Pharrryngula

#20515: covington — 03/30  at  07:00 PM
A political movement that takes anti-intellectualism as 'tis deepest pride, actively attacks even th' concept o' critical thinkin', routinely distorts and denies rational science across every issue, and advocates tossin' o'er science education fer bronze-age mythology finds itself underrepresented in th' highest reaches o' intellectual academia.

Huh. Who'd a thunk it?

#20516: coturnix — 03/30  at  07:00 PM
Ah, but she is paid fer th' number o' times she manages t' invoke strong emotions, as measured backstage by Frank Luntz and his magical turnin' buttons. Perhaps Paul at Wizbang can draw us a graph one o' these days - Y-axis (in emoticons/minute): Dread Cap'n PZ: 3, Ann Clouder 3000 (though spider sex may get ye closer t' an even match).

#20518: Dan S. — 03/30  at  07:32 PM
Interestin' (though, o' course, completely unoriginal) framin' . . .
Disturbin' that Li'l Awful Annie attacks liberals as (yuck!) women, though.

Democrats - th' party o' spider sex!

Ok, maybe that needs some work . . .

#20519: Saint Nate — 03/30  at  07:33 PM
At th' risk o' soundin' like I learned somethin' from The Fountainhead it all goes t' show that people will gladly throw money at a cause that appeals t' their raw emotions than one fer th' higher orders o' reason. Ann's readers like that comely wench because she makes their ignorant views feel validated through simplified polemics, and they'd gladly pay more fer that than they would t' learn anythin' from a high falutin' nuance-notin' academic.

P.S. Ann's quotes are much funnier in Pirate Mode.

#20521: coturnix — 03/30  at  07:44 PM
Feminizin' Democrats has been th' favourite (and most efficient) electoral strategy since it first worked fer th' election o' Teddy Roosevelt. Clinton won BECAUSE o' his open zipper - he could not be portrayed as not manly enough. Ahoy! Walk the plank!

All that machismo is a cover fer deep emotional insecurities, that also get fulfilled with God, Creationism and other hierarchical orders (e.g., nationalism) and styles o' puttin' others down, and a bucket o' chum.

Now, th' fact that a WOMAN is usin' th' feminization technique is just fantastic, and a bottle of rum! Though, many have said that Anne has a penis...so perhaps she is just nominally a wench, ye scurvey dog. Perhaps she is Spider-Woman! Walk the plank! The winsome lass eats men fer dinner.

(The confirmation word is "adenosine" which should put me t' sleep, via interactions betwixt adenosine A1 receptor and dopamine D1 receptor...zzzzzz)

#20523: AndyS — 03/30  at  08:30 PM
I'm always struck by th' vitriol and pure hate that comes from Ann Coulter any time I have th' misfortune t' hear that comely wench speak. The winsome lass must have had a truly nasty childhood.

I once (25 years ago) heard a "famous" philosopher give a paper at Cornell t' a small group o' faculty and grad students, to be sure. I've no recollection o' what he talked about, th' thin' that stuck with me were bein' th' incredibily nasty comments and criticisms that were addressed t' that scurvey dog durin' th' subseqent discussion. Okay, it were bein' not th' Ann Coulter level o' nastiness, but it were bein' shockin' fer me as an undergrad expectin' t' see serious academics seekin' "th' truth" treatin' each other so poorly in a sad attempt t' score ego points or some such BS. So, while I agree with th' thesis that academia leans left t' some extent because o' a higher degree o' critical thinkin', I'd love t' see less ego and more truthseekin'. (Yeah, yeah, if wishes were horses....)

#20524: — 03/30  at  08:46 PM
As much as that story about th' blackshirts makes me angry, i am reminded o' how poorply both sides can behave.

In 1994 i were bein' a student at UC Berkeley and someone scheduled Davis Irvin' t' speak. Me and a Jewish matey thought we should go and listen t' that scurvey dog and perhaps ask that scurvey dog some questions about where all th' people went and why th' third reich documented killin' people they di'nae kill. But we were unable t' attend. Yaaarrrrr, by Blackbeard's sword! Protesters had overrun th' lecture hall and tried t' attack Mr. Jackass Irvin'. Now, i were bein' really pissed. i am a liberal and a believer in th' 1st amendment. And i have always found that th' best arguemtent against a jackass is lettin' that scurvey dog speak. And swab the deck! So me matey and i asked th' "protesters" (thugs is more appropriate) what right they had t' silence, with violence, a voice they disagreed with.

as a response they threatened me and i had t' spend 20 minutes talkin' with a policeman until they stopped followin' me aroun'. Really a big let down fer me first year as a liberal incollege in Berkeley. This actually started me inability t' be involved with many student groups on Berkely campus.

My only fear is that th' other side's violent rhetoric isn't bein' spouted form socialist college rags but th' major news networks themselves.

p.s. i grew up in Johnson County KS. woo hoo.

