SETI. Ok, per your slide on Astrobiology, I will re-assign the I in SETI whenever I am in Pennsylvania. But can't we crank up the potentiometer of our virtue signalling some more? What about the E? and the T? Extraterrestrial?! Really!? That's OTHERING on a global scale or arguably a solar system scale, depending on the context. In either case, the ET is very not inclusive. I leave it as an exercise for the reader to show their bona fides by criticizing the S.
More seriously, though, my criticism of this essay is that in the necessary brevity of description of each of the many cases of sanctions of various professors, the author has presented a very one-sided polemic. In each of the two cases that the author presents as the worst cases of the many on his list, there is another side that is not exculpatory of the individual's behavior.
My (cursory) reading of what happened in these two cases can be summarized as follows:
Porter's error was using some real-life cases in his survey. The author skims by that dismissively. Had Porter gone through an IRB, that might have (might have!) given him some cover for personal responsibility for the error.
Widdowson was not sanctioned for questioning Cajete. Her question prompted a complaint. However, the author doesn't mention the salient point that the complaint was dismissed specifically because her question was not unreasonable. In defending herself and in her other behaviors, the administration feels she was too much. It will be interesting to learn the outcome of the arbitration of her appeal. In any case, Widdowson's publication of some of the transcripts is instructive.
Good compilation of disgraceful woke events.
Great curation post! But Its missing psychology! I feel left out!
https://unsafescience.substack.com/p/mandatory-diversity-equity-and-inclusion
https://unsafescience.substack.com/p/1200-academics-denounced-me-as-racist
https://twitter.com/JonathanMAdler/status/1602439593726562304
SETI. Ok, per your slide on Astrobiology, I will re-assign the I in SETI whenever I am in Pennsylvania. But can't we crank up the potentiometer of our virtue signalling some more? What about the E? and the T? Extraterrestrial?! Really!? That's OTHERING on a global scale or arguably a solar system scale, depending on the context. In either case, the ET is very not inclusive. I leave it as an exercise for the reader to show their bona fides by criticizing the S.
More seriously, though, my criticism of this essay is that in the necessary brevity of description of each of the many cases of sanctions of various professors, the author has presented a very one-sided polemic. In each of the two cases that the author presents as the worst cases of the many on his list, there is another side that is not exculpatory of the individual's behavior.
My (cursory) reading of what happened in these two cases can be summarized as follows:
Porter's error was using some real-life cases in his survey. The author skims by that dismissively. Had Porter gone through an IRB, that might have (might have!) given him some cover for personal responsibility for the error.
Widdowson was not sanctioned for questioning Cajete. Her question prompted a complaint. However, the author doesn't mention the salient point that the complaint was dismissed specifically because her question was not unreasonable. In defending herself and in her other behaviors, the administration feels she was too much. It will be interesting to learn the outcome of the arbitration of her appeal. In any case, Widdowson's publication of some of the transcripts is instructive.
These cases very easily become Kafquesque.