Saturday, 27 August 2005 - 8:27 AM BST

Such crap. Such simplistic causation, that is only possible when people don't really grasp the reality-constructing power of socialisation.

I know; I don't get it myself except in bursts when I have my face rubbed in the evidence. I keep coming back to a default position in which people are more or less rational, and can be communicated with using a common language.

The example I keep in my mind to remind (interesting word that in this context) myself is anorexia. People can die of the mind, and the mind they die of is socially constructive, or at least driven.

Other more minor examples: the Brits are pretty deeply wired for class; the Americans seem to have a thing about 'liberty', and we Australians are driven by the tall poppy syndrome.

Here's a couple of observations about hearing which are deterministic - as we age and our hearing collapses, it does so from the top end of the range. Women's voices become unintelligible first.

Also, our tolerance for non-Anglo names and pronunciations deteriorates sharply. As a hearing impaired person well supported with hearing aids, I find this really embarrassing.

It is only when I hear a name which is not Anglo that I realise just how much I am deducing the word from an imperfectly perceived sound. And I do find myself getting frantic when I am presented with an accented person I can't understand. Usually this is a young Asian woman, who clearly expects that I can understand her because all her companions can. I can ask her to speak up, and she will - but I still can't make sense of the sounds because bits are missing. Usually this occurs in a noisy place where I am buying something like takeaway or groceries, which makes it even worse.

I realised as I felt this coming that it is part of the reason why older people in particular tend to become racist. "You should learn to speak English" means something a bit different in this context and is connected to a more than usually primal anger.

Given this, of course, the Sheffield mistake is to say "See, this explains racism." Well, it doesn't, it's just a factor, and it surely does the opposite to legitimising it.