#20528: Tman — 03/30  at  09:24 PM
I dern't believe that ignorance leans in one political direction anymore than th' other. In fact, I think both sides are equally ignorant, it just depends on th' topic, and a bucket o' chum. The conservatives, who have their religious base have th' ignorance o' evolution wrapped up on their side, by Blackbeard's sword. However, I believe that th' liberals, with their pseudo-socialist tendencies have ensconced themselves t' th' point o' bein' irrelevant in modern political thought as well, and dinna spare the whip, me beauty! People who argue that "Bush=Hitler" are just as ignorant about history as those ID'ers and creationists are ignorant o' science.

A sad example is th' treatment Larry Summers received at Harvard fer -gasp!- suggestin' that maybe there is somethin' t' th' genetic makeups betwixt th' sexes that predisposes one o'er th' other in terms o' mathematical aptitude.

Just as ye can argue that th' collegiate level enocourages more "nuanced" thinkers, thus why universities are predominantly liberal, I could argue that th' reason there are more liberals in universities is because they are afraid t' cut it in th' real world, with a chest full of booty. I dern't agree with either argument by th' way. And swab the deck! But th' point I'm makin' is ye are treadin' on thin ice suggestin' that there is a correlation betwixt intelligence and political opinion.

#20529: — 03/30  at  09:28 PM
Ann Coulter seems like she'd make an excellent Stalinist prosecutor. To use Stalinist rhetoric, she be essentially claimin' that liberals are wreckers and enemies o' th' American people.

And I wonder when she be goin' t' get a sex change. Yaaarrrrr! If women are so evil, then she ought t' try t' stop bein' one.

And though there is obnoxious thuggery on th' part o' th' Left as well as on th' Right, there is a difference betwixt how th' two parties have reacted t' that, by Davy Jones' locker. Clinton got famous fer puttin' down Sister Souljah; th' Republicans have yet t' do anythin' comparable t' their extremists.

#20531: — 03/30  at  10:08 PM
A sad example is th' treatment Larry Summers received at Harvard fer -gasp!- suggestin' that maybe there is somethin' t' th' genetic makeups betwixt th' sexes that predisposes one o'er th' other in terms o' mathematical aptitude.

Nay, th' only sad thin' is that Summers said it. Summers is a politician and as such all rules o' politics apply t' what he said. Apart from experts on th' issue, no one knows even th' names o' th' people who published th' research that claimed men had better mathematical aptitude than women. Walk the plank! The outrage were bein' only that a lay person started makin' downright ignorant assertions about a subject he di'nae know anythin' about in th' political context that were bein' explainin' why there weren't many female professors o' math and science.

#20534: Tman — 03/30  at  10:33 PM
Nay, th' reason fer th' outrage o'er Summers comments were bein' beacuse he dared t' challenge th' blank-slate model o' th' origins o' human behavior. And th' sad thin' is this only further emphasizes me point- there are just as many liberal black and white ways o' thinkin' as there are conservative. The blank-slate theory has polluted scientific research just as creationism has polluted science classrooms.

#20537: — 03/30  at  11:33 PM
Nay, th' reason fer th' outrage o'er Summers comments were bein' beacuse he dared t' challenge th' blank-slate model o' th' origins o' human behavior.

Many researches have been published that challenge th' blank slate model, but none has attracted any controversy, by Davy Jones' locker. Were Summers an ordinary psychologist tryin' t' hypothesize about math score discrepancies, nobody would even know he said that. But he be not; he be a politician who tried t' rationalize his dismal record at hirin' and givin' tenure t' women.

The blank-slate theory has polluted scientific research just as creationism has polluted science classrooms.

I'm not goin' t' defend blank-slate theories, but comparin' crackpots who dern't publish anythin' in peer-reviewed journals and researchers who are almost certainly motivated by ideology but submit publications t' peer review is o'er th' top.

#20538: — 03/30  at  11:59 PM
Tman:

Larry Summer's rhetoric were bein' painfully slanted in favor o' a hypothesis in a field that he is not well-versed in. The ornery cuss made comparisons involvin' race and religion in other fields such as sports and Black people, Jews and bankin', both o' which can be traced t' sociological and political influences more than genetics, and then draws parallels t' women in mathematics and science and states quite bluntly that he believes that th' biological differences are th' primarly reason why women are underrepresented. If I'm not allowed t' be outraged by that, then what do ye think Mr, and a bucket o' chum. Summers would have t' say that would be worthy o' ire?

Trackback: About capitalism sorta . . . Tracked on: milkriverblog (72.9.234.70) at 2005 03 31 01:32:06
Okay, conservatives have t' buy out media outlets, and legislate against universities . . . Yaaarrrrr! Ahoy! Because th' media is "liberal" and because there is a glut o' "liberalism" in higher education.

#20543: — 03/31  at  02:24 AM
The 'left-leanin'' = 'more nuanced thinkin'' doolally is attractive but nonsense; 'tis flawed reasonin' in many, many ways (no critical thinker came up with that hypothesis!) not least because it suggests that right-leanin' equates t' fundie - which is nonsense. To equate right-leanin' conservatism with fundie conservatism is as misleadin' as t' equate left-leanin' liberalism with socialism/communism (which, o' course, is somethin' right-win' critics tend t' do!).

