Re: [tips] Collecting

[Allen Esterson]

On 31 October 2010 Mike Williams gave us
>My 2 cents on collecting
>[…]

Thanks, Mike, for all that interesting insider info on collecting (as 
against hoarding). (More like $2 worth!)

I hesitate to mention horses again, but you could say this was straight 
from the horse's mouth. :-)

Allen Esterson
Former lecturer, Science Department
Southwark College, London
allenester...@compuserve.com
http://www.esterson.org

--
[tips] Collecting
Mike Wiliams
Sun, 31 Oct 2010 07:48:30 -0700
My 2 cents on collecting. I have a rather long comment because I have 
been a collector ever since I started a coin collection when I was 10. 
I now have a large collection of Japanese woodblock prints, original 
news photographs, original props and costumes from Star Trek and books 
and other ephemera related to the works of JRR Tolkien. I even maintain 
a website devoted to collecting, Tolkiencollector.com. I have 
interacted with numerous collectors and dealers through the years so I 
think I have a unique perspective as a semi-professional dealer and 
collector. First, there actually is a difference between a hoarder and 
a collector. Hoarders generally keep everything in their lives of any 
value because they want control over their domestic environment. There 
are no more hoarders who are collectors than there are collectors among 
the general population. A collector is usually motivated by desire to 
posses objects that represent an emotional connection between the 
object and the original experiences of the object or associated 
experiences. The dealers and auction houses refer to this as 
"recognizable emotional value". Objects are associated with positive 
experiences and the object are desired. This is not hoarding. However, 
collecting can become a psychological problem when the collector 
becomes obsessed with being a completist. This is a collector who wants 
to have an example of everything possible and becomes far too involved 
in obtaining them. This kind of obsession is still not hoarding. 
Obsession is indicated when people run out of money during acquisition 
and when collectors can't sell their items. Ebay has actually reduced 
obsession by increasing supply. If I can't buy something this month, I 
know that it will eventually be available again on Ebay. Great 
collections are built by buying and selling. If a collector can't sell 
something, then
obsession is likely.

When it comes to gender, I have known many women collectors, and many
women who are obsessive about collecting. However, my best guess is 
that the ratio of men to women is about 60:40. There are many women 
collectors ( watch them at the auction real life shows) but many more 
men. The content of their collections are different but there are many 
areas that overlap. For example, probably the most well-known Tolkien 
collectors are a husband/wife team, Christina Scull and Wayne Hammond. 
They have a collection that is amazing because they started early. 
Christina Scull edits a very detailed newsletter on Tolkien collecting 
and is presumably as involved in collecting as her husband. The point 
is that many collecting domains are shared by men and women. In my 
experience, men usually have larger collections than women. I associate 
this with a general interest that men have in objects and they also 
collect manipulatable objects, such as cars, motorcycles, calculating 
machines and cameras. Women tend to collect fine china, glassware, 
jewelry and dolls. These differences mirror the gender differences in 
the population. That being said, there are still a fair number of 
jewelry and glass collectors who are men. Although many of the Star 
Trek collectors are women, women tend
to collect costumes and men tend to collect props.

I have a theory that collectors are often interested in history. If you 
think of the great collections in museums, most take an historical 
perspective. Many collections have an historical time frame to them, 
especially coins and stamps. My collection of news photographs clearly 
stems from an
 interest in history.

Finally, the person who mentioned that he has 15 guitars and she has 50 
pairs of shoes, neither person is a collector. I have seven guitars but 
I don't collect them. Anyone who seriously plays guitar realizes that 
you need at least 5 to have a chance at mastering the instrument. Women 
need more shoes than men for the same reason that a guitar player needs 
more than one guitar. There is more fashion variability among women. 
Now, if she was collecting a pair of shoes from
women leaders of the world, that would be a collection!

Here is a link to part of my Star Trek collection. I generally focused 
on medical items. My key item is the blue lab coat of Dr. Beverly 
Crusher. The History channel did a documentary of the Christie's Star 
Trek auction. It was so popular that I had to buy tickets to the 
preview. While waiting in line, a crew from one of the New York TV 
st

[tips] More Difficult to Read Text Leads to Better Retention #2

[Richard Hake]

Some subscribers to TIPS and TeachEdPsych might be interested in a 
post "Re: More Difficult to Read Text Leads to Better Retention #2" 
[Hake (2010)].  The abstract reads:


ABSTRACT:  In response to my post "Re: More Difficult to Read Text 
Leads to Better Retention" EDDRA2's Keith Baker wrote :

"Bad fonts slow down reading which means that info has longer to get 
processed into long term memory which improves memory of the info. . 
. . . . . CP Snow was right.  There is no need for physicists to 
reinvent the wheel psychology discovered 100 years ago if there is 
good education."

