@Jo from what I know they are required at least a basic health class which does cover nutrition. But this is also cultural.

How to raise a child, however, is cultural. Good sex is also cultural. Healthy relationship–cultural. Chronic issue–depends on your chronic issue. (Some ethnomedicine is the only cure for some cultural illnesses… and I can go over some if you don’t believe they exist.)

Despite what all those studies that are put out about these things they are often cultural and because of the change in medical practices for ethical guidelines concerning culture, specifics in these things are told not to be done.

For example, (steering this back a little). In some H communities older children are expected to take care of younger children. It used to be because of intolerance, people assumed those mothers were being abusive and then reported them to social services. You can kinda see the issues with that. So that’s when doctors became a bit more hands off.

Now, it is true scientific studies try to sometimes say one way is”better” ever since that monkey trial, but one culture’s better might be another culture’s worst.

Which to tie this back to the original subject–just because you disagree, does not mean it’s invalid way of thinking about how the world works. (One of the core ethical principles of anthropology which is why the words “exotic” and “primitive” are discouraged in Anthro in today’s time. I 100% turn off stories that use this in conjuction with anthro, especially set in the future… since anthropology is probably the closest you’ll get to a profession that forces PC down your throat. Sociology being the other one….)

Which summed up nicely is the disclaimer: Just because it works for me, doesn’t mean it’ll work for you. versus being egocentric and saying, “If you aren’t outlining your novels, you aren’t a ‘real’ writer.”

Haha, I managed to bring it back. =P

BTW, there are sociologists and anthropologists studying con culture… I bet there are. Just not as public as say, Bronisław Malinowski. It’s the kind of thing one would study say, under specialized rituals, where people are allowed certain behaivo[u]rs that are not normally allowed. Such as staying up late. Drinking hard, dressing up, etc.

Also, this cast helped me in figuring out what I was doing wrong on those old short stories.

Finally, in addition to “The Years Best …” collections, I highly recommend “Decades of Science Fiction,” by Applewhite Minyard. That book’s notable in that it outlines the development of the genre. But as we already know, I love me some history.

However, I’ve also been tearing through short anthologies, especially the Ellen Datlow collections, and I owe my discovery of many great writers, worlds, characters, and ideas — hours of entertainment — to the desire to write in that format.

How to have good sex? NO EXPERTISE.

How to raise a child? NADA.

How to foster a healthy relationship? ZIPPO!

How much sway insurance companies have on their ‘diagnosis’? Head in sand.

How to get to the core cause of a chronic issue? Inept.

How to eat healthy? ZILCH – if you don’t believe me on this one then ask your doctor how many classes they took on diet and nutrition in med school.

Love me some doctors, truly, but you’ll get equal expertise about most of these things from your attorney, pastor, grandma or mechanic.

I have an anecdote about being recognized and what not to do no matter the personal baggage you bring with you (and this is directed at aspiring writers and not Mary, Howard, Dan and Brandon) ; this ties into the way you present yourself at conventions when meeting other writers.
I’m one of those fans that really loves readings and went to a lot of them at my local bookshop before moveing to somewhere a little more affordable so the writers in that area who read there a lot saw me kinda often. I visit the shop whenever I’m back in my home town (and yeah I’m not saying where and I will not mention who this event happened with because I’m still really embarassed about it) . So I’m there one time a while back and writer – comes up to me and in her normal perky manner says hi and starts up a conversation. Well I was one star struck and two tongue tied and really was no holding up my part of the conversation but I did manage to shoot down her assumption I was a fellow local author by saying something along the lines of I write but I’m not published and no one has ever read any of the junk I’d written.
Now that is text book me if you’d ask my partner she’d tell you in no uncertain terms, totally me taking other people’s opinions of me away from them no matter what. Anyway, I feel totally a fool since she, the writer, may have just wanted to chat with a fellow genre writer and lover but I ruined a perfectly good opportunity to make a friend of another person into Scifi and fantasy and I really have so few to being with. I still visit the shop but I kinda dread running into her again since I made a balls of it so badly the last time and though I’m planning to start doing the pro convention thing soon I’m worried she’ ll recall it too.
So there you go. Gotta stop carrying all that baggage just in case x or y writer you love happens to be in the area…
Greb