side) after tenure.
Most of the time these positions will be referring to years of experience in academia. You may get some credit for a distinguished career but not 1:1 usually
1
5,259
3.909091
hete4e
askacademia_test
0.97
1st Year PhD - Removed From Project Until recently I was a 1st year PhD student working on my project. However, I was dismissed following my viva under the guise of "poor writing" in a continuation report for transfer into the 2nd year. Initially shocked at this sudden change from my supervisor, as we meet weekly to touch base and my writing ability has never been raised as a concern. Going back through the assessors feedback comments from the initial draft, it was generally positive or constructive. i.e make figure x larger, move paragraph y above z. Overall, the report and oral viva were praised for well thought out discussions, sound methodology, good results and clear progression/future plans (all documented) with just a vague "introduction is poorly written". However, when pressed the assessor could not/would not expand on this, dismissing me with "its all poor" contrary to the feedback he himself had provided! I was told my only options at this stage are to "withdraw from your course, or submit an MPhil but I will not accept it". Thus I am appealing this verdict. After speaking with various staff and peers it has become obviously clear to everyone who has heard the situation that you would not remove someone for poor writing, if that is indeed the case. Institutional guidelines recommend to advise relevant training, workshops, exercises and teaching to address a students weaknesses. I believe this serves as wrongful dismissal/ not adhering to due process of the university. So I've raised this further to the senior staff. It has also come to my attention that the lab I was part of is notorious for politics and shady conduct. The student who had the project before me was bullied into leaving. In addition to a high staff turn-over, improper conduct and breaches of contract. From what I hear the uni does nothing about it because the head brings in too much money. "Poor writing" just seems to be the excuse to get rid of me, or the project is cursed! Advice on how to navigate this matter would be appreciated. If the appeal goes through it's doubtful I'll get my previous post/project back as there is too much bad blood. I wouldn't be comfortable remaining at the university if I was moved to another lab/project, if there is systematic abuse and underhanded deals going on. My supervisor is not happy about me digging around/appealing so wouldn't give me a shining reference so seek positions elsewhere. I've kept and backed up logs of meetings where no measures were put in place, emails where the supervisor, team and peers have all said the report was of a good standard, and presentations where no concerns were raised. At its core it began as a wrongful dismissal and academic appeal, but the more I look into it, ask around and hear from others experiences with the lab. There's documented evidence of abuse of power, discrimination, harassment/bullying among other serious allegations that the university HAS known about ...but have just brushed under the rug because they bring in too much money! Not what I would expect from the 18th ranked UK University.
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This is awful. I am sorry you are going through this. I am a 1st year as well, and have been criticised for my writing in the past, and bullied by a PI (enough to put me in therapy and medication for a year). But asking a student to leave for that reason seems extremely atypical.
Is there some way to affiliate with a different PI in the department? If you can, the good news is that as a 1st year, it's not much time lost. Then again I'm a little unfamiliar with the UK system. This really sucks and I hope you can find a PI that isn't a psycho.
0
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82lzpv
askacademia_test
0.98
What is the biggest turn-off in academia that aspiring PhD students may not know about?
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1,520,425,699
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Your chance of actually getting a job in academia is nearly non-existant. For example, today we learnt that a professor, who is already 72 will be staying in our university for at least another 5 years. I'm not trying to be insensitive here, but with his salary we could be paying 4 or 5 PhD students who did actual research and not a prick who hasn't set foot in a lab in the last 25 years and only goes to conferences where all they do is suck each others dick and tell themselves how great they are in their field.
Meeting culture. Way too many meetings. Half could be cut. They're also too long. And everyone wants to give their opinion even though no one cares. Then nothing ever gets decided or done and the same issue is discussed next time.
1
17,531
1.059701
ji5uw4
askacademia_test
0.98
For those who have worked at both a CC and a research university, how did your experiences differ? And do you have any advice on someone who desires to do both? As a product of a community college and a research university, I've found myself dreaming of working at both. My closest connections with faculty happened at a community college; some of who I still talk to occasionally (6 years after transfer). They taught me the value of knowledge and part of me likes the idea of focusing on teaching the highly diverse CC population. When I was at university, I fell in love with my field. The process of deeply learning, asking questions, and participating as an RA in the research process was incredible. My dream of being an academic researcher really bloomed from these experiences. I received my undergrad degree in December 2016 and if the whole COVID situation taught me one thing, it's that I made a mistake leaving the academic space. Looking back, I was so lucky to have found a community and space of belonging at only 18. But I was afraid of the poor job prospects (I'm in anthro), how my social anxiety could swell in a front-facing people-oriented job, and I was terrified of not being good enough to go to grad school (so I never even tried applying). Unfortunately, my fear over these things has only increased with time but I figure I may as well try. Probably not until next year because my mind has really taken a beating with the events of 2020 and I haven't been able to sufficiently prep for this application cycle. But as I'm pondering what path I want to take, I feel lost... If I choose to go the CC route, will getting a PhD make my job prospects better or worse?
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I'm not at a community college, but I know someone that teaches in anthropology that suggested picking up 18 graduate hours in either psychology or sociology so you could teach in two social sciences and increase your usefulness at a CC. You are right to worry about jobs. I looked at my local CC and they had 13 full-time faculty in psychology, 5 in sociology, and 1 in anthropology. Even with the adjuncts they had listed, psychology had 34, sociology had 11, and anthropology had 1. I then looked at a smaller CC the next town over. They had 5 full time psychology faculty, 3 in sociology, and don't even offer anthropology. At both schools, they each had a faculty member that was listed as dual in sociology and psychology which maybe gives a little credence to my friend's advice.
My college (not the same as a Community College, different country) has an applied research lab and professors are able to contribute to various internal projects on their spare time. It's quite nice.
1
5,905
3
2yo9kg
askacademia_test
0.84
Academics, what are your favorite news magazines? So I am a young adult who really wants to start learning and be aware of what is happening to the world around her. What are your favorite news magazines and why? Also, which ones do you hate and why?
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It's not 'news' exactly, but I read the New Yorker -- it's a good mix of current events, investigative pieces and fiction and poetry. I also appreciate their editing and proof-reading policies, there's almost never mistakes and it reads very well.
What are your interests? I think that the Economist and Foreign Policy magazines would be pretty good for someone in your position. Maybe something like Business Insider and the Atlantic if you're so inclined. (and it's not a magazine, but I'm partial to Foreign Affairs for the in-depth breadth of coverage that I'm interested in). I would recommend finding a nearby academic library with a browsing selection of current hard copy periodicals like this. If there's one that you really don't want to put down, see if you can subscribe to it in whatever format you prefer. Edit: Can't think of anything in particular that I hate, although I will say that some of the Foreign Policy BLOG articles online can be snarkier than they need to be.
1
12,976
1.75
w40c7r
askacademia_test
0.75
My research was published but I do not know what my authorship level is. How do I find out? I recently published my undergraduate research work in Information Theory at this conference called IEEE ISIT 2022. I looked up the published paper, and my name is at the first and then the other authors' names follow. Does this mean I am the first-author of the paper? Or what kind of author level do I call myself? How do I figure it out? It was a paper written primarily by me but my professor and two other students also helped.
ih1ifv0
ih2a6es
1,658,406,300
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Smart people in academia, ver 2.0 …
If your name is first on the list than that generally means that you’re first author. Congrats 🍾 OP
0
11,717
3
sm20sq
askacademia_test
0.95
Reading academic journals I’ve been reading a lot of academic journals in the last few months. I’m a 2nd year PhD student, and I’ve been reading all the academic journals in my iPad. I feel that’s causing me headaches and I was wondering if someone here have experience reading academic journals in and e-ink device (Kindle, Quaderno, reMarkable, etc.) Is it a good idea to buy an e-ink device to read academic journals?
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i have a kindle but i don't think they do well with pdf files tbh
Have you seen an optometrist? A good pair of glasses with a blue light filter has helped me a lot. I used to get headaches from eye strain turns out I have astigmatism and needed some glasses.
0
4,501
2.076923
rnxy8f
askacademia_test
0.99
How much does personality/geniality/general likability count in interviews? Is it like a normal job interview where that's kind of a big deal once you reach the interview stage (I had a mentor who said it absolutely was because they didn't want to have to work with someone for 10+ years who wasn't easy to get along with), or are faculty generally keeping it in mind but more focused on someone's CV/ability to obtain funding/etc?
hpv5re7
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1,640,390,559
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If you’re an arrogant douche right out of your PhD, unless you’ve won a Nobel, that’s a huge red flag…
I’d rather hire someone with a less impressive resume (but still qualified) over someone who’s monotonously boring, or rude, or self-aggrandizing 9 times out of 10. Edit to add: if you’re thinking “why not hire the most qualified candidate?”, what a lot of people misunderstand here is ability to get along with colleagues IS a job qualification in most fields.
0
282
4.55814
ywond5
askacademia_test
0.94
Reference manager Hi! I've used Mendeley Desktop for many years but our division is now switching to EndNote as Mendeley Desktop won't be supported anymore (in addition to now not being able to transfer the library anymore). I'm now using both Mendeley Desktop and EndNote in parallell while moving my library from Mendeley to EndNote. However, EndNote feels clunky and lacks all the nice features of Mendeley such as having a list where you can review all your annotations for a document and immediately jump to a highlighted part of the document, changing colors of the highlights and searching within a document (highlighting the searched prompt and jumping to the page of the searched prompt when searching for it within the document). I miss these features and thus keep going back to my Mendeley software (although I know I should find an alternative as it is discontinued). We never considered Zotero as you could not read PDF:s within the software, however, I saw that Zotero's latest version looks similar to Mendeley Desktop and that you are able to read PDFs within the software now. Does anyone have experience with it (and previous experience with Mendeley Desktop)?
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iwm6ghk
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Yup, zotero is awesome. It's also open-sourced and developed by and independent non-profit. Reliably= 1000% Whereas Mendeley, well....
I made this switch and it's been very smooth. They have recently incorporated more note taking ability. It's no frills but it works pretty well with few bugs in mainstream use
1
4,347
1.75
9yjctj
askacademia_test
0.94
PhDs: Was getting your PhD the most challenging thing you have faced in your life so far? If not, what topped It? No need to go into detail if you don't want to
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ea1thgo
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Being a father is much more challenging Because if I screw this up, I mess up someone *else*
No, many things in my personal life have been more challenging. It was also not the most challenging point of my professional career. Getting a job and the climb to tenure are, IMO, more challenging. Also more soul crushing and stressful. Especially the job market.
0
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askacademia_test
1
Someone asked me for authorship in exchange for help on a mailing list. Is this behaviour common/acceptable? I use a software that's pretty standard in my community. It's open source and maintained by the community. There's almost no user manual. Just something for the very basics. Also, there are lots of tutorials online by different groups, but nothing formal. Therefore I aksed on the mailing list of the users, of which I'm an active member that always tries to help Others, for help. I asked if what I thought was correct. A guy answered me in private and told that "he has a script", in many emails. I don't even know what a script would be good for, as my question regards the parameters that should be set in the software, however you might want to pass them to the program. In the end he wrote me: "your project sounds interesting. But I'm very busy as I work for 4 academic institutions at the same time. Therefore I might forward you my script, but only if you could include me as an author". ( I swear he did indeed mention he works for 4 universities. And he also added a 6 lines long signature to the email, that he didn't use previously...) I'm pretty shocked. Is this normal? Is this even remotely appropriate? Did it ever happen to any of you?
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Replying to you off-list already sounds a little sketchy. Unless that's the norm on this particular mailing list, but that would be uncommon. From what you're describing, it sounds like the guy's contributions do not merit authorship, and it would probably be unethical to list him as an author on the paper. That being said, it doesn't sound like anything really _inappropriate_ happened yet. It's not unethical for the guy to _ask_ for authorship. The ethical burden is on you to do the right thing and not grant him authorship for a contribution that doesn't deserve it. And as for common? I'd like to think not. Most academics should know better. But these things happen in reality....
He's not even offering you what you want (right? You want advice on settings not a script) so even if you thought someone forwarding you a small piece of useful code warranted authorship, that isn't what he's doing. He is offering you an unsolicited script of unknown function. Thus far he seems like more of a hindrance than a help. Furthermore I'm just annoyed that he mentioned how busy he (supposedly) is as justification of the authorship request, since attaching a script to an email takes 2 seconds. Honestly, I'm guessing he has adjunct style gigs at 4 different institutions, and he is trying to rack up his publication count to better his CV. Which is an understandable desire, but his methods are heavy handed and illogical at best; rude and mildly predatory at worst. If it were me I'd tell him to jog on.
0
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askacademia_test
0.88
Interview with S. Brenner: "Today the Americans have developed a new culture in science based on the slavery of graduate students." http://kingsreview.co.uk/magazine/blog/2014/02/24/how-academia-and-publishing-are-destroying-scientific-innovation-a-conversation-with-sydney-brenner/
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Yes, my life is so hard as a graduate student getting access to funding, resources, and expertise in exchange for working in a field that is more important to my advisor than myself (even though I chose to work with them due to congruent interests). If and when I've had flashes of insight I never felt constrained to speak to my advisor about my idea's viability. My thesis and dissertation were all 100% original ideas, and areas I was genuinely interested in. But there's a reason graduate students don't have free reign and that's because they lack experience and full training. A lot of my ideas, in retrospect, were not feasible, elementary, or already investigated.
So perhaps the Americans started it but can confirm that it doesn't seem only the Americas practice it.