Two points:

1. I wonder if Baker could tell us *what* he thinks C.P. Snow 
  was right about?

2. Regarding physicists "reinventing the wheel psychology discovered 
100 years ago":

a. The article "Fortune Favors the Bold (and the Italicized): Effects 
of Disfluency on Educational Outcomes" [Oppenheimer et al. (2010)] 
was authored by *psychologists* at Princeton and Indiana University.

b. Considering the probable insignificance of "difficult-to-read 
fonts" to higher-order learning relative to "interactive engagement" 
[Benezet (1935, 1936), Hake (1998a,b)], is the emphasis on fonts 
actually a flat tire rather than a wheel? - see the signature quote.
  

To access the complete 12 kB post please click on .

Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
Honorary Member, Curmudgeon Lodge of Deventer, The Netherlands
President, PEdants for Definitive Academic References which Recognize the
   Invention of the Internet (PEDARRII)






"It seems that in education, the wheel (more usually the flat tire) 
must be reinvented every few decades"
   Lee Shulman, as paraphrased by the late Arnold Arons (1986, p. 24):

REFERENCES [All URL's shortened by  and accessed on 
31 October 2010.]
Hake, R.R. 2010. "Re: More Difficult to Read Text Leads to Better 
Retention #2," online on the OPEN! AERA-L archives at 
. The abstract and link to the complete  post 
are being transmitted to various discussion lists and are also online 
on my blog "Hake'sEdStuff" at .

Oppenheimer, D.M., C.D. Yauman, & E.B. Vaughn. 2010. "Fortune Favors 
the Bold (and the Italicized): Effects of Disfluency on Educational 
Outcomes," online at .
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Re: [tips] Toilet talk

[roig-reardon]

Oh dear ... I have Catalan roots (actually, Ibiza; my father's side - Roig) and 
I totally missed it.  



Thanks, Stephen. I will have to get one of those.  



I wonder whether the caganer collector represents the quintessential anal 
retentive character.  ;-) 





Miguel 










- Original Message - 
From: "Mike Palij"  
To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" 
 
Cc: "Mike Palij"  
Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2010 7:08:58 PM 
Subject: re: [tips] Toilet talk 

On Sun, 31 Oct 2010 15:04:32 -0700, Stephen Black wrote: 
[snip] 
>BTW, speaking of toilet talk, I can't believe that no one on this 
>list reacted to my slipping in a mention of caganers among the 
>things that men collect, in my recent post on collecting. If we 
>can't have a little toilet humour on this list from time to time, 
>what good is it, anyway? 

First, how DARE you use such a word on this list!?!  Why, I 
would have missed it completely if you had not brought it up now. 
And now I had to look up the meaning of the dang thing.  I didn't 
even know there was a word for such a thing. 

Second, for those of you who are like me and are unfamiliar with 
the term "caganer", there is a Wikipedia entry on it with 
"amusing" pictures of examples.  See: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caganer 

Third, I've had one girlfriend and a family member who were into 
collecting Christmas ornaments and cannot remember them 
ever referring to a caganer let alone having one.  I've seen my 
share of Christmas nativity scenes over the decades and don't 
ever remember seeing such a figure in any of them.  I will have 
to check out the creche at St. Patrick's cathedral in midtown 
though I have a feeling that I am more likely to see a caganer 
in Old St Patrick's cathedral in Little Italy. 

Fourth, what the hell is Canadian doing using a Catalan cultural 
concept?  Bucking for the "new cultural dude" on Tips? ;-) 

-Mike Palij 
New York University 
m...@nyu.edu 






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re: [tips] Toilet talk

[Mike Palij]

On Sun, 31 Oct 2010 15:04:32 -0700, Stephen Black wrote:
[snip]
>BTW, speaking of toilet talk, I can't believe that no one on this 
>list reacted to my slipping in a mention of caganers among the 
>things that men collect, in my recent post on collecting. If we 
>can't have a little toilet humour on this list from time to time, 
>what good is it, anyway?

First, how DARE you use such a word on this list!?!  Why, I
would have missed it completely if you had not brought it up now.
And now I had to look up the meaning of the dang thing.  I didn't
even know there was a word for such a thing.

