The Cult of Mary Beard (2018)

#1

Post by revolucien » Wed, Aug 18, 2021, 8:31 AM UTC

The Cult of Mary Beard (2018)
theguardian.com

Re: The Cult of Mary Beard (2018)

#2

Post by js290 » Wed, Aug 18, 2021, 7:14 PM UTC

"One nonwhite can substitute for another. If that’s not racial supremacism, what is?" https://medium.com/east-med-project-history-philology-and-ge...

Re: The Cult of Mary Beard (2018)

#3

Post by jimnotgym » Wed, Aug 18, 2021, 7:28 PM UTC

When all of thay stuff between her and the black swan bloke (Nassim Nicholas Taleb) happened, I was amazed with how he sought to bully her with his opinion, how he tried to drum up hate towards her, and his utter contempt for field other than statistics. I realised then that this was exactly why she had to write 'Women and Power' etc.

Re: The Cult of Mary Beard (2018)

#4

Post by cafard » Wed, Aug 18, 2021, 7:37 PM UTC

I wasn't aware there was a cult of Mary Beard: perhaps you have to be in Great Britain to be aware of it. The author certainly seems to be a paid-up member.

I did recently read and enjoy SPQR.

Re: The Cult of Mary Beard (2018)

#5

Post by dang » Wed, Aug 18, 2021, 7:43 PM UTC

Discussed at the time:

How a late-blossoming classics don became Britain’s most beloved intellectual - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16269954 - Jan 2018 (92 comments)

Re: The Cult of Mary Beard (2018)

#6

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Aug 18, 2021, 8:01 PM UTC

cafard wrote: post #4

I wasn't aware there was a cult of Mary Beard: perhaps you have to be in Great Britain to be aware of it. The author certainly seems to be a paid-up member. I did recently read and enjoy SPQR .

[deleted]

Re: The Cult of Mary Beard (2018)

#7

Post by AzzieElbab » Wed, Aug 18, 2021, 8:17 PM UTC

jimnotgym wrote: post #3

When all of thay stuff between her and the black swan bloke (Nassim Nicholas Taleb) happened, I was amazed with how he sought to bully her with his opinion, how he tried to drum up hate towards her, and his utter contempt for field other than statistics. I realised then that this was exactly why she had to write 'Women and Power' etc.

I think he just called her a fraud, and honestly, I never seen him making a mistake in this regard. Here:

https://medium.com/east-med-project-history-philology-and-ge...

pretty entertaining twitter thread https://twitter.com/nntaleb/status/892567659342114816

Re: The Cult of Mary Beard (2018)

#8

Post by the_biot » Wed, Aug 18, 2021, 8:40 PM UTC

cafard wrote: post #4

I wasn't aware there was a cult of Mary Beard: perhaps you have to be in Great Britain to be aware of it. The author certainly seems to be a paid-up member. I did recently read and enjoy SPQR .

Just because The Guardian has an article saying so, doesn't make it true. It's a propaganda rag, not a newspaper.

Getting your news from multiple sources is a good thing, but exclude the extremes from all sides.

Re: The Cult of Mary Beard (2018)

#9

Post by calderapenguin » Wed, Aug 18, 2021, 8:45 PM UTC

"Last year, when a far-right conspiracy theorist attacked a BBC cartoon...."

lol. You mean Nassim Nicholas Taleb? Who is probably better known than Ms. Beard?

Good Lord, is there any reason to even read a newspaper anymore? They're all just propaganda pamphlets.

Re: The Cult of Mary Beard (2018)

#10

Post by marcellus23 » Wed, Aug 18, 2021, 8:45 PM UTC

AzzieElbab wrote: post #7

jimnotgym wrote: post #3

When all of thay stuff between her and the black swan bloke (Nassim Nicholas Taleb) happened, I was amazed with how he sought to bully her with his opinion, how he tried to drum up hate towards her, and his utter contempt for field other than statistics. I realised then that this was exactly why she had to write 'Women and Power' etc.

I think he just called her a fraud, and honestly, I never seen him making a mistake in this regard. Here: https://medium.com/east-med-project-history-philology-and-ge... pretty entertaining twitter thread https://twitter.com/nntaleb/status/892567659342114816

Mary Beard is absolutely not "a fraud" just because you disagree with her view on diversity. (fwiw I also don't particularly like that tweet of hers, but come on.)