1
28,722
2.6
e3dm3p
askacademia_test
0.98
Can I be honest about disliking my PhD with my supervisors? I dislike my PhD for a multitude of reasons*. However, I can't quit this PhD (has to do with my visa status and my partner's job, so please don't recommend that I just quit). I'm a firm believer in not complaining about something unless something can be done to fix the situation. However, I'm finding it really emotionally draining to smile and say everything is fine when I dread going into work and find myself crying on the bus home occasionally. They ask me constantly, nearly every day, whether I am liking the country and the project. I don't want to be insulting their country, and I know that it's in my best interest to just finish and get out. But is it okay to say something like "No, I'm really not happy here, but I'm determined to finish the PhD." I suppose my goal in saying something like that is to (1) get them to stop asking me how happy I am and (2) see if they are able to allow me to graduate a little early. They did mention that they could push the final date up a few months if it was requested. Just as a side note, during my first six months, I really pushed to get the old project back and to also have them allow me to do my own research. We had one 3-hour meeting in which they made it very clear that I was to do exactly what they specified on this project or else the PhD wasn't going to work. *To keep it brief: I moved to another country for it, and the process of getting set up (visa, bank accounts, social security number, etc.) is an ongoing administrative nightmare that leaves me exhausted every day and having to work from home way more than anyone else; the office is extremely gossippy with my coworkers knowing the intimate details of my weaknesses before I do; my thesis topic was changed before I arrived and is something I have no interest in; I'm told what to do in every aspect (essentially I'm an engineer implementing my supervisors' ideas); and my direct supervisor is a yes woman who throws me under the bus in nearly every meeting and blindly agrees to the other supervisors' suggestions even after I've spent months researching those ideas and have demonstrated that they're not viable.
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I think you should ask about finishing up early without mentioning how unhappy you are. Sounds like you are in an impossible situation, which really sucks. I know someone recommended seeing the counseling center associated with the school, but from my own personal experience and that of people I know, these university counseling centers are usually underfunded and understaffed and often can't do anything to help students. Could be different where you are at, but if you are already seeing a therapist I would probably just stick with that. My advice on continuing forward in this unhappy situation is to try to do at least one thing a day that makes you happy. Set aside some time each day to just do something you want to do. Whenever you're feeling overwhelmed and upset, just try to focus on one thing you're doing later that you know will make you feel just a little bit better. This helped me a little bit when I had had rough days during undergrad -- not a cure-all by any means but a way of getting through school one day at a time.
I did my PhD in the country that you are currently in (I read your post history) and I also had two supervisors from the countries you are dealing with. Firstly, I'm sorry you're feeling terrible about your PhD and the country in general. I know it sucks. I really, really understand. My first year was hell. Luckily my supervisors spoke English well but my colleagues in my lab did not. The administration is a complicated, the people can be cold and standoffish, and the atmosphere can quickly become depressing. Secondly, my advice about the country: Take a deep breath and get proactive. This country is known for its standoffish people when it comes to language. BUT there are many expats and travellers here. I advise you to seek out other international PhD students in your team/lab/building/university. Look for English Libraries and join in. Check your doctoral school and attend a mixer or two. 100% there are other international students who are struggling too, and there are probably PhDs of the country who can speak English and would be willing to help here and there for translation. Build your support network! Thirdly, administration. It gets easier after the first year after you are in the system. I know it sucks to get all the cards and forms and applications filled in. But it WILL get simpler. After my third year I didn't even blink an eye at the paperwork anymore, just keep on top of it! Do it immediately and keep copies of all the documents in a folder so when you have to apply for residene permits etc. again, you have it already. Lastly, and probably the most important for you, your PhD and supervisors. I assume you are in your first year? Honestly, if you feel the need to quit do it. There is no shame in it and it takes immense strength to look at the big picture of your life and say "This isn't working". But, if you feel you might want to continue, you'll need to consider a few things. HR is not your friend. Seek counselling if you can (there should be free services available to you, speak to the International Researchers office of your university to find resources - ask for counselling options and help with administration). As for your supervisors - only you know how bad it really is. I would not directly approach your supervisors and tell them you're not happy. I don't think they would be receptive to this. But I strongly advise you to learn the language of the country. STRONGLY. Spend this holiday time putting in the energy and work. It will help you immeasurably. The fact is, you are in their country and you need to speak the language. If they laugh at your poor grammar, who cares as long as you can communicate! If you choose to stay, take their behaviour towards you as part of the PhD - you need to defend your ideas, vision, and data. Take it as a learning experience, you will be a force to reckon with when you succeed. Good luck! Also, I know a large network of international PhD students all around the country, give me a PM if you need support.
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askacademia_test
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Jealousy in academia and how to deal with it Dear people of Reddit, It’s time for me to get a reality check and hopefully some good advice from the hivemind. Throwaway for obvious reasons. I am currently working Post-PhD and have a good number of papers out (h-index >20). I am struggling with irrational feelings when it comes to the work of others, and I want to work on that. Some of this I potentially can attribute to some experiences during my Ph.D. that I will detail later. At its core, I am getting jealous of my co-workers for their success. If someone submits a paper and gets good reviews, I have a hard time feeling happy for them. On this note, I also have issues celebrating my own success. Whenever there is work that I think is subpar, I feel that they had it easy. This is particularly the case when I see people making quick studies, e.g., when the project and publication process runs smoothly. Whenever I see that a co-worker does solid work, I get envious and think why I didn’t do this. I then have the feeling that they have found their niche, and I am sad that I don’t have mine - although I probably, objectively have one. The absurd thing is that this is even the case when I am a co-author of a study - so even when I would benefit from my colleagues’ success. From my Ph.D. I instilled some unhealthy “rules” from a very ambitious PI. Some of them are obviously very questionable, but those are some of the first thoughts that come up in my mind and might help to rationalize what I am feeling: 1. You need to be the first or corresponding author of a study so that it has value. >> I guess this is why I don’t value being “just” a co-author on a paper. 2. The value of a paper is dependent on the journal. >> Before I see myself asking what the study is about, I rather think about the journal. 3. My Ph.D.-PI had very high standards and would become very nit-picky. >> e.g., when I find a typo, I devalue work disproportionally and assume the findings won’t hold up. I get angry when I see published work that has questionable data quality 4. Once you finish a paper, directly move on to the next one. >> I have a hard time reflecting and celebrating success - or rather acknowledging success. I often talk my work down. I recently published a paper with very good reviews and then had nagging thoughts that others published in higher-impact journals. This often leads to the feeling that I am glad that it is over and not that I achieved something, as there is always something "better". 5. Metrics are everything. >> I check out people’s track records on Google Scholar and compare myself and devalue people with fewer papers / lower citations. I get upset when they are further along the line. I am happy that I can share this here and would be looking forward to hearing perspectives or maybe strategies on how to work on this — or even telling me this is normal. Thanks a lot.
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I think for many academics, myself included, this is a very normal sentiment to feel. Except for #2, I generally agree with your rules, even though it may not be healthy - I can't really help it. The way I deal with it is, I tell myself (and it's true) that science is not a zero sum game. Meaning, others' gain is not your loss. This is especially the case if they're your labmates' successes. Your labmates publishing a high-profile paper means that your lab and the PI gain fame and notoriety, leading to more money for the lab, more meaningful letter of rec from the now-famous PI, etc, all of which help you out indirectly.
Hi OP, I am sorry to hear about your struggles. I would suggest talking to a therapist about this because it sounds like this inability to celebrate success might extend beyond academia and publications. However, it is a great first step that you are able to admit that your views on publications and academic productivity are having a negative impact on yourself.
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Those of you who got TT jobs straight or shortly after doing your PhD, what do you think you did differently to beat the competition?
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Luck, pure luck. And the willingness to move very far away. When I started my PhD my topic wasn't that exciting, when I finished it was red hot. I was able to postion my work strategically to be of interest to several different fields. The right job opened at the right time. I figure, at the end of the day it's rare that someone is head and sholders above everyone else. We're all pretty smart and dashingly handsom. It just has to be the right job for the right person at the right time.
I taught throughout my PhD, I founded a company with a friend and brought it from her kitchen table to over a million turnover, and I went to a lot of conferences, especially niche conferences and made friends. So I looked like the whole package, industry experience, teaching experience and some minor publications, plus the head of school was happy to vouch for me when I made it to the short list. (Apparently the VC liked my application because it made him laugh, I do not remember being funny). Then I did a good presentation, an ok interview (it was a long day, I wasn’t thrilled with myself) and was super friendly and chatty with everyone I met from the other candidates to the janitors while at the university. I did a lot of research and preparation before the interview. I knew their goals and made sure my questions very much showed that my goals aligned with theirs. Being honest though, I also applied to places where I didn’t even make the shortlist. So luck?
1
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zw98za
askacademia_test
0.93
Help enforcing deadlines with coauthors I’ve have multiple groups of collaborators under the same PI. As first author I have had difficulty with coauthors not meeting deadlines and drawing out the manuscript. These are lab members more junior to me. I’ve tried multiple reminders as well as saying if you don’t meet x deadline we’ll reassign your section. Should I say this from the start? The issue isn’t really missing the deadline but lack of communication. If someone relays they can’t meet a deadline ahead of time, I can step in and make sure it’s finished. I know many groups have the first author write the whole paper. The issue is my PI is going on leave so I will be taking over PI responsibilities for my projects and several others. I absolutely need help keeping my own projects going. I’d appreciate any advice on how to more effectively delegate. Or examples of how others have handled missed deadlines (do you immediately reassign?)
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One of the most important lessons I learned as a grad student was that good communication is not a matter of personal effort: it is a matter of having a good system in place for regular check-ins. A weekly project meeting with all team members might be the way to do this. Or a dedicated slack channel for this specific project. Or whatever. Just some way to regularly check in as a team, troubleshoot, etc. By making productivity assessments an ongoing discussion, you can troubleshoot problems ahead of time rather than waiting until deadlines have been repeatedly missed.
Jeez, I'll get to it! (This post literally made me open our ongoing manuscript...)
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rswq9n
askacademia_test
0.89
What keyboard do you use to write? For the past few days, I've been typing away in on my laptop. Its an ROG and the key presses on the keyboard feels *pleasurable.* I went back to my lab workstation and immediately disliked the "default dell keyboard" that many universities have? Do you have any recommendations for a keyboard? As a PhD students I am on a budget (preferably a keyboard \~100USD). I hesitate to ask this question in r/programming or r/pcmasterrace (or any other community) because they like the mechanical keyboard, which imo is too loud (the click-clacks are annoying).
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I have a Logitech K750 that I've been using for like a decade. Wireless and solar powered (the lights in the room are sufficient).
I use a ducky one 2 SF with silent red switches. Doesn't make enough sound to bother anyone unless you type furiously 🙂
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mcqi64
askacademia_test
0.95
How do you remember or keep a track of every research paper you read? I just started graduate school and am reading a bunch of relevant research papers nowadays. However, I'm not sure how long will I remember all the stuff I'm reading and want to make a system to record the main points from the papers I read. Do researchers commonly use software such as Mendeley and Endnote to keep a track of papers they are reading and making notes simultaneously? Is there any other system you use or know of that can help me effectively read and note information from the papers I am reading?
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I usually realise I've read the paper already when I am about half way through the results section....
I have a note book where I record titles and key bullet points. Sometimes analogue is best.
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wzb8ek
askacademia_test
1
For those who have done qualitative research with thematic analysis, is Atlasti a good tool for this purpose? I tried with Nvivo and it was very difficult in terms of contacting technical support and installing the software. I'm a beginner with "Atlasti", and have considered it for my qualitative analysis, specifically for thematic analysis. For those who have done qualitative research with thematic analysis, is Atlasti a good tool for this purpose?
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It’s less feature rich than Nvivo, and I find it a bit harder to use. The online version is quite good for coding, but it’s even more light weight. Frankly, none are that hard to use once you get used to them. Maybe watch some more videos about people using them to try and find your groove.
Frankly Google sheets was the best tool we used.
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2
9ko0b6
askacademia_test
0.86
Is Academia Possible With a non-Top Ten PhD Degree? As the post suggests I will be getting my PhD in CS from a non-top ten school. Not bad, but def not recruiting ground for academics (its top 40). I have however, done well in my research thus far, and snagged an NIH fellowship and will probably have 6-8 first author publications by the time I’m through. Normally I figured I could make it into a TT post under the circumstances that I went to a top program, but with top 40 I’m wondering if anyone will even look at my record. I’d like to shoot straight for TT or at least an excellent postdoc after school, and I’m wondering if I have any chance of this or if I should focus my energies toward industry.
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Really depends on the school you want to work at. If you want to work in a top tier school, it really helps to have experience at a top tier school. But lower ranked schools are much less picky, and still offer good salaries and good research opportunities.
The definition of Top Ten is extremely subjective. Top ten what ? Top ten among grad school programs ?, Top ten in research output ?. It can be that a nobel prize winning advisor is in a non top ten school. Its usually the reputation of your advisor and the quality of all the publications that matter rather than the name of the school. Getting an NIH fellowship is no small achievement and it adds so much weight to your CV. Dont think about Top ten, for you post doctoral training, consider who do you want to work with. Dont just apply for positions in a top ten school just because its a top ten school, maybe the work there is of no interest to you at all.
0
26
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owxxht
askacademia_test
0.93
After submitting to a journal and no longer work at the same lab Hi all, After submitting a paper with a journal, say you leave the team and get a new position. However, the reviewers come back with a bunch of comments and basically overhaul of the paper- as first author, is this still your responsibility if you no longer work for those PIs? Or does the new hire take over the revisions and get authorship?
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I agree with the other commenter, that there are various options. The most common one, in my experience, is that you finish off your own paper. > as first author, is this still your responsibility if you no longer work for those PIs I find this a bit of an odd perspective. The responsibility derives from the fact that you are first author: it is *your* paper, about *your* work. None of that depends on who is paying your salary. If you've left research and don't mind burning some bridges then sure, you can refuse to work on it and the professional ramifications will be fairly limited. But in most situations you're the person who has most to lose by dropping the paper, and the most to gain by finishing it.
There is not correct answer to your question. You can refuse the changes and have the paper (most likely) rejected. You can make the changes yourself and work on your free time at the previous lab even without being officially employed (or getting hired as part time worker). Or the new hire can take over the work and get authorship. I have seen all of it happening in real life. In my experience it depends mostly on how much you (as first author) want the paper published. In the end you hold the cards.
1
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12.5
gs60im
askacademia_test
0.94
Do you think the academic job market will ever improve? I find that right now the system feels very tough. It seems like there are fewer and fewer permanent positions and a sharp increase in short-term/non-permanent contracts, coupled with an ever increasing flood of new graduates every year and tougher competition for positions and funding. I get that academia is inherently competitive, but am I mistaken that it's getting a bit out of control (particularly the exploitation aspect of universities and publishers and increasing demand for quantity over quality of publications) and that already very limited job security is taking a sharp downward plunge? Do you feel this too and do you feel it may improve in the future? (Personally, my degrees are in the STEM field but I think this more or less is interdisciplinary after hearing similar complaints from friends in humanities)
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Every time I see the word “visiting,” I want to cry.