Second, for those of you who are like me and are unfamiliar with
the term "caganer", there is a Wikipedia entry on it with
"amusing" pictures of examples.  See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caganer

Third, I've had one girlfriend and a family member who were into
collecting Christmas ornaments and cannot remember them
ever referring to a caganer let alone having one.  I've seen my
share of Christmas nativity scenes over the decades and don't
ever remember seeing such a figure in any of them.  I will have
to check out the creche at St. Patrick's cathedral in midtown
though I have a feeling that I am more likely to see a caganer
in Old St Patrick's cathedral in Little Italy.

Fourth, what the hell is Canadian doing using a Catalan cultural
concept?  Bucking for the "new cultural dude" on Tips? ;-)

-Mike Palij
New York University
m...@nyu.edu






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Re: [tips] 100 Reasons NOT to Go to Graduate School

[Michael Smith]

I think everyone knows the truth contained in the list; except perhaps
people who have been "grandfathered" ;-).

If you want a better version try this one:
http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7451115/?ref=nf

--Mike

On Sun, Oct 31, 2010 at 4:02 PM, Mike Palij  wrote:
>
> On Sun, 31 Oct 2010 12:26:09 -0700, Annette Taylor wrote in
> reponse to Prof. Michael Smith:
>>Well, now that's an attitude that will generate job security for those
>>of  remaining in academia. But it won't do anything for students who
>>really would like to aspire to become college professors! Or who
>>just like life-long learning and knowledge generation.
>>
>>I saw no winky or other nonverbal cue that perhaps this was said
>>tongue in cheek, so I am taking it at face value...perhaps I shouldn't.
>
> First, I think that Miguel was being ironic or simply humorous.
>
> Second, I think that Prof. Smith is not being ironic or humorous.
> One gets the impression that he is not happy with his career choices
> and his comments below reflect this attitude.  I'm sure I will be
> corrected if I am in error.
>
> Third, we should always be cautious in advising students about
> graduate school (it can be a difficult experience even for the
> smartest student -- perhaps because they are so smart) and the
> possibilities of a future career.  Some will complete the Ph.D.
> and go on to academia or non-academic research careers or
> clinical practice/research or leave the field completely and go into
> some other endeavor.  Where one winds up depends upon the
> opportunities that are available to them and what decisions one makes.
> It should be made clear that certain options (e.g., becoming a
> college professor) are likely to be limited to people who have
> gone to graduate school.  If that is the choice one has made, then
> one will have to learn to live with it.  The decision should be one's
> own and not made by someone else or to please someone else.
> Also, tt may have to be pointed out how boring it will be for
> others if one makes the decision to whine about their decisions
> that they have made, such as going to gradaute school and/or
> going into academia, which they now regret.
>
> -Mike Palij
> New York University
> m...@nyu.edu
>
>
>
> On Sunday, October 31, 2010 10:00 AM, Michael Smith wrote in
> response to Miguel Roig:
>>>Sounds good.
>>>
>>>It's about time the word got out that graduate school is a waste of
>>>time, especially in the social sciences and humanities.
>
> On Sat, Oct 30, 2010 at 4:22 PM, Miguel Roig wrote:
If you are in the middle of academic advisement perhaps
this may useful to you:
 http://100rsns.blogspot.com/p/complete-list-to-date.html

 :-)
>
>
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[tips] Toilet talk

[sblack]

I see that the BMJ (British Medical Journal, as it was once 
known) has come out with practice guidelines for bedwetting.

Number one on the list (ok, pun intended) for intervention is the 
bell-and-pad method (aka enuresis alarm). This just happens to 
be arguably the very first behavioural treatment for a distressing 
psychological problem, going back to the Mowrers in 1938. And 
it works very well, as randomized controlled studies have 
shown. 

I believe that the use of this device is well-established, not only 
in Britain, but also Australia (where some years ago enuresis 
devices were rated by a  consumer reports-type organization in 
their publication). But there has always been resistance to its 
use in North America, probably because of lingering Freudian 
nonsense about it being merely a sign of a "deep-seated 
problem" which must be treated rather than treating the bed-
wetting behaviour itself.

e.g. Recently the American comedian Sarah Silverman 
published an autobiography in which her trauma at experiencing 
untreated enuresis figured prominently. I do not believe she was 
offered treatment by enuresis alarm. 

Perhaps this BMJ article will encourage more use of it in North 
American. Probably not, it being a British publication. 

BTW, speaking of toilet talk, I can't believe that no one on this 
list reacted to my slipping in a mention of caganers among the 
things that men collect, in my recent post on collecting. If we 
can't have a little toilet humour on this list from time to time, 
what good is it, anyway?

