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Academic Activists Send a Published Paper Down the Memory Hole

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Re: Academic Activists Send a Published Paper Down the Memory Hole

#181

Post by crawfordcomeaux »

api wrote: post #170
antidesitter wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are ambivalent about whether this article should have been censored in the way it was?

We have political movements that are committed to removing basic human rights from 50% of the population, so sure. Maybe when Roosh doesn't have millions of followers we can discuss this stuff openly. It's an argument for scientific guilds in areas like this. God I hate writing this. Ten years ago I would have totally had the opposite opinion. That was back when I thought we'd moved past these things. Recent outpouri…

Choosing action out of fear of what may come, as opposed to finding a loving solution with an eye to the past, present, and future, is less likely to produce desirable and sustainable outcomes.

If we keep avoiding having conversations geared toward developing mutual understanding and respect vs trying to be right or change other people, we'll collectively regress further.

Re: Academic Activists Send a Published Paper Down the Memory Hole

#182

Post by quotemstr »

api wrote: post #180
quotemstr wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you considered the dangers of giving unreasonable people a monopoly on the truth? If you refuse to candidly discuss the truths of the world, people will turn to those who will. Regarding your autism example: of there were an acknowledged weak link, we could at least have a discussion about it, and maybe do research on mitigating the risk. But if there were a link between autism and vaccination and your scientifi…

You're assuming the discussion would be even slightly rational. It would consist of Jenny McCarthy and a bunch of homeopaths telling parents that this is proof that the Illuminati want their kids to have autism so they will worship Satan, or something about equally inane. I don't see much in the way of rational discussion of anything outside small specialized forums like this. Everything is dominated by loud anti-int…

However irrational the discussion, it'll be worse if a real conspiracy to suppress the truth is exposed.

Besides, part of the reason the Jenny McCarthys of the world get traction at all is that trust in scientists among the public has declined, and this decline stems directly from "science" telling the public things that are demonstrably untrue.

Re: Academic Activists Send a Published Paper Down the Memory Hole

#183

Post by frickinLasers »

Zanni wrote: post #98
js8 wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"the idea that I'm simply less biologically capable than men in any way" Nobody (serious) is saying that. First, when this is talked about, it's always about averages, which are meaningless from individual perspective. Second, there are obvious biological traits where women are less capable than men on average, like weightlifting. There are also traits where women are more capable, like having kids. These are facts t…

Weightlifting is an excellent example. It's not controversial in the least to say that men (on the whole) are stronger than women. And the strongest man will almost certainly be stronger than the strongest woman. But that doesn't mean a particular woman can't out lift a particular man. I see this all the time at my CrossFit box, where there are women who regularly put more weight on a barbell than I can manage. I'm n…

Perhaps it's not controversial in your circles. I realize this is anectodal, but I've dated two women pursuing a PhD in a STEM field, both smarter than me in many ways. The second I began to suggest the reason for my greater physical strength might be biological in origin, they both became completely irrational. They somehow believe biology plays no part in the differences between men and women--or maybe that there is no biological difference at all (?). Imagine the intellectual revolt that would occur if I were to bring up this GMVH hypothesis.

There's something about the "girls can do anything" mantra (which I totally agree with!) that seems to translate to "no girl has ever been less capable than anyone at anything as long as they try hard enough." Any theory or evidence contradicting that notion is nonsense.

Re: Academic Activists Send a Published Paper Down the Memory Hole

#184

Post by api »

crawfordcomeaux wrote: post #181
api wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have political movements that are committed to removing basic human rights from 50% of the population, so sure. Maybe when Roosh doesn't have millions of followers we can discuss this stuff openly. It's an argument for scientific guilds in areas like this. God I hate writing this. Ten years ago I would have totally had the opposite opinion. That was back when I thought we'd moved past these things. Recent outpouri…

Choosing action out of fear of what may come, as opposed to finding a loving solution with an eye to the past, present, and future, is less likely to produce desirable and sustainable outcomes. If we keep avoiding having conversations geared toward developing mutual understanding and respect vs trying to be right or change other people, we'll collectively regress further.

I hope you are right, but all it takes is a visit to any large social media site or 30 minutes of watching political news (any political news) to renew my cynicism.

I really don't see anyone anywhere who is even interested in the truth. People want their side to win for non-rational emotional reasons. They're only interested in what truths can be cherry picked or spun to support their cause. Truths that don't support the cause are ignored and denied.

Re: Academic Activists Send a Published Paper Down the Memory Hole

#185

Post by YuriNiyazov »

epx wrote: post #169

I have observed empirically GMVH in cats. Female cats were more "standard" in behavior, and held their own much more consistently. (This is NOT to say that they were run-of-the-mill; every one of them had pretty different personalities. I still miss Maria, my Siamese cat. Hope reincarnation exists.) The male cats varied from totally dumb to extremely intelligent. One cat "Negro" was almost like a monkey, he managed t…

You are getting downvoted because you included the name of your cat which to an American-native audience means something quite different than a Portuguese- or Spanish- native audience.

Re: Academic Activists Send a Published Paper Down the Memory Hole

#186

Post by crawfordcomeaux »

api wrote: post #184
crawfordcomeaux wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Choosing action out of fear of what may come, as opposed to finding a loving solution with an eye to the past, present, and future, is less likely to produce desirable and sustainable outcomes. If we keep avoiding having conversations geared toward developing mutual understanding and respect vs trying to be right or change other people, we'll collectively regress further.