Develop transferable skills while you are in grad school and gtfo asap. The competition for the handful of permanent positions that are available is insane. I don't think it's worth spending your years chasing unicorns.
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buqy87
askacademia_test
0.98
What was your career path after finishing your PhD? Did you get where you thought you would? I'm currently trying to decide which direction to go. So would love to hear from those who have gone through it what was the outcome of your previous decisions.
epgg4hb
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Last year on my Ph.D. and I have no clue where I am supposed to go. Just gonna follow my supervisor's advice.
1.5 year Post doc in another country (after submission of thesis), 1.5 year postdoc in another country, 3 months unemployment, 1 year lectureship in same country as previous, a few years senior lecturer, now Reader (associate prof). From thesis submission til Readership: 9 years. I’ve been very fortunate. (My pro tip: network your arse off.)
0
1,154
9.5
50l1su
askacademia_test
0.82
Biology Professors and Students -- How long does it take to stop feeling like you are drowning in a new research subject? Since biology projects are so specialized and research at such a depth, joining a new project can feel really daunting. How long should it take a student to get to grips with the project/lab research and begin to be able to formulate novel hypotheses and furthermore design a study to test it?
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Well I've been one of the senior Co-I's on a project for about 4 years and it can still feel that way sometimes.....
I've been clueless about my project for 2 years and counting. Don't tell my PI.
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3,709
3.5
8k87fb
askacademia_test
0.91
Where can we find open-access journals with raw data sets? Needed for statistics project. Hello, our team has been assigned to find, summarize, and give a presentation on a study that uses Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). We need to summarize the raw data set of the researchers ourselves. Where can we find open-access journals that have raw data sets? Thank you
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https://sites.trinity.edu/osl "Open Stats Lab (OSL) is a website created by Kevin P. McIntyre, Ph.D., that uses open data sets from articles published in Psychological Science to help teach introductory statistics. For each OSL lab, I've identified studies with open data badges, and then prepared activities that guide students through the analyses needed to reproduce the results reported in the original articles",--OSL website
https://zenodo.org/
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arhrsy
askanthropology_test
0.98
Are human faces objectively more different from each other than animal faces? Or are our minds just better tuned to perceive differences between human faces than, say, horse faces? I remember seeing a study a while ago saying that just like how humans are really good at picking out different faces, giraffes can tell each other apart based on spot pattern. Is this true? And sorry if this isn't the right subreddit, it seems most fitting though.
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It depends heavily on the species. Some species are almost identical, but use other senses such as scent to distinguish one another. Some have crazy amounts of divergence. Diamondback terrapins, for instance, have extremely distinctive patterning on their heads. Also, any species where either sex actively chooses a mate from among several options will have some way of distinguishing eachother. So, basically, its common for animals to have individual differences, but it’s not always in the face/head region.
> And sorry if this isn't the right subreddit, it seems most fitting though. /r/askscience looks a better fit
1
721
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30xz4a
askanthropology_test
0.82
Why weren't there any big civilizations in southern Africa? Hi, I was thinking a few days ago that I could name great civilizations from every continent, except maybe north america and southern africa. Southern Africa being mainly what in spanish is called "black africa", but I'm not sure how to translate it. The distinction being that in northern Africa, Egypt is an obvious example, but the ethnicity (is this the word?) is clearly different. By great civilizations I mean people who lived in cities, their existence spanned at least a century and had some sort of architecture and big constructions like pyramids, machu pichu, the coliseum, etc. I know it's an arbitrary and probably useless definition, but it's what I think of when someone says "civilization". This strikes me as odd because men came from Africa, specifically the souther part apparently, so one would expect African populations, being around the longest time, to have developed the greatest, most ancient civilizations. Just like you hear that some chinese dynasty existed 2000 years ago, why don't we hear of tales of African Kings that lived 3000 years ago? It doesn't seem remarkable that native north americans didn't develop any sort of big civilizations because they simply weren't around as long as europeans or asians. You could argue that Incas were probably around pretty much the same time and managed it though. I realize it's not just a matter of "being around for enough time", but since that's the only factor I can think of, I'm asking here. What other factor prevented the southern/black population of Africa, in spite of being the first ones around, to develop into a full fledeged "ancient civilization" like the chinese, japanese, romans, greeks, incas, mayas, etc.? Disclaimer: I tried to word this question as carefully as I could, and I don't mean to offend anyone by it. It's an honest question with no implications behind it. If you feel offended by the particular wording of the question let me know and I'll change it, I'm not a native speaker and I'm bound to make mistakes or not express exactly what I want to.
cpwtolu
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Check out the Great Zimbabwe
The Mutapas?, the Zulus?, The indian Ocean trade reached as far south as Madagascar, and possibly further, and This Wikipedia template has a whole host of topics on Southern African political history. Much of Africa's pre-colonial history is shrouded by bias, but it is also important to note that Southern Africa has been relatively isolated by jungle and desert through much of its history, giving it less direct access to the advancements of Northern African and Eurasia.
0
1,887
2
7ssvwq
askanthropology_test
0.8
I’m a newbie and currently at a community college. Ive taken cultural anthropology and loved it. However I’m wondering if I do pursuit this career path, will I have to take any math classes? I’m horrible at math and would much like to steer away from it as much possible.
dt7voxi
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At my school I needed college algebra and stats. Stats is incredibly useful as an anthro/archy.
Telling yourself that you're bad at math and steering away from it is exactly the reason why you're not proficient at it. You're at a cc, you should know well enough by now that there are students there who got placed in college level algebra and then worked their way up to multivariable calculus and other high-level courses. Math is a language, it requires a lot more practice to get right than simply memorizing a stack of flash cards, but it's not impossible.
0
11,765
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b8q89s
askanthropology_test
0.97
Were stone tools used in the early bronze age? In the late bronze age, was bronze used by even the poorest of laborers?
ejzuweh
ejzuc5b
1,554,258,280
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Flintknapping as a profession was still very active in the 19th century. The product was gunflints. To this day some indigenous groups still make stone hidescrapers because stone is a superior raw material for the task. Anyway to answer your question, bronze was an expensive metal and many people would not have had bronze tools. One of the important aspects of the “Iron Age” was iron was much cheaper to obtain and easier to work and more or most people could afford iron tools.
We still use stone tools. Ever heard of a mortar and pestle?
1
456
1.029412
remet1
askanthropology_test
0.98
Any thoughts on “The Dawn of Everything” I saw this article. In general I tend to be very wary of any anthropological headlines in mainstream journalism, particularly anything claiming to upend consensus. But the article does seem to suggest it's evidence-based, well-sourced and at least pointed in the right direction. I was wondering if anybody here had read it and had some thoughts, or heard feedback from somebody in the field? Thanks in advance for any helpful replies!
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I cannot overstate how thorough the book is in its evidence. The notes + citations are over 150 pages by themselves, or about 1/5th of the full print (also the notes are sometimes hilarious and informative, and I would recommend checking them). I've been reading the book alongside several friends of mine involved in different areas of academia (grad students in econ, philosophy, etc.) and they have been impressed/astonished by how thorough the evidence is for each point Graeber and Wengrow make. The authors are also not shy about admitting when they *are* speculating, and are careful not to make any definitive statements from those speculations. E: typo
Not quite half way through yet and am listening via audiobook. I am generally quite happy about it and thus far think it should help lay people get away from the typical universalities of anthropology mainstream anthropology books leave people with. It seems to be a bit Gladwellian in that it attacks assumed premises (which is interesting and fine) but I am interested to pick up a hard copy and look though the references and bibliography as I have an inkling the authors are citing themselves a lot
1
6,966
5.125
9fv1nu
askanthropology_test
0.91
Where Nomadic People more egalitarians compared to settled agricultural ones?
e5ziqsc
e5zsqtv
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Nomadic peoples after the rise of agriculture were primarily pastoralists, which are almost universally very unequal societies. Small scale (subsistence) agriculture doesn’t lend itself well to social domination because there’s just not the ability to accumulate wealth like there is with a heard of animals.
Anyone interested in cross-cultural analyses, like the question you have posed here, should really check out the databases that exist precisely for answering these kinds of questions. The standard cross cultural sample (SCCS) is a very valuable resource. That resources is freely available at https://d-place.org/. Using the SCCS, you can run queries where you first identify all cultures that were coded by trained analysts as nomadic, and see what percentage of them have deep political hierarchies. You can then compare this result to cultures that are not nomadic. Quantitative data like these are really useful for advancing the discussion past impressions, anecdotes, pet theories. And just so there is no confusion, NO, I am not saying that quantitative analyses based on the SCCS are perfect; NO, I am not saying that the ethnographic record is perfectly representative of all places and times, NO, I am not saying that political hierarchies are good or natural or inevitable. I have to say all this obvious crap because there are a fair number of reddit anthropologists that love to hate on quantitative, systematic approaches, for tired reasons. Good luck.
0
10,045
1.294118
uydhop
askanthropology_test
0.92
ethnographer career how do you become an ethnographer? what's the pay like? is the job in demand? would you recommend becoming one? any info about this career would be appreciated!
ia5cbvu
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Business Analysis dovetails well with anthropology. It’s looking at a business culture and the processes and efficiencies. It had an ethnographic component.
Check out the EPIC industry ethnography conference community, they'll have a fair number of resources and networks to engage with. https://2022.epicpeople.org/
0
5,626
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9g8y97
askanthropology_test
0.9
If you could get a snapshot of human culture at a single period of time, which century would you choose? I think I would choose 30,000 years ago.
e62g82o
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I know this is an anthropology subredit, but I given a chance, I would choose something around year 4000 in the future.
AD 700 so writing my thesis would be easier lol
0
10,321
1.131579
b8ztaj
askanthropology_test
0.95
When in history do "rich" and "poor" start making sense? Inspired by this question that mentions poor people in the Bronze Age, does "poor" mean the same as it does now? I can imagine at some point there's really only a different between people/communities that have readily available resources and those that don't. It seems to me that our modern conception of rich and poor is more about hoarding capital, and the social aspect of employment and relative wealth. How has "poor" changed? When did it become our modern meaning? Are there any good articles that I can read to learn more about this?
ek1h4br
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>It seems to me that our modern conception of rich and poor is more about hoarding capital, and the social aspect of employment and relative wealth. Are you describing what people call 'relative' (as opposed to 'absolute') poverty? The United Kingdom (my country) is a first world nation and one of the wealthiest on the planet, but we still have child hunger here. I'm not sure you can say poverty for them is purely social rather than economic. Also, modern where? Because there are plenty of countries today with high levels of absolute poverty and starvation.
This doesn't exactly answer your question, but one of the contributions of anthropology has been to enrich our understanding of how "wealth" can be understood cross-culturally. What does it mean to be wealthy in societies without money, or in societies where hoarding goods does not translate into status? This is a bit esoteric, but I think that James Ferguson's 1992 article "The Cultural Topography of Wealth" gives a good introduction to thinking about multiple understandings of property. It relates directly to Paul Bohannon's work on spheres of exchange among the Tiv (see the wikipedia page on it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spheres_of_exchange ).
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What was the difference between the early humans who left Africa and those who stayed behind? Were the former better equipped and adapted? I was watching one of those survival shows that is all the rage now, and the premise of this one was that a couple would start out in Africa surviving with only the tools and survival skills that our human ancestors would have used, and then they would follow the human migration up through Africa into Europe with their tools and survival skills evolving accordingly. At first I found it interesting, but something bothered me and then it sort of hit me... this idea that the tools and survival skills (so, you know...intelligence)improved as they got out of Africa. Which seems to me to imply that the humans that eventually left Africa were smarter, better equipped, and perhaps even more evolved than those who stayed. Which, I want to make clear, I absolutely do not believe. But, I also don't think the people who made this show were meaning to get that message across either... I mean, I've heard this before... that as humans evolved, they made their way out of Africa and spread world wide. It just suddenly is beginning to bother me because of the possible implications. And so anthropologists, I put my (admittedly unwieldy) question to you...
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I'm assuming you're talking about the first Homo sapiens to leave Africa, but since you use the word humans I think it's important to mention that the first "humans" (genus homo) to leave were not Homo sapiens. You might be interested in Yuval Noah Harari's "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind." I've only just started reading so I can't give many details, but I found it interesting to think about all the other humans who left Africa long before Homo sapiens evolved. There were at least a half dozen other species of human at one point in time, and all these species evolved as they adapted to the different environments they ended up in around the planet. Homo sapiens originated in Africa long after humans had explored most of the earth. So if you're truly talking about all humans, the most "intelligent" were actually those who stayed in Africa long after our common ancestors migrated north.
There would be no difference at all. They were the same people. The African population prospered and grew and eventually crossed into the Middle East where a huge range of new possibilities opened up to those frontier populations. Sure, there must have been some genetic changes that favoured lighter skins as the populations expanded northwards, for example, but humans are pretty much the same everywhere.
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askanthropology_test
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What is the oldest deity we know of? Based on the confusion in my last question about the oldest religion I decided to get a bit more specific in my question. So for me a deity would be a named supernatural being that has the power to directly influence people or things.
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I personally would go for Nintud (aka Ninmach or Ninhursag), a Babylonian Mother Goddess. She's mentioned in Kesh temple hymn, one of the oldest written and translated texts ever that comes supposedly from the 27th century BC. According to the book on the topic I have just found at home now (Jordan, Michael. 1995. *The Encyclopedia of Gods*.), she's been worshipped since approximately 3500 BC. It's only for written records though. It's possible some myths and deities in oral traditions may be older.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1two55/whowhat_is_the_earliest_deitygod_known_to_be/
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askanthropology_test
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Why didn't the Western Hunter-Gatherers develop pale skin, while Middle-Eastern hunter-gatherers, on the other hand, did? It's General knowledge that the human body in history developed paler skin due to the adaptation of the human body to the environment. The first time this occurred was 22,000-28,000 years ago in the Middle East, yet the Western Hunter-Gatherers for whatever reason didn't adapt to the environment while living on a continent (Europe) further from the equator than the Middle East. Why didn't they adapt to their environment, wouldn't this have been an ideal and necessary part of a Western Hunter-Gatherer's body than having dark skin which was a liability? Not to forget that the Western Hunter-Gatherers lived in the same period as the Middle-Eastern Hunter-gatherers. ​ Sources: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/exd.14142
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The connection between lower pigmentation at higher latitudes is supposedly related to the need for relying on the skin’s own ability to produce vitamin D to supplement lack of it in the diet. A lighter skin makes it easier to produce vitamin D. A higher level of pigmentation at more northern latitudes is thought to have been much less of an issue for hunter-gatherers who got plenty of vitamin D from the fish and game they ate. The farmers that came later were affected more severely, since they were living off of domesticated animals that have far lower levels of vitamin D.