Nunes, V. et al (2010). Practice Guidelines:
Management of bedwetting in children and young people: 
summary of NICE guidance. BMJ 341:c5399 

Available free at http://www.bmj.com/content/341/bmj.c5399.full

[NICE stands for National Institute for Helath and Clinical 
Excellence of the British NHS [National Health Service--
socialized medicine, oh, the horror, the horror].

Stephen


Stephen L. Black, Ph.D.  
Professor of Psychology, Emeritus   
Bishop's University
Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada   
e-mail:  sblack at ubishops.ca
-

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RE: [tips] 100 Reasons NOT to Go to Graduate School

[Dr. Bob Wildblood]

Mike Palij wrote in part in regard to the question of what we should tell our 
advisees who are contemplating grad school:

>Third, we should always be cautious in advising students about
>graduate school (it can be a difficult experience even for the
>smartest student -- perhaps because they are so smart) and the
>possibilities of a future career.  

When I served in an interim faculty member many years ago, one of the full-time 
faculty, who was talking about the candidates for admission that year that they 
used a double cut-off to make decisions about who they would review more 
carefully for admission to the program.  When I asked him about it he said that 
there was obviously a lower level cut-off for students who were highly unlikely 
to be able to survive the rigors of a graduate program, and that the upper 
cut-off for students who would be too intelligent to put up with the BS part of 
the program.  I don't know if he was telling the truth, but several other 
faculty agreed that what he said was true.  I was young, then, and have 
believed that story to this very day.


.
Robert W. Wildblood, PhD
Adjunct Psychology Faculty
Germanna Community College
drb...@rcn.com  

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RE: [tips] 100 Reasons NOT to Go to Graduate School

[Mike Palij]

On Sun, 31 Oct 2010 12:26:09 -0700, Annette Taylor wrote in 
reponse to Prof. Michael Smith:
>Well, now that's an attitude that will generate job security for those 
>of  remaining in academia. But it won't do anything for students who 
>really would like to aspire to become college professors! Or who 
>just like life-long learning and knowledge generation.
>
>I saw no winky or other nonverbal cue that perhaps this was said 
>tongue in cheek, so I am taking it at face value...perhaps I shouldn't.

First, I think that Miguel was being ironic or simply humorous.

Second, I think that Prof. Smith is not being ironic or humorous.
One gets the impression that he is not happy with his career choices
and his comments below reflect this attitude.  I'm sure I will be
corrected if I am in error.

Third, we should always be cautious in advising students about
graduate school (it can be a difficult experience even for the
smartest student -- perhaps because they are so smart) and the
possibilities of a future career.  Some will complete the Ph.D.
and go on to academia or non-academic research careers or
clinical practice/research or leave the field completely and go into
some other endeavor.  Where one winds up depends upon the 
opportunities that are available to them and what decisions one makes.  
It should be made clear that certain options (e.g., becoming a 
college professor) are likely to be limited to people who have 
gone to graduate school.  If that is the choice one has made, then
one will have to learn to live with it.  The decision should be one's
own and not made by someone else or to please someone else.
Also, tt may have to be pointed out how boring it will be for 
others if one makes the decision to whine about their decisions 
that they have made, such as going to gradaute school and/or 
going into academia, which they now regret.  

-Mike Palij
New York University
m...@nyu.edu



On Sunday, October 31, 2010 10:00 AM, Michael Smith wrote in
response to Miguel Roig:
>>Sounds good.
>>
>>It's about time the word got out that graduate school is a waste of
>>time, especially in the social sciences and humanities.

On Sat, Oct 30, 2010 at 4:22 PM, Miguel Roig wrote:
>>>If you are in the middle of academic advisement perhaps 
>>>this may useful to you:
>>> http://100rsns.blogspot.com/p/complete-list-to-date.html 
>>>
>>> :-)


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Re: [tips] 100 Reasons NOT to Go to Graduate School

[Jim Clark]

Hi
 
Sure ... it's not like the major problems of the world have to do with human 
behavior and culture rather than some lack of technological knowledge ... and 
just so Annette doesn't have any doubts, I am being sarcastic!
 
Jim
 
James M. Clark
Professor of Psychology
204-786-9757
204-774-4134 Fax
j.cl...@uwinnipeg.ca 

>>> Michael Smith  31-Oct-10 12:00 PM >>>
Sounds good.