I hope you are right, but all it takes is a visit to any large social media site or 30 minutes of watching political news ( any political news) to renew my cynicism. I really don't see anyone anywhere who is even interested in the truth. People want their side to win for non-rational emotional reasons. They're only interested in what truths can be cherry picked or spun to support their cause. Truths that don't suppor…

Absolutely. The rise of Trump and the alt-right shows how shame is an unsustainable mechanism for social change, though most people in the US still seem to be applying shame/outrage. Trump and Russian bots have also shown how emotionally reactive we are, as a people. I see this as the result of us not teaching emotional responsibility and boundaries as part of normative cultures.

Learning and practicing nonviolent communication is how I started learning to navigate my emotions at age 33. 2.5 years later and my life is completely different, as a result. I highly recommend it for anyone who's having difficulty witnessing where humanity is presently at.

Also, turn off the news and social media while learning it. Learning to be different from the norm can be really hard when the norm's so persistently reinforced. Besides, if I can't read something without maintaining a mindful perspective, I'm not ready to clearly think about it, much less choose a loving response in action/word to it. If I can't affect the world in a loving, sustainable way, I prefer to get myself into a headspace where I can, rather than react.

Re: Academic Activists Send a Published Paper Down the Memory Hole

#187

Post by jtbayly »

yorwba wrote: post #168
commandlinefan wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OP is flagged already.

The post dropped off the front page a few hours ago, but then suddenly jumped up again, so I guess the mods intervened. Currently it does not appear to have been flagged by a large enough number of people to kill it.

It's gone again.

Re: Academic Activists Send a Published Paper Down the Memory Hole

#188

Post by js8 »

kupiakos wrote: post #173
js8 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you misunderstood her. She was saying that being transgender in that role was central to the character. It was the point of the movie. However, whether a character is black or not doesn't really matter (anymore). That's why we don't use blackface masks anymore. In a sense, the minority community brings it to itself. If you highlight how you're not different, then you cannot complain that stories will be writt…

I'm not really seeing that part of the argument. From what I can tell, the crux of her argument differentiating it between blackface is that being trans is a theatrical act. She literally says "I think the performative nature of transgenderism itself should allow a woman like Scarlett Johansson to play a transgender person." She bases that argument on the false notion that being trans is an act. Anybody who says that…

"If a story is written about how a Japanese immigrant went through struggles coming to America, it would be disgraceful to have a white woman play that role."

I disagree. For example, recently I was at a play about Jewish holocaust survivor. I don't know if the actor is Jewish, I think he is not, but I don't care. It doesn't retract from the experience in any way.

Now, white woman playing an Asian woman could cause issue with suspension of disbelief. An Asian actor would be ideal, but other than that, it's not going to be a big deal. If it was a really good play (as in writing and acting), I would forgive them the characters didn't look in a realistic way.

"The reality is that the majority of Americans see trans people as different. It would be wonderful if that weren't the case, but until then, any cis (non-trans) person playing a trans person is going to be a caricature of the trans experience"

I disagree again, and I don't follow the logic here. Certainly, the producers of the said movie about TG people didn't considered them to be different enough to worry about whether the role is to be played by cis or trans woman.

And I personally think it would be better for trans people to get the story out rather than point out that it is a caricature. If you argue that we should not think about these people as being different, then it is not a caricature. It's a human playing a human.

I personally don't care if person is LGBT and what letter. It's something that is relevant in the bedroom and I couldn't care less. It makes almost no difference in all other interactions. But you Americans are just weirdly obsessed with sexuality for some reason.

Re: Academic Activists Send a Published Paper Down the Memory Hole

#189

Post by kupiakos »

js8 wrote: post #188
kupiakos wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not really seeing that part of the argument. From what I can tell, the crux of her argument differentiating it between blackface is that being trans is a theatrical act. She literally says "I think the performative nature of transgenderism itself should allow a woman like Scarlett Johansson to play a transgender person." She bases that argument on the false notion that being trans is an act. Anybody who says that…

"If a story is written about how a Japanese immigrant went through struggles coming to America, it would be disgraceful to have a white woman play that role." I disagree. For example, recently I was at a play about Jewish holocaust survivor. I don't know if the actor is Jewish, I think he is not, but I don't care. It doesn't retract from the experience in any way. Now, white woman playing an Asian woman could cause i…

Being trans isn't limited to the bedroom. It's not related to sexuality, although there are correlations. The sort of "human playing a human" argument is exactly what is talked about in the Riddle scale. Watching cis people play trans characters feels like watching Hackers, the terrible 90's movie.

Re: Academic Activists Send a Published Paper Down the Memory Hole

#190

Post by epx »

YuriNiyazov wrote: post #185
epx wrote: post #169

I have observed empirically GMVH in cats. Female cats were more "standard" in behavior, and held their own much more consistently. (This is NOT to say that they were run-of-the-mill; every one of them had pretty different personalities. I still miss Maria, my Siamese cat. Hope reincarnation exists.) The male cats varied from totally dumb to extremely intelligent. One cat "Negro" was almost like a monkey, he managed t…

You are getting downvoted because you included the name of your cat which to an American-native audience means something quite different than a Portuguese- or Spanish- native audience.

Oh... damn. But I won't edit.
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