Here's the deal. Natural selection can only work with the genes that are already present. Let's say there's a shift to more salinity in a fresh water lake. There are species A-D of fish in that lake. All species are under the same selective pressure, Species A just don't have the genes to handle salt water and they go extinct (at least in that lake). Species B also just doesn't have any of the right genes but continue to exist in some shrunken sickly state. For Species C, 1 in 100 fish happened to have one copy of odd gene that helps with salinity. The fish that have the gene flourish while those who don't die. So species C survives just fine BUT the frequency of that special gene changes, now pretty much 99 out of 100 fish have at least one copy of it, and many have 2 copies. Species D has a similar gene but most fish of that species already had it, because it gave them some other benefit as well (it allowed them to live in the shallow waters which froze solid), so they are living their lives just fine. Now, due to both mild levels of solar radiation, and because our genes on rare occasions don't copy themselves perfectly new mutations happen. But these are totally random, there is no guiding hand of nature that 'helps'. So MAYBE species B eventually mutates and that mutation happens to be one that helps with salt water (which is as lucky as getting a winning lottery ticket - it's extremely rare) But remember, it's random. So, early humans were like that. They spread from heavy sunlight with lots of chances to get vitamin D (fresh water) to areas with less sunlight in the winter (salty water) EVERYBODY had a gene that made them slightly more dark with lots of sunlight and slightly less dark with less sunlight - but nobody had a gene than made skin significantly lighter. But they were able to survive anyways. Then by raw chance, two different mutations that gave lighter skin happened. These genes gave an advantage, and so they spread quickly and pretty much everyone on the Eurasian Land mass had the gene. Now in Africa and Australia it wasn't an advantage so it didn't really spread there. But note, these genes popped up after people had been living in the northern regions of the UK, Germany, and various parts of Siberia for tens of thousands of years. Then, by raw chance, a third mutation happened. Having all 3 was slightly better than having just 2, so this new gene didn't spread all that much. It stuck around Northern Europe. Places in southern Europe and Southern Asia, to them having all 3 was actually worse than having just 2, so it didn't spread. In theory, some of the people living in the arctic circle in Asia probably could have benefited, but either culturally they just so rarely met the peoples that had this new 3rd gene that it never became part of their genome, OR they had enough fish, liver, specialty plant, or other vitamin D sources that it didn't really matter if they had 2 lightening genes, or 3 lightening genes.
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askanthropology_test
0.99
Why do some coastal ethnic groups refuse to eat fish?
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Could you provide an example of this?
So generally explanations for dietary restrictions (such as Apache not eating fish or Enawenê-Nawê not eating red meat) places these prohibitions as part of a broader symbolic system. For example I believe Leach had a theory that animals fit for consumption are those which are neither considered too exotic nor too familiar. Mary Douglas had an analysis of biblical dietary prohibitions which argued that they were based on animals 'obeying' the characteristics that were expected of them (birds fly, so flightless birds should not be consumed). And going off of Mary Douglas, the best answer to the why of prohibitions would probably be to protect against/limit contagion/pollution emanating from certain substances (though this may also be relative, as appears to have been the case in Hawai'i \[according to Sahlins\], what was polluting to a man was not polluting to a woman). Now \*why\* specific foodstuffs are considered polluting? I can't think of any attempts to construct a grand synthetic theory on the subject.
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askanthropology_test
0.93
Is it possible to develop a language that is as syntactically stringent as a computer programming language? If so, would we still be able to communicate with the same level of detail as existing languages?
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Lojban?
Possible to develop... perhaps. Practical to use... absolutely not, given the advantages and nuances inherent to natural language (including nonverbal language, interpretive and adaptive abilities, and basic awareness of social/emotional context).
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askanthropology_test
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Are there any examples of cultures that have a great sense of community, without religion? To expand on the question, I'm wondering if there is a culture or group of people that value community and are very caring for each other (versus a culture that is very individualistic) that at the same time is not influenced by religion. I'm wondering if this sense of community is always an effect of religion or spiritualism, or if it can occur naturally in a secular way.
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The Piráha as documented by Daniel Everett in *Don't Sleep There Are Snakes* are apparently atheistic, without gods and laughing at his explanation of Christianity. Also, check in on modern atheist communities? Or the ex-Amish have a bond, I presume, sharing a large part of culture and then also being the minority who abandon it. There are enclaves of former-Amish around the USA.
Nordic countries are very secular and fall among the lowest in power distance https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-014-0223-6 Japan is very collectivistic even though Shinto doesn't have a lot of the traits of a religion you might be thinking of like communal worship or a god-given doctrine
0
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askanthropology_test
0.89
Other than the supposed "oldest profession" what were the first jobs that didn't involve finding or producing food? The first people that went a significant period of time without hunting, gathering or farming, who instead got their food in exchange for a service, what was that service?
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While artist/jewelmaker is a good guess, I suspect the people who did that also primarily partook in the other activities like hunting and gathering. On the other hand it is certainly possible to argue that the artistry required to make some of these items required a highly specialized individual that may have devoted their time to this rather than hunting or gathering. I would argue it was a spiritual leader though. A shaman or whatever you want to call them. And we are pretty sure such individuals have existed for a long time. The Shanidar man is a classic example of someone that has been interpreted as a shaman (~60,000 years old). And he was wounded to the point where he would have been unable to partake in physical activities, yet he was still tended to and kept alive.
In order to have a "job" there has to be an economy with a method for paying wages. Otherwise, we're just talking about "subsistence activities." Hunting and gathering are not usually described as "jobs" and your post indicates that you don't consider them jobs, either. So let's start there. One of the very earliest "jobs" is then pottery. Classical authors argued that it was the earliest job or profession, but the archaeological evidence also so argues. First, to get good pottery (especially fired pottery, pottery thrown on a wheel, ceramic glazes), you need to spend a lot of time on it, and you need to specialize. Most archaeologists believe that by 18KYA these skills were spreading rapidly from Asia into the Middle East. Food preservation and trading must have been popular. There's no money at that time, but there are chit-like things (shells,etc) and of course, barter. At any rate, people who wanted a pot would have had to have a need for it (some kind of surplus, and in those days, a tendency to be semi-sedentary at least, as most of these pots weren't built for being carried around on yet-to-exist domesticated animals nor does it seem that tump lines are in widespread use). Potters spend more and more time making their pots (perhaps there were 1-2 potters in a family) and less time gettng their own food. People who are good at getting food and have a small surplus (let's say, of dried meat or dried berries) trade those things for a pot to keep their dried goods safe from rodents, etc. Voilà! Some people are now "working" at the specialization of pottery and others are paying them in kind for their work. Many archaeologists would say that the potter's wheel (which appears around 14-18KYA) is a sign that someone is spending a lot of time thinking about and almost exclusively working on problems of pottery. So my own view is that it is...pottery making. With a little ingenuity (and a lot of research), it's possibly that weaving could be a contender (shows up first in Europe at perhaps 22KYA) but doesn't seem to be widely traded at that point. Nets (from 28KYA) are clearly sophisticated but if modern net making is used to inform us about the past (see Geertz's rubric for that), most people held on tightly to the net they had made, as they were so time intensive and valuable. Doesn't seem to be evidence for "extra nets" in the Paleolithic economy. But by 12,000BP, it's possible to argue that some of the woven goods found in some cultures (especially peripatetic ones) were woven elsewhere and that they traded for them. Certainly by 8000BP, it can be argued.
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askanthropology_test
0.79
What are the origins of Russian homophobia? The government makes laws that prohibit LGBTQ+ activities while the Russian public is largely still against the practice. What social/cultural/political developments led to homophobia in Russia?
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>What social/cultural/political developments led to homophobia in Russia? ​ Nothing "led to" it. Russian cultural attitudes towards sexuality are more or less what they've always been. The Western world has changed a lot in its attitude towards homosexuality, sexuality and gender- Russia not so much. So the "origins of" - really lie as much in the West as in Russia. North Americans had similar attitudes towards, say, same sex marriage as Russia does - in 1990. Our ideas changed, theirs not so much. Russia has always had a very ambivalent relationship with ideas from the West -sometimes embracing them, only to become less enthusiastic and then to repudiate them. There was some impulse towards "erotic glasnost" in the 1990s, but didn't get that far. Russia retains some aspects of Soviet era health and morality policies - abortion and divorce were part of the secularization that followed the Bolshevik revolution, and have substantially "stuck" in the culture. Homosexuality, though, while decriminalized after 1920, was substantially suppressed by Stalin. You might compare with Poland - politically aligned against Putin's Russia, but culturally the Law & Society Party have very similar views about gender and sexuality. Indeed, Russia is notable in still basically allowing abortion up to 12 weeks, while its been essentially abolished in Poland. See * Costlow, Jane T., Stephanie Sandler, and Judith Vowles, eds. Sexuality and the body in Russian culture. Stanford University Press, 1993. * Barta, Peter I. Gender and sexuality in Russian civilisation. Routledge, 2013. * Kustanovich, Konstantin. "Erotic glasnost: Sexuality in recent Russian literature." World Literature Today 67.1 (1993): 136-144. * Rivkin-Fish, Michele. "Sexuality education in Russia: defining pleasure and danger for a fledgling democratic society." Social Science & Medicine 49.6 (1999): 801-814. * Healey, Daniel. "The Russian revolution and the decriminalisation of homosexuality." Revolutionary Russia 6.1 (1993): 26-54. * Healey, Dan. "Homosexual existence and existing socialism: New light on the repression of male homosexuality in Stalin's Russia." GLQ: A journal of lesbian and gay studies 8.3 (2002): 349-378. * Żuk, Piotr, and Paweł Żuk. "‘Murderers of the unborn’and ‘sexual degenerates’: analysis of the ‘anti-gender’ discourse of the Catholic Church and the nationalist right in Poland." Critical Discourse Studies 17.5 (2020): 566-588. * Chowaniec, Ula, Ewa Mazierska, and Richard Mole. "Queer (in) g Poland in the 21st century: How was it at the beginning of the millennium? Introduction to this Special Issue on Queer Culture and the LGBTQ+ Movement in Poland." Central Europe 19.1 (2021): 1-13.
It likely has the same origins as homophobia in the rest of Europe. Russia is a primarily Christian nation and most the growth of its cultural and national identity was tied to this. Naturally, when the subject of queerness came up, they’d defer to what the Bible said, as every other primarily Christian nation did in the past. As for why they seem to be more reactionary on the issue than Western Europe, I don’t know if there’s been any solid research on it. The easy assumption that most people would go for is to erroneously blame it on the fact that many countries in Eastern Europe were communist, but I don’t think that assumption is correct, as, for example, east Germany eclipsed much of the west during the Cold War with how progressive they were with regards to queerness. I feel like the main reason as to why people in Eastern European countries (not just Russia) adopt reactionary political stances is probably due to the widespread economic destruction that came about during the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw pact. This event put immense amounts of stress and economic burden on many people in these countries, and many likely adopted reactionary views as a way to cope with it. They were told that the west was coming to save them from the evils of communism, but what they got was far worse than what they had under these old systems. Because of this, these people likely have biases against a wide variety of concepts due to the fact that they may appear “western,” with queerness being just one of these concepts.
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askanthropology_test
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"Discuss the Decoupling of Behavior from Anatomy in the first million or so years of the genus Homo" What does this mean??? Okay, so in my Anthropology class I have to write three essays in response to three prompts. This is part of my third prompt: "Discuss the Decoupling of Behavior from Anatomy in the first million or so years of the genus Homo" First of all I am so sorry if the answer to this is obvious but I really have no clue what my professor means by "decoupling". I know the definition of the word and I've done some googling but I am really not getting what it means in context with the rest of the prompt. Again, I am sorry if the answer to this is obvious and I am just completely oblivious or if this is an annoying question but I would really like to keep my A in this class lol. Thank you!!
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This is not really an answer to your question but you could also email your professor or go to office hours.
I'm reading that the prof wants you to discuss how behaviour and biological anatomy became separate from each other. I.e., what was "Homo" doing, even though its anatomy suggested it should be doing otherwise?
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askanthropology_test
0.96
Do we have any cultural memory, whether in myths or stories, of the Neolithic or even the Paleolithic? Humans have an amazing ability to tell stories and remember events from the far far past, one of our greatest strengths I would say. However do any non Stone Age peoples (ie those who go not currently nor recently used stone or bones as the primary material for the creation of tools and objects) have a cultural memory of the Neo or Paleolithic? Are there any cultural memories of the time before we discovered how to farm?
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Folklorist Sara Graça da Silva and anthropologist Jamie Tehrani found that the oldest story they could find, "The Smith and the Devil" which appears in some form in a number of Indo-European cultures, probably dates back to around 6,000 years ago. So early bronze age, not quite neolithic. It's possible, of course that some non-European folktales or some cultural artifacts that aren't folktales are older, but I don't know of any examples. Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4736946/
Australian Aboriginal oral history is generally regarded as the oldest "accurate" history in the world. I think it may touch on Paleolithic, but definitely stretches far back into the Neolithic. Petroglyphs of extinct flora and fauna, geological evidence of changing landmass and climate, etc. all confirm the veracity of the stories they tell. This is the case for Australians that are many many generations removed from their "traditional" way of life- the oral traditions were always important, but became a lifeline as they were forcibly removed from their lands and made to conform with western society, so maybe that's why it remained so strong. I hope an actual anthropologist can chime in on this with more examples, as it fascinates me as well!