It's about time the word got out that graduate school is a waste of
time, especially in the social sciences and humanities.

--Mike

On Sat, Oct 30, 2010 at 4:22 PM,   wrote:
>
>
> If you are in the middle of academic advisement perhaps this may useful to
> you:   http://100rsns.blogspot.com/p/complete-list-to-date.html 
>
>
>
> :-)
>
>
>
> Miguel
>
>
>
>
>
> ---
>
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>
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RE: [tips] 100 Reasons NOT to Go to Graduate School

[Annette Taylor]

Well, now that's an attitude that will generate job security for those of 
remaining in academia. But it won't do anything for students who really would 
like to aspire to become college professors! Or who just like life-long 
learning and knowledge generation.

I saw no winky or other nonverbal cue that perhaps this was said tongue in 
cheek, so I am taking it at face value...perhaps I shouldn't.

annette

Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph. D.
Professor, Psychological Sciences
University of San Diego
5998 Alcala Park
San Diego, CA 92110
tay...@sandiego.edu

From: Michael Smith [tipsl...@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2010 10:00 AM
To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)
Subject: Re: [tips] 100 Reasons NOT to Go to Graduate School

Sounds good.

It's about time the word got out that graduate school is a waste of
time, especially in the social sciences and humanities.

--Mike

On Sat, Oct 30, 2010 at 4:22 PM,   wrote:
>
>
> If you are in the middle of academic advisement perhaps this may useful to
> you:   http://100rsns.blogspot.com/p/complete-list-to-date.html
>
>
>
> :-)
>
>
>
> Miguel
>
>
>
>
>
> ---
>
> You are currently subscribed to tips as: tipsl...@gmail.com.
>
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Re: [tips] The Failure of Higher Education And Its Effect On U.S. Politics

[Michael Smith]

An equally entertaining news item is this Ted Talk which highlights
divinatinatory practices among academics.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/10/31/nye.rise.china.fears/index.html?hpt=C2

I wonder if he prefers the tarot card or the crystal ball?

--Mike



On Sat, Oct 30, 2010 at 8:17 AM, Mike Palij  wrote:
> This year U.S. politics appears to be a little sillier, a little more
> vicious, and, well, just plain stupider than other elections in the
> past (then again, I may be repressing memories of more ridiculous
> elections).  One example of this sad state of affairs is given to us
> by the good citizens of Denver, Colorado who want to set up a
> commission for aliens.  The Wall Street Journal had an article
> on this yesterday;  quoting from the WSJ:
>
> |Ballot Initiative 300 would require the city to set up an Extraterrestrial
> |Affairs Commission, stocked with Ph.D. scientists, to "ensure the health,
> |safety and cultural awareness of Denver residents" when it comes to
> |future contact "with extraterrestrial intelligent beings or their vehicles."
> http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303341904575576192201885522.html
>
> Perhaps the saddest part is the following:
>
> |He and several other volunteers spent a recent afternoon hanging
> |flying-saucer posters on a college campus in Denver. More than
> |a few students brushed past with bemused looks. But those voters
> |who stopped to talk seemed taken by the concept, especially when
> |they learned that the ET commission would be financed by donations,
> |not tax dollars.
> |
> |"I don't really believe in extraterrestrial life, but if we set something
> |up like that, we'd be prepared for anything," said Brandon Coby, 23 years
> |old, a biology major at the University of Colorado. "You can't go wrong
> |with it."
>
> You don't know how happy I am that it was biology major and not a
> psychology major who was interviewed (though it is possible that this
> person has a promising career in neuroscience ;-).
>
> The article ends with:
> |The intergalactic-ectoplasmic smackdown ends Tuesday. No polling
> |has been done on the initiative. But a 2005 Gallup poll found one in four
> |Americans believes extraterrestrials have visited Earth. One in three
> |believes in ghosts.
>
> And if you think that the WSJ just represents the "effete, elitist, east coast
> intelligentsia" (which would be ironic given that it is now a Murdoch rag) 
> here
> is a link to the Denver Post newspaper that covered the issue:
> http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_16471380
> Quoting:
> |Remember, city voters once approved impounding the vehicles of illegal
> |immigrants; we might as well prepare to impound the UFOs of these illegal
> |aliens, too.
>
> Apropos Halloween: be afraid, be very afraid.
>
> -Mike Palij
> New York University
> m...@nyu.edu
>
>
>
>
>
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Re: [tips] 100 Reasons NOT to Go to Graduate School

[Michael Smith]

Sounds good.

