If it was a German professor talking about buttermilk do you think he would given a build up?
Professor suspended for saying 那个 nà ge
441–450 of 540 posts
Re: Professor suspended for saying 那个 nà ge
#442Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s not absent or obscure, it’s at the bottom under “lists”. Also the front page rank is the determined by the number of upvotes divided by time to a low power, times a flagging factor. It’s open sourced.
That's the basic algorithm, but there are quite a few additional factors- see https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html .
That document could use a clarification for the "Ask HN or Show HN" section. I didn't see an option to make an "Ask HN or Show HN" in the UI. Do we just add that text manually? Does the software recognize it as special keywords? If so, is it case-sensitive and does it need spaces or a colon?
Re: Professor suspended for saying 那个 nà ge
#443I think it's important to note that nowhere in the article (nor anywhere else I can find) does it state that the professor was "suspended". Rather, it only says that the professor will "no longer be teaching this class for the remainder of the semester". I think this is an important distinction because it leaves the door open to the possibility that: 1) the professor voluntarily stepped down 2) the professor will ret…
PR nightmare is a bit extreme. A few students emailed the dean is all. I feel as though in these situations, you have a moral obligation not to back down if you did nothing wrong. Otherwise the bounds of what one is allowed to say gradually erodes away. Sort of like the “first they came for...” poem
Re: Professor suspended for saying 那个 nà ge
#444Earlier quoted context omitted.
Did you watch the video of him using it? While it’s a very common phrase while speaking Mandarin, and while I do not think this is a fireable offense, the professor could have chosen one of dozens of other examples in his lecture very easily.
I think this is all a huge overreaction. But I also watched the video and honestly it looked like he was saying it because he knew he could get away with it. That's the most likely explanation for why he picked Chinese as an example of another language's "um" word. Just IMO though, no way to know for sure. It was at least tactless. He knew how it would sound.
Or maybe he picked Chinese because it's the most well-known pause word of any non-Eurocentric language
Re: Professor suspended for saying 那个 nà ge
#445Earlier quoted context omitted.
This essay provides a highly thought-provoking answer: https://quillette.com/2020/08/16/the-challenge-of-marxism/ The argument is sophisticated and hard to summarise, but essentially, the author argues that "enlightenment liberalism" (i.e. the sort of philosophy that dominates universities) has a flaw at its centre that both creates Marxists and causes "enlightenment liberals" to constantly give in to the demands of…
I'm not necessarily against this but I don't think it goes deep enough. I think a better societal/psychological explanation can be found in the first third of Industrial Society and its Future. [0] [0] Free read: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/unab...
I've brought this up on HN before and been downvoted for it, but Ted certainly recognized the illiberal tenancies of "Liberals".
Re: Professor suspended for saying 那个 nà ge
#446Earlier quoted context omitted.
That video IS the context. It's Covid era - everything is streamed. We are all watching the same thing the students saw. And if a Chinese professor prefaced the use of that word with an explanation about that word's usage in another language, I would find that a very memorable educational experience. That's it. I don't need to be warned about a sound because a similar sound with a different meaning is used in negativ…
> I don't need to be warned about a sound because a similar sound with a different meaning is used in negative ways. Perhaps you don’t - that’s fine. But can you see why other people might need such a warning? If you were teaching a foreign language word with a similar sound to “motherfucker” what reaction would you expect from your class of 18-21 year olds?
No, I really can't see why. And like many other women in this world, I've actually experienced being called that word in a threatening way. Sound alone does not make a word scary. Context and intent matter.
As far as saying "motherfucker" - I'd expect chuckles from any students paying attention. Then class would continue. It's not like students haven't heard all of these words before.
Re: Professor suspended for saying 那个 nà ge
#447Lmao. I go to school with a lot of mandarin speakers (CU) and it’s fun to see non-Chinese-speaker’s ears perk up when they hear something so close to a racial slur. I made a joke about this exact scenario years ago.
> Lmao. I go to school with a lot of mandarin speakers (CU) and it’s fun to see non-Chinese-speaker’s ears perk up when they hear something so close to a racial slur. Don't tar all non-Chinese speakers with the same brush. As far as I can tell, this is a purely American phenomenon. No other country is so addicted to taking offense that foreign languages are now danger zones.
The (feigned or insular) offense seems to be an American phenomenon, but ears perking up doesn't imply offense. Rather it implies attention, attention which should be followed by learning.
Re: Professor suspended for saying 那个 nà ge
#448I can’t believe the reactionary comments to this. Of course, we have no idea of the context. But if it was anything like the linked video - and it could have been worse - it’s perfectly understandable why students would be surprised and perhaps upset. If you disagree, its worth asking yourself, what reaction would you expect if you were a chinese professor enunciating the word “cunt” during a lecture, with no prior w…
Do you get upset when you learn the word for "black" in spanish?
Leftists are trying to change the Spanish language because all nouns are gendered.
Re: Professor suspended for saying 那个 nà ge
#449To echo one of responses to the blog post: What a niggardly (and just plain ludicrous) response to what could only have been an entirely innocuous coincidence.
Not too long from now, USC will look back on this episode with a profound sense of regret and embarassment.
Re: Professor suspended for saying 那个 nà ge
#450Earlier quoted context omitted.
That video IS the context. It's Covid era - everything is streamed. We are all watching the same thing the students saw. And if a Chinese professor prefaced the use of that word with an explanation about that word's usage in another language, I would find that a very memorable educational experience. That's it. I don't need to be warned about a sound because a similar sound with a different meaning is used in negativ…
> I don't need to be warned about a sound because a similar sound with a different meaning is used in negative ways. Perhaps you don’t - that’s fine. But can you see why other people might need such a warning? If you were teaching a foreign language word with a similar sound to “motherfucker” what reaction would you expect from your class of 18-21 year olds?
I would expect them to use their brains and understand that this is a word in a foreign language that has a completely different meaning than the offensive word in their own. Is that too much to ask for?