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askanthropology_test
0.84
What I need to read in anthropology! I would appreciate some book recommendations on cultural , social ,culinary anthropology...or any books that can provide me with a good basis and introduction to anthropology! Thank you
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Edward T. Hall ; Mauss ; Godelier ; Heritier.. Depends on what you're searching for
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
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askanthropology_test
0.85
How did so many disparate societies develop the bow and arrow independently of each other? It seems like no matter what part of the world you look at societies vastly different and isolated from each other seem to all develop the bow and arrow at some point. Do we know how this happened? Did the knowledge of the bow and arrow spread around the world from a single ancient civilization or is it just coincidence that it happened?
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Technology is known to have independent and parallel evolution of technologies just like various anatomical features like the mouth have evolved separately on a few occasions. The Americas also had masonry and writing systems that evolved independently of their old world counterparts.
Here's a post I made at /r/History about it; it also includes a link to a relevant /r/AskHistorians post, so be sure to check that one out too. As I say in the /r/history post, the short answer is mostly diffusion - knowledge being spread around - rather than independent invention.
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askanthropology_test
0.94
Favorite ethnographies of globalization? I've been asked to put together an intro-level course on the theme of globalization, based on four or five ethnographic monographs from different areas of the world. Please suggest some favorites. Ideal candidates will be accessible to students from different backgrounds and, of course, engaging. Any aspect of globalization is fine. Thanks in advance!
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I would suggeat "global shadows" and "the anti-politics machine" by james ferguson. They were an eye opener for me during my studies!
We read Anxieties of Mobilities by Johan Lindqvist for a module. Its pretty neat monograph about the Singapore/Malaysia/Indonesiean borderlands in the Singapore straight - and how it localizes many of Globalization's abstract forces in a studiable field. Even if it dove into pretty complicated concepts it was still a good introduction to anthropological perspectives on Globalization since it could portray these concepts in the straight's policing of movements, border enforcements, FTZs and their sociocultural complications, economic and social interdependence and etc
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askanthropology_test
0.86
Would it be accurate to say that human culture predates the human species? According to Wikipedia, culture includes things like knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits. Evidence indicates that our ancestors were developing a sort of proto-language before *Homo Sapiens* ever existed there could be a wide variety of socially transmitted behaviours, maybe even beliefs and arts, that were passed down from *Homo Erectus* or later hominids to *Homo Sapiens*. Are there any aspects of human culture that we can specifically identify as preceding the existence of *Homo Sapiens*? Are there any academics who have studied the cultural aspect of the transition from *Homo Erectus* to *Homo Sapiens*?
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If you define culture as knowledge and customs passed down from generation to generation, then certainly culture predates Homo sapiens and even hominids in general. Several animal species, ranging from primates to birds to rats, have been demonstrated to have learned behavior (i.e. knowledge or skills that were taught to them by others of the same species). Some of these cultural practices among non-human animals include tool use, communication strategies, and nest-building.
> Are there any academics who have studied the cultural aspect of the transition from *Homo Erectus* to *Homo Sapiens*? Keep in mind the time scales we are talking about give us *a small portion of* ***material*** *culture* to work with. The relative "lack" of "sophistication" and "complexity" of that material culture is compounded by the ravages of time. Let's say in 50K years in the future archaeologists find two "primitive" metal drinking vessels. One with red and silver, one with blue (and lets assume the coloring survives). They may be able to understand one is Pepsi, and the other is Coca-Cola, but the complex commercial, capitalist, and cultural symbolism and hang-ups about both brands would not be there. That's all intangible, abstract highly symbolic culture. In contrast, *Homo sapiens* appear more like four times (\~200kya) that long ago and we have far less evidence to work with. We simply do not have the ability to know what has not survived in the archaeological records. It's like having remnants of some hardware, but not the software that ran on it, if you will.
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An interesting find in the Mojave desert. Are these ancient? Are they from a mesoamerican culture? Here is the link to the finder's original post. u/Level-Ad1388 " **Found by my late father when he was a boy. Antelope Valley, Mojave Desert area. Hwy was being constructed. Picked up a handful of rocks to throw at his little sister while walking to school bus stop. One might be possibly a Foo Dog? Any thoughts, ideas or information is appreciated. \2880x2880\]** " [https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtefactPorn/comments/rpvve4/found\_by\_my\_late\_father\_when\_he\_was\_a\_boy/ I know some of AskAnthro's readers are knowledgeable in these areas They seem to be ceramic and part of larger items which are lost
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Just want to point out that in the comments there they're talking about it potentially being from Chinese railway workers which makes sense to me
If you call a museum nearby they may be able to help. Good chance there's an expert or two in whatever that is there, or at a university with an anthropology department.
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askanthropology_test
0.85
In Southeast Asia, are there any religious practices or beliefs that mix Sunni Islam with Buddhism or indigenous religions?
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I know in Indonesia there's this thing called Kejawen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kebatinan
There are a number of practices in SE Asia that incorporate local beliefs (including practices such as animal sacrifice) with Buddhism, this was effectively due to the manner in which Buddhism originally spread across the mainland, doing so largely organically and assimilating local indigenous practices as it spread - will dig out the articles I originally found this in (I normally do archaeological Buddhism in South Asia) and edit ASAP Edit: PDF of article explaining/examining spread of Buddhism in SE Asia and its incorporation of indigenous precept and practice Ethnographic description of such practice in South Asia
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Outside the well known civilizations: Sumer, Egypt, Greece, Han ect. What do we know of the peoples or cultures around the same time? Did they have cities or were they more wild hunter gather nomads?
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We know so much, and so little at the same time. Other great civilizations are the Maya, Incas, and Pacific northwest tribes (today Alaska, Canada, Washington, and Oregon)
For what it's worth, The History of the Ancient World is a great book that has helped me line up ancient civilizations against each other both geographically and chronologically. Really helps you get a picture of the movement and significant events of people across the world during early civilization. Though it doesn't give much info outside civilizations with written history, so not sure if it directly relates to your question.
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What are some great anthropology books you'd recommend for general readers? Recommendations of individual works as well as authors/anthropologists who frequently write for general audiences are both welcome. Any topic or focus within any sub-branch of anthropology. (Please only recommend classic works if the ideas in them still hold considerable weight in the field).
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10
Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies. The author actually undertakes the journey from central Mexico to Washington state with a group of migrants looking for work. He documents the insane hardships they go through, even after they arrive to the US and are exploited by agricultural institutions. One of the more interesting chapters talks about how much the industry of agriculture depends on undocumented workers here in the US. Makes you think about how cheap food and produce is here, and who we have to thank for that.
I love How to Think Like an Anthropologist by Matthew Engelke, it's an introductory text to all the basic anthropological concepts.
1
4,913
2.1
4cwjz3
askanthropology_test
0.67
How much do regionalism and geography explain gender norms and the treatment of women? For instance, why is treatment of women historically much poorer in the Middle East and the Islamic world relative to other present or past religiously conservative areas like Europe, Africa and China? Today, the Middle East has some of the least gender equality of any region on Earth. Much of this appears to be tied to religious and ethnic traditions, that have been rolled back to a greater extent in North Asia and East Asia by communism, or by liberal reforms originating in Europe and spreading to colonies and outlying settler countries. But nonetheless, it's hard to ignore the substantial differences in the treatment of women historically in the Middle East versus Europe or even the matrilineal cultures of Africa. Are there regional or geographic explanations posited for why the Middle East has experienced much greater lag in the treatment of women and why women's role in society is so heavily restricted?
d1pn1tv
d1mmr2h
1,459,794,728
1,459,567,636
6
4
Your question is loaded. Treatment of women in the Middle East hasn't been historically much poorer than Europe, Africa, or China. Books to read: *Beyond the Veil* by Fatema Mernissi *Women and Gender in Islam* by Leila Ahmed Lila Abu-Lughod
http://org.uib.no/smi/seminars/Pensum/Abu-Lughod.pdf
1
227,092
1.5
chrizl
askanthropology_test
0.89
Why aren’t people in indigenous tribes covered in mosquito bites?
euyf5ha
euz4i5x
1,564,101,126
1,564,113,167
4
10
Certain plants rubbed on the body would act as a repellant. Also, the fat of animals would be smeared on the body to serve the same purpose. In North America, bear fat or gator fat would be used.
Maybe not the answer you're looking for but speaking as someone who has volunteered with a number of peoples who have lived and slept outside their whole lives I'd say at least part of it is that they become somewhat immune, or, they are covered in bites but it doesn't really affect them much. I remember one dude I was volunteering with, a native of the area, was covered with mosquitos for a good duration of the time but he didn't get bumps or itch at all so I think his body kind of just....got used to it over time. I also got told by people to rub or spray catnip on my body and it worked pretty well as a repellent so they obviously knew they were annoying in some capacity. I don't have a source but this guy feeds his mosquitos with his own arm and his sensitivity to bites has apparently gone down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBwB8HyXDuA
0
12,041
2.5
tr0omp
askanthropology_test
0.88
What is the difference between paleoanthropology and bioarchaeology?
i2ksdo8
i2kfdva
1,648,568,799
1,648,563,613
16
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Paleoanthropology is the anthropology of the (bio-cultural) evolution of hominins, including during the Paleolithic. It is not solely hominin remains. It includes hominin remains, artefacts, ecofacts, the wider Paleo "context," etc. My doctorate is in Anthropology. My subfield is archaeology. My specialty is stone tools of the Paleolithic. So I count myself as a Paleoanthropologist, an Archaeologist, an Anthropologist, a Lithic Technologist, and maybe other things... So many different specialists come into play in studying the evolution of hominins via the fossil record and the archaoelogical record. These include Physical/Biological Anthropologists who are focused on the fossil hominin record or PaleoDNA, lithic archaeologists studying the stone tool record, faunal archaeologists studying remains of animals eaten as well as other animals found at a site, archaeologists who specialize in other materials, such as bone tools, "art," plant remains (including Paleoethnobotany), etc. There are also other contributing disciplines, such as Paleontology, climate/environmental reconstruction, Soil Scientists, Geoarchaeologists, etc. So Paleoanthropology is about how humans became (=evolved into) humans (and studying other hominin lineages, even if they didn't become "anatomically/behaviorally modern humans") after the split with our Chimpanzee Last Common Ancestor, and it involves many different disciplines and lines of evidence.
Paleoanthropology is interested in human (or hominin) remains in an evolutionary context. Bioarchaeology is interested in human remains in an archaeological context. Archaeologists are concerned with the lives of past peoples, paleoanthropologists are interested in evolutionary trends.
1
5,186
1.230769
rxc9j3
askbaking_test
0.95
Milk Or Dark Chocolate for a Chocolate Orange Cake? So im planning to make a Chocolate Orange loaf cake soon, the recipe calls for Dark Chocolate, now to me that could be a bit to bitter even if it is simply melted and then drizzled over the top, what would you all suggest i choose between the two types? If you have made a cake similar before with a chocolate drizzle that would be really helpful and appreciated
hrhhq1k
hrhhqhw
1,641,473,900
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I would go with dark chocolate. There’s a risk it would by way too sweet with milk.
Dark will be much more flavorful. Use decent quality chocolate 75%+.
0
8
1.5
vuz8zd
askbaking_test
0.96
Losing my mind over 'enrobed' madeleines Hi all, Previously posted about this in another sub but I'm still stuck. I'm basically trying to bake madeleines and then enrobe them in chocolate within the mould. I'm following this recipe: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CdgXLLDp5py/?utm\_source=ig\_web\_copy\_link I have a metal madeleine tin and when I bake them in that, they come out lovely and brown with a bump. But in the video, she just pops some chocolate into the tin, presses the madeleine in, puts it in the fridge and it comes right out. Mine get completely stuck to the tin when I use that. I've tried baking spray, cling film, callebaut chocolate, setting it in the fridge, setting it outside. But they always get stuck or don't harden at all. I went onto amazon and got a silicone madeleine mould and I just made a batch there but the madeleines don't crisp up at all, they stay pale and cakey and eggy with no hump because the metal isn't browning them with the butter. I'm at my wit's end at this point, just want nicely baked madeleines with a chocolate shell. :( If you have any advice on A) how to get the chocolate to work in the metal mould or B) how to get the madeleines to brown in a silicone mould, it would be appreciated!
ifgnf6l
ifgx3bk
1,657,365,878
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20
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Do you know how to temper chocolate?
I think you will need to temper the chocolate. Or maybe try almond bark or dipping chocolate? When tempered chocolate sets it contracts, allowing it to release. I did this once before and used tempered white chocolate that I colored.They looked fantastic, but in my opinion, the chocolate really overshadowed the Madeleine. Good Luck!!
0
6,068
1.7
ro19hw
askbaking_test
0.93
Is it possible to overcream butter + sugar? I understanding overmixing cake batter causes gluten development, leading to the dense, gummy cakes we hate. However, is it possible to overcream butter + sugar? I always feel so scared of overcreaming that I believe lately I have actually been undercreaming instead.
hpwyea3
hpwt5nx
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There are two schools of thought when it comes to creaming butter and sugar. Some people say tou should cream just long enough for the butter and sugar to be well combined. In this school of thought the sugar has started to dissolve into the butter but you won't be able to see the dissolving and the mixture will still be grainy. The second school of thought is that you should cream butter and sugar until the mixture lightens in color. This approach incorporates more air and results in more airy baked goods. I personally fall into the first camp, and I call the second school of thought whipping (not creaming). If you use older recipes, they make the same creaming/whipping distinction that I do. But, many modern bloggers default to whipping their butter and calling it creaming. For cookies (since this is cookie season), extra air in the butter will mean a more cake like cookie. Some people love cake like cookies, and you should definitely cream your butter and sugar until lightened if you want cake like cookies. If you're like me and you want a cookie that's nice and chewy, keep the creaming to a minimum. If you bake cookies for people who want a nice crispy cookie (maybe you're making nice snappy ginger snaps), the creaming should also be kept to a minimum.
It depends. The degree of creaming-just creamed vs. light and fluffy changes the texture, especially with cookies. If you are using a heavy stand mixer you can actually start melting the butter if it beats too long [little incident with a screaming infant while making a cake]. And many older cookie or cake recipes assumed you were creaming with just a spoon so the end product isn't going to be the same.