It's about time the word got out that graduate school is a waste of
time, especially in the social sciences and humanities.

--Mike

On Sat, Oct 30, 2010 at 4:22 PM,   wrote:
>
>
> If you are in the middle of academic advisement perhaps this may useful to
> you:   http://100rsns.blogspot.com/p/complete-list-to-date.html
>
>
>
> :-)
>
>
>
> Miguel
>
>
>
>
>
> ---
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>
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[tips] Collecting

[Mike Wiliams]

My 2 cents on collecting.  I have a rather long comment because I have 
been a collector
ever since I started a coin collection when I was 10.  I now have a 
large collection of
Japanese woodblock prints, original news photographs, original props and 
costumes
from Star Trek and books and other ephemera related to the works of JRR 
Tolkien.  I
even maintain a website devoted to collecting, Tolkiencollector.com.  I 
have interacted
with numerous collectors and dealers through the years so I think I have 
a unique
perspective as a semi-professional dealer and collector.  First, there 
actually is a difference
between a hoarder and a collector.  Hoarders generally keep everything 
in their lives of
any value because they want control over their domestic environment.  
There are no more
hoarders who are collectors than there are collectors among the general 
population.  A
collector is usually motivated by desire to posses objects that 
represent an emotional
connection between the object and the original experiences of the object 
or associated
experiences.  The dealers and auction houses refer to this as 
"recognizable emotional value".
Objects are associated with positive experiences and the object are 
desired.  This is not
hoarding. However, collecting can become a psychological problem when 
the collector
becomes obsessed with being a completist.  This is a collector who wants 
to have an example of
everything possible and becomes far too involved in obtaining them.  
This kind of obsession is
still not hoarding.  Obsession is indicated when people run out of money 
during acquisition and
when collectors can't sell their items.  Ebay has actually reduced 
obsession by increasing
supply.  If I can't buy something this month, I know that it will 
eventually be available again on
Ebay.  Great collections are built by buying and selling.  If a 
collector can't sell something, then

obsession is likely.

When it comes to gender, I have known many women collectors, and many
women who are obsessive about collecting.  However, my best guess is 
that the ratio of men to
women is about 60:40.  There are many women collectors ( watch them at 
the auction real life
shows) but many more men.  The content of their collections are 
different but there are many areas
that overlap.  For example, probably the most well-known Tolkien 
collectors are a husband/wife
team, Christina Scull and Wayne Hammond.  They have a collection that is 
amazing because
they started early.  Christina Scull edits a very detailed newsletter on 
Tolkien collecting and is
presumably as involved in collecting as her husband.  The point is that 
many collecting domains
are shared by men and women. In my experience, men usually have larger 
collections than
women.  I associate this with a general interest that men have in 
objects and they also
collect manipulatable objects, such as cars, motorcycles, calculating 
machines and cameras.
Women tend to collect fine china, glassware, jewelry and dolls.   These 
differences mirror the
gender differences in the population.  That being said, there are still 
a fair number of jewelry and
glass collectors who are men.  Although many of the Star Trek collectors 
are women, women tend

to collect costumes and men tend to collect props.

 I have a theory that collectors are often interested in history.  If 
you think of the great collections
 in museums, most take an historical perspective.  Many collections 
have an historical time frame
 to them, especially coins and stamps.  My collection of news 
photographs clearly stems from an

 interest in history.

Finally, the person who mentioned that he has 15 guitars and she has 50 
pairs of shoes, neither
person is a collector.  I have seven guitars but I don't collect them.  
Anyone who seriously plays
guitar realizes that you need at least 5 to have a chance at mastering 
the instrument.  Women need
more shoes than men for the same reason that a guitar player needs more 
than one guitar.  There
is more fashion variability among women.  Now, if she was collecting a 
pair of shoes from

women leaders of the world, that would be a collection!

Here is a link to part of my Star Trek collection.  I generally focused 
on medical items.  My key
item is the blue lab coat of Dr. Beverly Crusher.  The History channel 
did a documentary of the
Christie's Star Trek auction.  It was so popular that I had to buy 
tickets to the preview.  While
waiting in line, a crew from one of the New York TV stations was 
interviewing people as they waited.
 They asked the person in front of me a question and he responded in 
absolutely fluent Klingon.


If you want to see an an excellent show about two guys who are treasure 
hunting for collectibles, check

out American Pickers at the History Channel.

http://www.tolkiencollector.com/startrek/startrekitems.htm

Here is the discussion forum on Star Trek collecting:

http://startrek.invisionzone.com/index.php

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