Comments on: Blogging for Women who Support Us

By: Julia

Julia — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 14:31:03 +0000

You certainly give me plenty to think about. So you inspire thought in me.

You haven’t had the same sort of impact on me, however, as my grandmother, who was a cancer researcher in the 1950s. (She’d graduated from medical school in 1929.) It was assumed in my family that of COURSE a woman could be a scientist as I was growing up, even if there were very few role models shown to me outside the family. I don’t know if I was specifically inspired to anything in particular, but it was nice not being called on the gender thing by anyone in my family when I was studying mathematics in college. (I’d gotten called on it by some other people at various times, which was annoying.)

By: ravelgrane

ravelgrane — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 01:13:54 +0000

You definitely are a source of inspiration, in the original sense of the word. You make people think in new ways. You lead by example. You project yourself as a creative force onto the canvas of the world. And to answer an older posting of yours, where you say you once wished you did not exist, I think the world is a better place because you exist.

By: M

Thu, 08 Feb 2007 12:18:42 +0000

I’d say you are inspirational in the same way that I’d say it of Marie Curie, Mary Wollstonecraft etc – but I think in general I’d try and avoid the word, knowing the implications that it has. You’re definitely a positive influence on my thinking, in terms of you make me think about stuff that I’d just blindly accepted in the past.

By: Evonne

Evonne — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 11:31:52 +0000

n: Exactly. It’s a pity that perfectly good words — like, say “special” and “overcome”, have been so twisted, and so often used for the purposes of sugar-coated manipulation, as to evoke maudlin violin or something . . .

By: n.

n. — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 10:01:23 +0000

inspirational in the sense of giving people good ideas and possibly encouraging people towards doing something, i think is appropriate.

the other sense that people often use, in contexts of looking at disabled ppl from outside and of hanging up ‘inspirational’ posters on one’s walls, i have no clear handle on the exact meaning of it, but it feels creepy.

By: bullet

bullet — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 09:47:30 +0000

Sorry, I forgot to add. I hope this comes out the right way and doesn’t offend, but, you don’t inspire me. I like reading your posts and I think you write a lot of sense, but what you write about is mostly what already made sense to me and what I already think. So you haven’t changed my perceptions or inspired me to be a stronger person. But you’re someone I’d like to know in the real world. There’s a chance there’d be loads we would argue about, but I think I could have a good argument/debate with you.

By: bullet

bullet — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 09:09:11 +0000

Well, not inspirational then. Wrong term to use. But definitely (from the little I know) you come across as being a good friend.

By: ballastexistenz

ballastexistenz — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 08:58:02 +0000

I doubt any of them would say of me ‘inspirational’ (or vice versa).

By: bullet

bullet — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 06:28:59 +0000

I expect they’d say you are very much a friend and inspirational to them as well, ballastexistenz.