1
4,100
3
uddd01
askbaking_test
1
Former industry professionals!! what made you leave baking, and where did you go?? I have been in bakeries for 10 years. I've done all the schooling, i have my red seal. But I do not want to manage or open my own bakery. I just want to bake, work full time, get paid well, and have half decent benefits. So far, I've only been able to find 2 out of 4. I am thinking of leaving the industy and am curious where others have gone, and why.
i6gyfge
i6gkio2
1,651,104,730
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43
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Prior Pastry chef in restaurants. AM prep and PM presentations. Night and weekends. Caterings and weekends. Late night parties and weekend. I went back to school for math stuff because I always loved it. Got a BS and am in government construction. Now I’m rolling in benefits and make puff pastry for fun!
I'd try posting this in r/kitchenconfidential there's alot of people there who have left the cooking industry. You might gat more answers there :)
1
6,459
1.869565
o7cinb
askbaking_test
0.9
Is there a savory sugar alternative for baking? So I'm a cook, who is making a carrot cake and got the thought about savory beet cakes while doing it. However my baking knowledge is lackluster. So I tried googling and didn't find anything, which was not more of a bread texture. So is there anything with which I can replace sugar in recipes to get the same textures without making things overly sweet?
h2yngo4
h2ykj3o
1,624,596,425
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For most recipes, if you want to replace sugar, you would need something granulated. The crystalline structure of sugar and the way it supports the structure of the baked food are important contributors to texture. The only thing that comes to my mind is salt, but that would be gross in the necessary quantities. Perhaps, you can think of an alternative. The other thing that sugar often contributes is caramelization. That brown color that we associate with a cookie being fully baked is, in part, due to the sugar. You may be able to replicate the browning effect by using egg wash, but that wouldn't work for the sides and bottom of a cake or a quick bread.
As others have said, it’s difficult to copy the physical properties of sugar in a cake. It’s probably a better idea to try and mellow out the sweetness by adding some acid, salt, or umami to the cake. Acid wise might be a bit difficult (as it would react with the baking soda) but you could maybe add some in the frosting (lemon cream cheese could go nicely). Salt is simple, just add a bit more than you would normally. Umami/savoy could be boosted by adding herbs, rosemary could work, although you obviously have to keep in mind the flavours that they would also add to the dish.
1
1,882
1.111111
p23ftu
askbaking_test
0.94
(Canada) Replacement for Hershey's Milk Chocolate Chipits Before I end up with more chocolate than I know what to do with I figured I'd ask everyone. I think the OG Hershey's Milk Chocolate Chipits were **amazing** but sometime in the last year or two some genius in Hershey's land changed the recipe. I don't think they even admitted it or re-labelled it, it's the same packaging except filled with deceit and trickery. Has anyone found anything similar for sale in Canada? I know chocolate seems to vary greatly by country so I expect what's sold elsewhere may be different. As far as I know it's at least the Chipits in Canada that have gone foul. They might be fine elsewhere.
h8ig1ib
h8hw69q
1,628,670,013
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20
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The only chocolate chips I use now are Ghirardelli. They’re not as common in grocery stores so when I see them, I stock up! Otherwise, I just buy chocolate bars and chop them up. Or just grab chocolate disks from bulk barn.
I'll second the recommendation for the PC brand of chocolate chips. I also really like the Kirkland brand of Semi-sweet chips.
1
15,197
1.428571
fz7llx
askbaking_test
1
How many hours is "over night" for letting a yeast dough rest in the fridge? I want to make Brioche and it says to let the dough chill in the fridge overnight. Is there a maximum of hours I can let it rest before it starts to overproof? The recipe calls for 30g of fresh yeast to 500g flour if that is relevant.
fn4fv8v
fn4j78l
1,586,640,539
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> Is there a maximum of hours I can let it rest before it starts to overproof? It won't really matter. Proofing all but stops at fridge temps, so nearly all of the activity will happen while the dough is cooling down. Give it a few hours at least, but you probably have a couple of days before it starts to affect the flavor.
I have left my brioche in the fridge for almost 36 hours. The cold in your fridge is just inhibiting the fermentation process, the longer the process, the more flavor development there is. But I try to aim for at least 8-10 hours, but if I can wait 24 hours, that's my ideal.
0
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p5no3e
askbaking_test
0.92
Favorite interesting/uncommon cake flavor pairings? Obviously what’s “common” depends on culture and where you live, but I’ve become obsessed with cake baking and wanted to branch out from super basic American flavors like chocolate, vanilla, lemon, etc. As an example, some flavor pairings I’ve been thinking about are: Almond cardamom rose, mango hibiscus, apricot almond cream, coffee and sunflower seed, pistachio orange mango, strawberry balsamic, black sesame matcha, fig & burnt honey, peony pear, jasmine white peach…. and so on!
h98cbxm
h97i28m
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You’re on the right track! I suggest reading the book, The Flavor Bible. it is great for understanding what flavors pair well with others. Try new foods and experience different flavors/textures to help improve your palate and inspire you.
You might want to watch some of the Great British Bake Off cake episodes for unusual combinations and then watch the judges review them.
1
13,386
1.666667
pp8kdm
askbaking_test
0.91
Can I substitute maple syrup for honey in a whole wheat bread recipe? The recipe calls for 1/4 cup of honey, however I can’t use honey for my baby as they can’t have honey under one year old. Would it be a 1:1 substitute?
hd2z1wu
hd1yeeo
1,631,802,355
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As a non-baby owner, can babies eat bread?? I thought everything had to be mushy. (Please educate me on baby ownership)
Yes this would work fine as a 1:1 sub. Agave nectar could work as well!
1
23,949
1.5
ufesni
askbaking_test
0.94
Is the more expensive 00" Italian "pasta" flour just a marked up all purpose 00" flour? In my grocery store the Italian flour is marked by the end product. You have focaccia flour, italian bread flour, pasta flour and all purpose flour (still 00 italian). All those flours differ in grind size and protein content, except the AP 00 and the "pasta" 00. They are both 00, and the protein content in 9.5g per 100g. Now I don't know if Italian flours can differ by any other metrics (it's the same brand though, just different types) but I suspect the "pasta" flour is simply the regular 00 flour, marked up by 50%.
i6wskea
i6w7ykx
1,651,416,650
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In short, no. They are all of different grain size, gluten content, possibly different wheat berries even... If you make pizza, 00 should be the best but I work just fine with strong and very strong white flour.
Just buy them both and try them in the same recipe, if you get the same result with both (or even if you don’t but the end product is good enough for you) just buy the cheaper one.
1
11,784
1.25
t54vt9
askbaking_test
0.93
What frosting/filling would pair well with a red wine chocolate cake? I am planning my mom's birthday cake and would like to make the Smitten Kitchen Red Wine Chocolate cake. I have made it before without frosting. It has a lovely fudgey texture and deep chocolate flavour with a hint of acidity and cinnamon. The wine does actually come through in the final product, which I quite like. I would like to add a frosting + filling (and maybe fruit topping) this time because I think it makes for a more stunning birthday spectacle, but a bit sure what to pair with it. I don't want to overwhelm the lovely complexity of the cake and also don't want to create something sickly rich since the cake is already quite dense and full flavoured. The Smitten Kitchen recipe recommends mascarpone frosting, but I can't get mascarpone here 😔. Currently, I am considering a cream cheese frosting or a chocolate buttercream, possibly with raspberries. My roommate suggested cherries as a natural chocolate pairing. I wanted to ask the Reddit baking experts. Any thoughts on complementing a red wine chocolate cake?
hz2w6bu
hz2n23p
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if you want to go deepest chocolate route, you could use bittersweet chocolate to make a ganache, then pour over and let the sides drip down. in this case i would fill with strawberry, raspberry, or cherry filling. just cook the fruit down a bit (simmer out the water) with some sugar (to taste). squeeze of lemon or pinch of citric acid, then thicken with cornstarch. if you're more interested in going closer to the originial, maybe a cream cheese ermine frosting. its pretty easy to make mascarpone, if you have time. i used to do this to make tiramisu for a friend when I lived in a rural place where i couldn't buy it. this link uses lemon juice, but you can also use any neutral tasting vinegar. i like white wine vinegar best. https://www.thepetitecook.com/mascarpone-cheese/
That cake sounds amazing. Bravetart has a cream cheese frosting that is much lighter than the traditional and would be similar to a mascarpone frosting. I have made it with freeze dried strawberries (ground) and it was delicious, but is also great with just vanilla.
1
3,456
1.571429
j25gar
askbaking_test
0.84
Has anyone successfully started a baking business from home? I am really interested in knowing the ins and outs of having a baking business from home. I am mostly interested in selling cupcakes and macarons. I’ve done some research on the legal aspects of it and know what permits I’d need to apply for, but I’m pretty much lost on everything else. What is a business plan? How can I market my baked goods? What’s something you wish someone had told you before starting a business?
g73d0uz
g73hvys
1,601,406,234
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Look into your local cottage laws. It's definitely possible to sell in farmers markets and local places like that.
If you don’t have your recipes in weights, convert them now. You’ll also need to get some costing information and set up costing spreadsheets. You’ll have to price out ingredients and all packaging- including things like the parchment you bake your cookies on. It all adds up
0
2,120
3.2
tyo2s0
askbaking_test
0.98
What was the best cake flavour you've ever eaten or created? I've been asked to make a cake for my friend's business' one year anniversary. Anything flavour I want it just has to be neutral and like boho style. So I was wondering what your favorite flavour of cake you've ever had was. I was thinking twix. But I have been having trouble with my caramel lately and my confidence is shook. I'm searching for inspiration.
i3ui5k0
i3uc5os
1,649,384,171
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Earl Grey chiffon with raspberry compote and chantilly cream!
One of my favourites that I experimented with was a stout gingerbread cake with browned butter buttercream. It had wonderful depth and is still a go to for me.
1
2,615
1.529412
u1f9gj
askbaking_test
0.82
First time baking and my pound cake is very rubbery. I used the classic 1 lb of each: All purpose flour (might need to use cake flour?) Room temp Unsalted butter Turbinado sugar (probably shoulda used white sugar?) Cold Eggs (weighed the liquid after discarding shells. Came out to 9 eggs.) I creamed the butter and sugar, and beat the everliving heck out of some eggs, folded the eggs in but the turbinado sugar had the butter bound up too tight so i hit it again with the mixer and it seemed to air up fine even with the eggs... Anyway after that I gently slowly folded in a pound of flour with a sieve to keep out clumps. It baked up well, rose well, took it out when there was no more batter on the stick... Yet here is my rubbery pound cake... Any help to make the next cake better?
i4c90mu
i4c7g0x
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225g each of flour, butter and sugar will yield one good loaf-cake. AP flour is fine. Self raising (British) has baking powder built in. Self Rising (USA) has baking powder and salt. You can skip all that nonsense and use regular AP with 3tsp of baking powder to every 225g of flour. Done. Salt \*can\* interfere with leavening. Turbinado sugar is BAD (for this. I love it as a sprinkle on top of muffins and stuff before baking. It's more of a garnish or topping than an ingredient.) It's probably the bulk of your problem. Next time use CASTER sugar which in the USA is usually called "Fine Granulated" There's chemistry science behind this that involve what happens when you cream it with the sugar. The whole point of which is to get as much air in it as you can and the grain size of caster allows this to happen best. If you're using a stand mixer set a timer for \~5 minutes and use the paddle on med-high. It's done when the butter turns from yellow-ish to white and if you rub it between your fingers, you don't feel a LOT of grains of sugar. (you'll feel some.) Just getting it all the way pale, if you're using caster is enough. Eggs should be room temp. If your recipe called for cold, I don't know why. It's wrong. Also, don't beat the eggs first. Have a little bowl where you're working and crack the egg one at a time into that (just in case so you don't have to fish shells out of the batter if that happens) and then add it to the batter. So with the butter and sugar creamed, add 1 egg at a time and let the mixer go for 20-30 seconds in between each egg on medium medium-low speed. you're not really trying to add any air at this point you just want to evenly get the eggs emulsified into the batter. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the SIFTED flour into the mixture. Be **patient** and gentle. Do. Not. Rush. This. This is a good time to get kids involved. They can hold the sieve and shake the flour into the batter for you while you fold. I sometimes have cake-batter-hunting children around when I bake. Line your tins with parchment with tabs that will make lifting the cake out easy and carefully fill the tin. Gently level the top of the batter. Use a spatula or something, don't bang the tin on the counter to settle it b/c that will literally settle-out the air. No need to be fussy about it though, just generally level is fine. Check out this video with some good advice about technique.
The purpose of creaming is to dissolve the sugar by creaming it into the butter, should be light & fluffy. Turbadino sugar is coarse & isn't suitable for creaming, but you can substitute if a recipe doesn't require creaming. How did you measure your flour? If you scooped it, you ended up compacting the flour & adding more flour without realizing it. Also overmixing flour produces more gluten which can end up with more touch finished product. You can try cake flour next time if you choose too, see if it makes a difference. Also cake flour weighs less per cup than AP flour does. Your eggs & butter should be at room temp before you start. It helps by incorporating the ingredients better, as warmish things combine better than cold. There's no need to beat the eggs like crazy than add to sugar mixture. I have a digital meat thermometer I take the temp of my butter before I start. I usually start when it reaches 68-72°F, as you cream/beat butter the temp will warm up alittle depending on how warm the kitchen is. With pound cake, cream butter with sugar for about 3-4 mins, add eggs one at a time, when all the eggs are added then add flour until just combined. Then bake until it's ready. Does your recipe have leaving agents or milk? When I made a pound cake it has milk, in which you alternate flour & milk. I hope this helps. Happy baking!!
1
599
4.25
ia6bzl
askbaking_test
0.99
Differences between cake and cupcake recipe Are there any significant differences between cake and cupcake recipes aside from the serving size and baking time? Like techniques or ingredient proportions?
g1mw324
g1ly03m
1,597,518,229
1,597,507,766
34
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Only one way to find out. Make a lot of cake. Make a lot of cake batter. Make muffins. Eat it all. Forget why you did this. And be fucking happy. I swear baking experiments are just the best. I just came off 3 days of brownie marble cheesecake experimenting with 7 cakes. I had a bite of each and gave the rest to people. They all loved it and now are closer friends. Win. Win. Win. Win. Win.
In my experience any cake can become a cupcake. Even things like banana or blueberry bread can become "muffins."
1
10,463
1.478261
bhz0e7
askbaking_test
0.91
Ideas for adding a thick 'coconut cream' layer in the middle of a cake? My dad had a rough 60th birthday and I wasn't able to be there... I feel terrible and I really want to make it up to him by making him a beautiful cake and surprising him with it! His favorite pie is coconut cream pie, so I'd like to try to make a coconut cream cake with a thick layer of 'coconut cream' in the center. However, I don't think I'd be able to just use coconut cream pie filling, because I assume it would be too soft? And most of the cakes I've seen online are poke cakes with a thin layer of coconut buttercream in the center, which isn't what I'm looking for. I'd like to make something with a similar thickness to a momofuku milk bar cake: I want the coconut layer to be equal in thickness to the cake layers! Any ideas (or links to recipes) on the best way to accomplish this?
elwwtlm
elwxe0r
1,556,376,572
1,556,377,041
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I would make a thick coconut pastry cream. Then my buttercream for the outside of the cake would be thick too. I’d make a circle around the outer edge of a 9” cake with the stiff buttercream and then fill the middle with pastry cream. Then I’d layer and repeat! Good luck!
https://www.marthastewart.com/1155207/coconut-cake-filling This is absolutely insane. I would eat it with a spoon, but it also held up beautifully inside a 3 layer coconut cake I made.
0
469
2.2
rij2oy
askbaking_test
0.93
What are the baking quantum physics behind making an amazing custard that never fails to set? Sometimes my custards are too runny and never set, making my tart look like a soup. Sometimes they come out dry and crumbly. I thought that instead of sharing my failed recipes, I would ask WHAT makes a custard set, thicken, have good flavor or texture, so I could be become a more independent cook.
hoxe98y
hoxy47w
1,639,754,670
1,639,762,287
14
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What type of custard are you making? Baked custard? Boiled custard?
I always rely on temperature. https://food52.com/blog/18149-how-to-make-any-kind-of-custard-avoid-any-dastardly-clumps-or-curdling https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/5557-knowing-when-puddings-and-custards-are-done https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20150930-the-curious-chemistry-of-custard
0
7,617
1.5
wu7bz4
askbaking_test
0.96
Cookies- leaveners in sugar/butter or flour? Most cookie recipes I follow add the baking soda/baking powder to the flour. Every now and then I come across one that adds them to the sugar and butter. I've been working on an almond joy cookie and the base recipe I'm using is King Arthur Flour's chocolate drop cookie (very tasty recipe for the record and the triple blend cocoa is amazing). This recipe adds everything but the flour to the butter step- including the cocoa which I would also normally expect to whisk into the flour with the salt and leaveners. I'm just curious what the difference is between the two methods. I'm assuming adding baking powder or soda to fat achieves something but that's as far as I can get on guesses.
il92z7i
il8y1ap
1,661,122,549
1,661,120,380
8
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Adding baking powder to flour has to do with (a) making sure that it's very evenly distributed in your preparation, (b) lump-free, and (c) not heated during the mixing process. Baking powder is triggered by (1) water and (2) most importantly heat (all baking powders are double-acting these days). Adding it to the fat certainly coats baking powder particles with said fat and keeps them away from water, but I'm far from sure it helps with (a), (b) or (c). Mixing it with flour ensures an easy mix and even distribution, and most importantly keeps it cool and puts it in contact with water at the last possible moment, as flour is usually the last ingredient in the sequence. The most important triggering factor with current formulations is probably heat, not water. I say this because you can leave your pound cakes overnight in the cold chamber before baking. And baking powder strength seems to be intact after a night in the cold. 😉
"I'm assuming adding baking powder or soda to fat achieves something but that's as far as I can get on guesses." I view the techniques as interchangeable. There isn't always a good, empirical reason behind everything that a particular recipe calls for. If you add the stuff to the flour, then you should whisk them together to ensure even distribution. I suppose that adding them to the butter makes this unnecessary.
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Subway/ Starbucks like cookies I’ve tried almost all the cookie recipes out there for chewy cookies but nothing comes close. Recipe suggestions please. Thank you!
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Fun fact: (I hope they don't hunt me down and sue me 30 years after I quit working there) but Ms Fields cookie recipe is IDENTICAL to Nestle Toll House. I used to make em. it was the "dirty little secret" protected by the insane NDA everyone has to sign when they start The \*difference\* was that they used fan-assisted (convection ovens) which most folks don't have at home. OK, that said, Ms Fields is crap. There is a bakery in Manhattan called "Levain Bakery" that makes quite possibly the world's best chocolate chip cookie. Bakers from all over the world have come there to try them and then try their hand at reverse-engineering them. The two best that I have seen are from Joshua Weissman: (guest starring Babish) https://youtu.be/NYH1Z7TUSEI And Cupcake Jemma, who not only reverse engineered them but has like a dozen different varieties now too like white chocolate, macadamia and matcha, caramelized white chocolate (i mean), and even a birthday cake version.https://youtu.be/P1gqm9CG8sw
try to find it at r/topsecretrecipes
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Put WAY TOO much baking soda in... Okay, so... I decided to make some PB cookies tonight and in my haste I added 3/4 CUP OF BAKING SODA, not 3/4 teaspoon that it said. I was just moving too fast and fucked up. Well, anyway, tragically I did not notice until the first bite and oh my... what a salty surprise that was. My question is should I call poision control or something? It made about 20 cookies, I took a bite of one and then spit it out and rinsed my mouth out with water and have been drinking water. My mother took a tiny bite of one, spit it out and did not rinse out her mouth but has been drinking water. Is this a poision control situation or just a sit and wait situation?
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Baking soda is used as an antacid drug. The notable effects of consuming it are that it raises the pH of your stomach temporarily, and also contains a decent amount of sodium. Per the drug facts on the back of the baking soda container, one dose is 1/2 teaspoon. You can take up to 7 doses or 3.5 tsp per 24 hours. There are 36 teaspoons in 3/4 cup, so with 20 cookies, you have 1.8 tsp or 3.6 doses per cookie. If she spat it out, presumably she ingested less than 1/4 of the cookie; meaning that she had less than 1 dose of baking soda. Not a doctor and this isn't medical advice, but for me personally I wouldn't worry about it unless she had some other underlying medical issues or is on drugs like these that interact with baking soda. Also, pro tip: if you're on a prescription medication and are concerned with a drug interaction, you can always call the pharmacy that dispensed it and ask to speak to the pharmacist. Part of their job is answering questions like that.
If you ate a whole cookie or more I might be worried but one bite is not going to affect you much.
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Does anyone have recommendations for ways to learn about unique flavor combinations? I'm a culinary school graduate and the thing that I'm the most interested in learning now and experimenting with is unique flavors and ingredients. Are there any resources or books that anyone has liked? Any recommendations would be appreciated! Thank you!
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You might enjoy The Flavor Bible.
You can check this chart about fruit flavor combinations: https://thebakersalmanac.com/fruit-flavor-pairing-chart/#comments
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My new bundt pan says “oven safe to 400F (204C).” How strict is this? I have a shitty oven that always overheats. As it says. My new bundt pan is heavy cast aluminum. Dash of That brand. There’s a Caution label that says “Oven safe to 400F.” However, my oven is shitty and literally always overheats by at least 100 degrees. (Like, if I want to preheat to 350, I set the dial to 200.) What happens if I exceed 400F? Will it make my monkey bread unsafe to eat??
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Why on earth would they make a baking pan with a maximum heat of 400?
How do you manage to bake an edible cake if the temp can surge by 100 degrees?
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My cakes from one book keep sinking drastically! No altitude adjustments, help! Hi guys! So I’m new to this subreddit, but not so new to baking. I don’t bake a lot of from scratch cakes however, since I usually use the box mixes. I live at 5600 ft altitude wise, so it’s been screwing with my baking for the past few years since I moved, but not this drastically before. But I got this great book from the library that’s a relatively new cookbook, Snacking Cakes by Yossey Arefi So far I’ve baked two of the cakes from it and I’ve linked the recipe for the one I made today down below. The cakes’ basic recipe tends to be the same, usually melted butter or oil for the fat along with some sour cream usually. However, each time I’ve made the cakes, I’ve gotten a near identical drastic crater in the middle of it. No pics since my family demolished most of it already, and the crumb is fine, it’s just a bit ugly and I want to know what I’m doing wrong. powdered donut cake Highly recommend this recipe btw, tastes just like an old fashioned donut from dunkin!
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Alongside making sure your leavening agents are fresh... high altitude baking means your baked goods will rise even quicker and therefore create irregular air pockets which will collapse after you remove them from the oven. I would say try increasing your oven temperature by about 10 degrees, and decrease your bake time by about 10 minutes. Here is a good guide by King Arthur. It might take some experimentation to get it right.
How old are your baking powder and baking soda? Sounds like you are not getting enough rise, so it could be that your baking powder or soda are too old and no longer reacting with the acid in the recipe to create rise.
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Has anyone ever made choux pastry with beurre noisette / browned butter? How did it turn out? Is it possible? I’m wondering if this would be worth trying!
g0wj0kg
g0weenx
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Start with your original weight of butter and cook it to brown. Re-weigh it and make up the difference in water.
I would adjust your water/milk to make up for the water you’ve boiled out of the butter. Other than that it should work fine.
1
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z5v4wb
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Is making a vanilla recipe a different flavor really as easy as swapping the vanilla extract? I’m trying to expand my home cakery’s menu but it’s challenging having so many ingredients on hand. It would be nice to be able to just have one set of bulk ingredients and a bunch of extracts/flavorings, but I’m not sure if that would work? Obviously there would be some exceptions, like cocoa and brown sugar in chocolate cakes or fresh strawberry reduction in strawberry cake, but what about making peppermint buttercream? Salted Caramel cake? I see Lorann oils sells flavorings like those, would making those into cake really be as easy as swapping vanilla extract in my cake/buttercream recipe for those extracts? I just want to know if I have the concept right before I go spend money on ingredients/extracts/emulsions to test it out.
ixy6hi5
ixy5dhj
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Yes, swapping the vanilla for any of the flavouring oils 1:1 will work just fine. Some flavours are more volatile than others so start with 1-2tsp and work your way up! Lorann has great flavourings but some of them don’t taste very realistic - “Pumpkin” tastes like strong clove, “Sparkling Wine” is like a sophisticated grape…… just check the reviews to see what others say about the flavourings. My favourites are the peanut/nut flavours, caramel, eggnog and chai are good, and the fruit flavours are quite accurate. Flavourings provide top notes, so just make sure you have the “supporting cast” to create a full flavour profile. Use ingredients that will enhance the flavour that you’re using if you can.
Would probably work with simple pound cake but the results won’t be anything special for sure
1
949
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r9insx
askbaking_test
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Do I really need to "bloom" macarons? I'm getting ready to try baking macarons for the first time, something I've been wanting to try for a while. I've seen several recipes reference blooming the cookies in the fridge overnight. Is this truly a necessary step? It seems so unfair that I would put all this effort into making these cookies and have to wait 24 hours to eat them!
hnc9lha
hnc50o8
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People who make macarons in a professional capacity will often tell you that macarons are best enjoyed blast-frozen for 24 hours then thawed. The reason they say so is because you get a softer core with a crunchier outer. I'm one of them and I sit on the fence on this one. I'd not freeze them at home without a blast freezer, that will do more harm than good. I'd however keep them in the fridge (SEALED box, kitchen paper towels between every layer). A quality ganache needs time to crystalize and show its best texture. This is the reason why you also make the ganache the day before you bake your macaron shells. Hope this helps.
Nah. I never do this. The only macarons that I've made where I thought they actually tasted better if you didn't eat them right away were ones filled with chocolate ganache. I always eat a bunch after I make them and then they go in an air tight container in the fridge to eat the following days
1
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nthhl8
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Passion fruit eclair filling Hi all. I’ve been planning to make som passion fruit eclairs. For the custard, I was thinking of using this recipe: https://www.laurainthekitchen.com/recipes/homemade-vanilla-pudding-mix/ And then once it’s refrigerated, I thought of adding some passion fruit purée. After that, I thought of folding in some whipped cream, for a lighter texture. Do you think it’ll work out well with the above pudding recipe?
h0s7ny4
h0sbfdb
1,622,977,435
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Where do people find passion fruit in the US? I have lived in multiple states, in city & suburbs, & rural. I can't find it fresh, frozen or canned! I don't know if I'm looking out of season? I've found some pretty expensive online options but not ready to pull the trigger on that.
I made passionfruit cream puffs a few months ago and used this pastry cream cream recipe, as another commenter mentioned. It was so thick, I was convinced it wouldn't work. But when I folded in my stabilized whipped cream, it turned into the most luscious filling!
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g5l5wo
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Troubleshooting dense bread/no rise Hi all, Please help!! I've recently started baking with starter, and have run in to some troubles in my first pure starter loaves (hybrid ones worked well). I've built a starter following Ken Forkish's instructions in FWSY (scaled down to reduce waste), and it is 3 or so weeks old. The last two loaves I've baked were the overnight country blonde from FWSY, both of which did not rise much during bulk fermentation (with the second loaf rising the most and growing ~1.5x). Forkish calls for an overnight bulk ferment, and waiting until the dough grows 2-3x in size, which I am not achieving. By the time I try to shape the rounds the next morning, they remain sticky and don't hold their shape. When they go in the dutch oven, they simply spread out as much as they can, and get little to no oven spring, leaving me with a dense round with a tacky, almost sticky crumb that looks as though it's cooked through. I pull it when the outside is golden, and just before the bottom burns. Here's a picture of the most recent one https://imgur.com/a/qgrJO78
fo4ip2z
fo4d01v
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So I’m super novice but I’ll give my two cents cause that’s how my first loaf looked like. 1. You really have to get to know your starter and when it peaks. If you use it too early or too late, you miss your window. 2. You need to stretch and fold until you have a good window pane result and a good poke test. 3. Shaping is key. I’m still not getting this right but I think it’s just practice.
I had the same issue when I tried that recipe and am trying to work out what could be wrong. I’ve gone away from 100% levain recipes for the time being because i figured my starter wasn’t active enough. How much does the starter rise when you feed it? Also, I find that it takes much longer (sometimes 2 extra hours) to maturity when my apartment is 70 degrees vs 72 degrees.
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vju8j6
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A bakery near me "glazes" their danishes in something that keeps them crispy. Any ideas what it might be? There's a bakery near me that makes shockingly good and interesting danishes. They really shine in terms of textural contrast. They must use a really high protein bread flour because I've not found such distinct lamination elsewhere, and it's on the chewy end. They typically put some kind of custard or cheesecake in the center, and some fruit or marshmallow on top. But the most intriguing feature of these danishes is that they have some kind of glaze, which I think contributes to the crispiness on its own, but also must help preserve the natural crispiness of the dough, because they stay crispy for hours. I've tried to replicate this glaze at home many many times but one constraining factor is I genuinely don't know what it is. I don't \*think\* they are merely blowtorching sugar onto the pastry because it's not burnt. I tried painting some melted sugar on with a pastry brush but that was a mess -- the sugar hardened in the air on the way to the danish, so I doubt that's what they're doing. I'd imagine something like a simple syrup would achieve the opposite effect. I doubt it's a jam glaze (it's shiny and sweet, but it's not fruity). I've also tried rolling the dough in sugar before forming the danish like a kouign amann, which was good but far from their effect. ​ Are there other ideas I may be missing? Here is a picture of the danish in question: https://imgur.com/oXlpSWO I guess the glaze on this one does look a tiny bit burnt, but Im pretty sure most of them do not have those singes... Thank you!
idlu3y6
idl8x65
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Every cafe/bakery I worked at when I was a teen used an apricot glaze on sweet pastries that was exactly as you described. There is no apricot flavor, it just gives a sticky coating that preserves the crispness from the bake.
Probably apricot jam with water
1
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rrfdo5
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Having a hard time transitioning to stand mixer. I've been baking for a long time and baked most Western lean breads as well a bunch of enriched enriched doughs (French, Italian, Swedish). I'm pretty confident with baking because I've been able to do this all by hand (not a pro). So when I saw a Kitchenaid stand mixer on sale I figured hey, this'll save me so much time and I'll do volume easy! Wrong. Turns out I can't even do the mere basics of what I was doing before. For e.g. working on an enriched dough, my dough has failed twice and I really don't understand how fast to run it for how long. For Brian Lagerstrom's pretzel dough I stirred for 3 minutes. Speed 2 till it came together (2 mins) and then started adding butter in tsp. It was a mess so I went hey, let's run it faster to give it strength. Ran it at 4 and it was downhill the whole time. Result was an overkneaded porridge. Ive failed cinnamon rolls, brioche and this pretzel dough and now I'm convinced I don't know how to use this machine and need help. I am yet to experience this "dough slapping across the bowl" i see in every youtube video because of this. The one solution outside of this I'll try is being super anal about butter temp and forgoing AP flour completely. Stick to bread flour since the strength gives my wiley ass a safety net before I get flour porridge again. Also maybe oil the bowl but that's really just desperation from me. I'd love any advice y'all have for me :)
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hqgr9om
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Yea there is a sticker on the dough hook to not go above 2 speed as well. On my first time i had to keep stopping to scrape dough down because of a small recipe.
It sounds like your issues are probably two things: going too fast, and not always using the right attachment. For the dough hook, you generally don't want to go over 2 on the mixer, or it will get overkneaded. For some enriched and/or high hydration recipes, you will want to use the paddle rather than the dough hook. In those cases, you can sometimes go to a higher speed, though you will want to see what the recipe says. Most recipes will specify where this is okay, but it is uncommon. As you are learning to use the mixer, I recommend stopping every minute and checking your gluten development to get a sense of where the dough is at and what has changed. To me, this is a much more accurate metric than whether it slaps around the bowl or balls up on the hook - that doesn't always happen. Lastly, if your doughs are coming out wet - are you adjusting for flour that you would have added when kneading by hand? You may have been adding a good bit of flour over the course of the process, that isn't getting added since it is all in the mixer. So you might need to add a few tbsps or more additional flour.
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ie08io
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Which luxury brand & model depreciates the least, and why?
g2ccpqd
g2clezz
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Maserati. Maserati used their cambiocorsa transmission in their car platforms from 2002-2007 which caused their $100,000 price tags to be worth less than $40,000 2 years later. The cars were problematic (you were told not to use the reverse function as it would grind the transmission, the battery goes flat within 72-96 hours of not being driven because the electronics are always on in them) Now a days, people aren't going with them because servicing one is almost as expensive as a Ferrari ($2,400 front brake job, $600 oil changes) and their interiors are glorified Chryslers :/ All that and I still want a GranTurismo Sport
Porsche's hold their value surprisingly well. I guess there are a lot of people who appreciate the styling and driving dynamics and won't hesitate to buy a used Boxster or 911. Even the SUVs seem to hold their value.
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sabtga
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How can I get better at manual? I know the real answer is practice practice practice, but the thing is I already know how to drive stick I’m just not perfect at it. I’ve been driving stick for a couple months now (96 accord) and to use an analogy it’s like I’m literate and can write but my handwriting’s sloppy. I can get around town fine but I want to be smoother and effortless. What are some tips and tricks that new manual drivers should know?
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htsl0om
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In no particular order: Put the clutch all the way down to shift. Do it quickly and firmly. Once you’re in your gear, bring it up part way to its bite point, until revs have matched, and then lift the rest of the way smoothly. Don’t try and do it in one continuous smooth motion, break it down into two stages: up to bite, wait, smoothly release. This will avoid jolting. You’ll get used to the bite point and engine noise/revs in time. Put clutch down when you’re approaching idle speed, usually 800-1000rpm or a bit lower. This will avoid shuddering and stalling. Use first to 10mph, second to 20, third to 30 etc until you’re more familiar with the more optimal gears and speeds. Don’t pay much mind to your car telling you to Shift up or down, if it does, they quite often will suggest shifting at daft times Be wary that gears 1 and 2 will often stick more than the others, and are harder in general to make smooth. If the stick doesn’t want to go in, just be firm with it, it might grind in these lower gears from time to time, if it’s happening too often you may need to work on it, but once in a while is par for the course. These problems are often worse when the car and gearbox are cold. Don’t keep the clutch pressed down when you’re stopped, put in neutral unless you plan to go. This will help avoid bearing wear. Don’t leave it at the bite point until you need to move, you might need to at first, while you learn, but the aim should be to learn to do it all quickly. This will avoid clutch plate wear. Eventually you won’t need to hold it at the point at all, you’ll get the feeling for it. In 2000 miles it will be second nature.
if the engines straining change gear. should be completely effortless. should be like 2nd nature to you if you have driven enough manuals
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mks19v
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Which car would you take on a track day? Hey guys, I'm organizing a track day for a bachelor party and for the groom to be, I was wondering which car would be the most fun to drive of the following options. He's not a huge car guy but this is kinda a once in a lifetime opportunity so any advice would be appreciated. * Porche 991 GT3 RS * Ferrari 488 GTB * Lamborghini Huracan Thanks!
gthglhe
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If he is not big into car is would pick the ferrari or Lamborghini, the Porsche isn’t as much of a status car and for a once in a lifetime thing I think he will like the other two more. Personally I would pick the ferrari for quality track driving or the huracan if he wants to brag on Instagram lol. Really any of the options will be fine because they are all performance based cars and unless he races often he won’t be pushing them to the limits anyways.
Probably the loudest and flashiest, so the Huracan. Me I would go with the GT3 RS. Maybe be a bro and get him a drive in both so he can compare. (not to say that what you're already doing isn't enough and is a very generous thing to setup for a buddy.
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vki62r
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How light could be a MX-5? How light could be a car like the MX-5 if it was made using the same kind of weight reduction techniques that supercar manufacturers use in their cars, without removing any kind of technology or comfort features?
idpak4z
idpf6qg
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Well they weigh around 2400 built the way they are, if you swapped out all the panels for carbon fiber you lose around 60 pounds. Beyond that you would need to really redesign it to use other materials.
Heck with an unlimited budget you could make the whole thing out of carbon fiber. It would be tough to put an actual number to it but an M4 GT3 car is 2800lbs-ish and the curb weight and a regular M4 is 4000lbs-ish. Trade the cage for some ventilated seats, baby you got a stew going
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o231tf
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Tips on negotiating/denying service costs with a dealership? TL;DR: The dealership went off of *some* of the codes my vehicle was presenting to guess what the problem was – but surprise, surprise, that guess didn’t fix it. Now, after performing some basic diagnostics (i.e., a fuel pressure test), they want me to pay for their oversight AND the new repair. Tips on taking this up the chain to the general manager? More background: My husband is a mechanic, but I have a hybrid vehicle and he doesn’t have an advanced enough scanner to accurately pinpoint the issue. So we took the car to a dealer. The service writer advised that, even though I had four codes, they can *usually* solve for two of them by replacing the intake. I questioned this vague “maybe” and asked if we could do more troubleshooting prior to moving ahead with a $1K fix; he said he was “confident the intake would fix the issue.” Well, it didn’t, and now they’re informing me it’s the fuel pump. Hmm… wouldn’t they have found weak fuel pressure if they conducted that diagnostic earlier? He’s now saying he gave us the choice to do the repair or to do more diagnostics – and I think he realizes he caught himself in a lie. Logic dictates we would of course have gone with more diagnostics rather than make a $1K guess. Needless to say, we’ll replace the fuel pump ourselves rather than rack up an additional $900+, but both he and his supervisor aren’t budging on the original “repair” of throwing parts at a problem before doing actual troubleshooting. Any tips on how I address this with the general manager?
h248xtz
h24vd1i
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Well I’m not much help, but it is good you have an understanding of the systems and can explain housing, if you go in and they try to stay anything it won’t be over your head
It would help to know what state you're in, as well as the kind of vehicle you drive. When the dealership replaces the wrong thing and still can't figure out the problem, they need to eat the parts and labor. Not one or the other, but both. Don't budge on that. However, that being said, you should pay for the next repair, in this case the fuel pump. Most states have a department of consumer affairs that govern over auto repair facilities. They would be the ones to contact in case they refuse to budge
0
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g81s82
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Can i drive with No radiator cap, no thermostat, and a little less than normal amount of Coolant and still get circulation? So i can get rid of extra air exhaust that comes from leaks in my head gasket.
folou5s
folpoas
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Yeah no. Engine needs a rebuild from the heads up. And I'd check the crank bearings and piston walls too because oil and water don't mix and coolant isn't exactly compressible. Good chance there's a bent valve or a few other issues on top of that. Fix it or you're gonna make your engine leave the vehicle without any other parts.
No
0
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c2946l
askcarguys_test
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Should I buy a catalytic converter for a 2009 Subaru Impreza Hatchback from my car shop or from Autozone? And is this the correct part? My local Car-X auto shop told me this is the repair that I need, as my catalytic converter is "running below threshold efficiency." The total if I go through them is $2000 about with parts and labor. They quoted me for the catalytic converter and two oxygen sensors they said they might need to replace. If they don't need to replace those I won't be charged. My questions is, should I buy the part through them at around $800 and get their warranty on parts and labor, or should I buy the part from autozone for around $300 less? Autozone themselves have a warranty on the part, but it would require bringing the part back and the labor for a new part wouldn't be covered. How easy is a catalytic converter to install properly for a reputable car shop? Is there a chance they might mess it up? How likely is it that the part will fail before the car (made in 2009)? Is this the correct part for the "front catalytic converter"? https://www.autozone.com/emission-control-and-exhaust/catalytic-converter/walker-catalytic-converter/470592\_35169\_0\_234588 Thanks for your help!
erixjzu
erizbzh
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Rockauto.com
One thing to be aware of is that a lot of shops won't install parts you bring in yourself, sometimes for insurance reasons and sometimes for greed. Before you consider this question any further, call the shop and make sure bringing in your own parts is an option in the first place.
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ouf1zl
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Can someone give me some advice about buying a car please? I found a 2012 Subaru outback at a dealership with 199k miles on it for 5800 or 6700 with a 2 year warranty. Everything on the car works and it's very clean. I have no idea if that's a good deal and if that's too many miles for the price. I barely have that amount to spend and need a good reliable car for me and my girls. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Also, sorry if I did this post wrong, I don't know how to reddit.
h71z5yb
h72it2r
1,627,626,694
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199k miles = 320000 kms (I’m from a country that uses metric) that’s a lot of mileage on that car. Maybe compare prices on car sales websites to see if you are getting a good deal because normally dealerships are a lot more expensive. You’ll probably get a looked after car with lower miles not far off that price the dealership is selling it for. Hope that helped.
I’d pass on that. It’ll go to shit the moment that two year warranty is up. Subarus aren’t exactly renowned for being reliable.
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askcarguys_test
0.93
Is my tire inflated enough to get me to a nearby shop (pics attached)? I live in the city and my tire has clearly lost a ton of air. This has also caused the tire to start stressing and crack, although its not clear in the picture. I can also check the PSI if that would help. Just need to get like a mile or two to a tire shop. Flat Tie: https://ibb.co/LzSKNqJ Not flat for perspective: https://ibb.co/rd2YVXB
ekndf29
eknd3gs
1,555,006,016
1,555,005,816
8
4
If you're driving at low speeds, you'll probably be fine. If your tire is showing cracks, it's beyond its useful life, so there's nothing to save it for.
Good time to use your spare tire. Also good time to buy a portable air pump so you could air it up next time. Worst case is it fails and you lose control and die in the wreck.
1
200
2
yfubtp
askcarguys_test
0.97
Do mechanics in the US have to buy their own toolbox? I've seen some videos about mechanics quitting their job and taking their toolbox with them, is that really a thing that they have to pay for their own tools while working in a workshop?
iu5akhj
iu57apz
1,666,978,244
1,666,976,952
25
2
Yes you are expected to provide your own tools.
Only 8 point sockets
1
1,292
12.5

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