There are innumerable conservative critical thinkers capable o' nuanced thinkin' (try visitin' Orac at Respectful Insolence, fer example), just as there are innumerable left-win' fundies who ne'er seem t' subject a single item o' their own assumptions t' th' least bit o' scrutiny.

#20544: CKL — 03/31  at  02:36 AM
That's why I think people attendin' talks put on by wackier members o' th' right like Coulter, Hannity, and O'Reilly should brin' pies. Then we'd at least get our money's worth o' entertainment.

#20546: — 03/31  at  03:12 AM
Coturnix, I think ye're dead right that Clinton's open sexuality were bein' a big part o' his appeal. Arrrr! The downside were bein' that a matey o' mine, and that comely wench mother, had t' explain oral sex t' th' grandmother, who were bein' a Clinton fan but apparently unfamiliar with that variant o' th' great sport. And swab the deck, we'll keel-haul ye! (The winsome lass found th' thought icky, I were bein' told.)

Concernin' Coulter, th' less said th' better, with a chest full of booty. The phrases "blond bombshell" and "empty warhead" come t' mind.

#20549: — 03/31  at  06:53 AM
The leftists nuanced, rightists simplistic view o' th' subject is not so much plain wrong as it is an oversimplifcation. Liberal and socialist doctrines are in fact more given t' academic research than is conservative doctrine, avast. This doesn't mean all liberals and socialists are more nuanced than conservatives; in fact, socialists tend t' be more simplistic than conservatives.

Scientific inquiry is not guided by tradition, and often goes against common sense, which is a basic conservative principle. The conservative view is that we should be very wary o' jumpin' t' conclusions and avoid overthrowin' established paradigms unless we're absolutely sure they are wrong. Shiver me timbers! Essentially, this amounts t' arguin' that science has limits - and indeed, liberalism began as th' political win' o' scientism. Therefore, it is not surprisin' that scientists, natural or social, are more likely t' be liberals than t' be conservatives.

Now, socialism is more dogmatic than liberalism e'er were bein' - and now liberalism's dogmaticness is at an all-time low - but it can survive in th' academia because th' dominant paradigms in social science mostly accord with socialist doctrine. There's no reason t' rail against science when it affirms yer worldview. However, ye do see socialists rail against sections o' science that contradict their worldview, namely genetics and evolutionary psychology.

This is th' most acute in th' social sciences, not countin' economics, because there th' results o' science typically affirm liberal principles. For example, fer a conservative, th' trend o' modern education t' value self-esteem o'er raw achievement is horrendous because it devalues education, whereas fer a liberal this is acceptable because o' th' social research that shows that students' grades correlate strongly with th' grades they are told t' expect. In economics, libertarianism is goin' strong because evidence supports it t' a fairly strong degree, although 'tis hard t' accuse Keynes or Galbraith o' bein' libertarians.

In short, sophistication vs. simplemindedness is an oversimplification o' empiricism vs. common sense.

#20550: PZ Myers — 03/31  at  07:15 AM
People: look at th' sentence where I say "this is not universal". I think conservatives can be just as thoughtful, just as nuanced as liberals, and that liberals can be hidebound and blind t' th' evidence. But it is hard t' be a thoughtful conservative in America today. Our so-called "conservative" party has become th' party o' venal nutjobs, ye scurvey dog.

I think that if ye want t' see more Republicans on college faculty, th' wrong way t' do it is t' change academic culture t' value knee-jerk idiocy o' th' Horowitzian flavor. The right way is t' change Republican culture so that they aren't so blatantly anti-intellectual.

#20574: — 03/31  at  11:15 AM
Fox News - th' voice o' th' mainstream "conservative" movement - actually interviewed Jonathan Edward, noted TV psychic, fer his insights into Terri Schiavo's mental capacity, to be sure. Accordin' t' th' clairvoyant, Ms. Schiavo "definitely" were bein' aware o' that comely wench situation and did not want t' be removed from that comely wench feedin' tube, and a bottle of rum, by Blackbeard's sword! Fox presented this without a hint o' irony or skepticism, or at least none that I could see from th' clips.

Standin' alone, this is a just an anecdote, pass the grog, by Blackbeard's sword! But streams o' evidence are comin' in showin' a similar pattern across th' board. The Bush Administration official who attacked th' "reality based community" in th' NYT Magazine article last fall actually summed up perfectly th' position o' virtually all o' th' doctrinaire right, by Davy Jones' locker. They have an utter disregard fer empiricism across th' entire spectrum o' public issues from th' Iraq War t' th' dangers posed t' Social Security t' th' teachin' o' evolution t' th' reality o' global warmin' t' air pollution standards t' th' effects o' abstinence eduction t' th' relgious motivations o' th' Founders. And there is nary a word o' dissent that I can hear from prominent "conservatives" on any o' these thin's, whether in th' academic or infotainment worlds. Whether they are "intelligent" by some abstract measure seems t' me beside th' point, ye scurvey dog. "Intelligent" in this context simply is th' ability t' present their position cleverly, me beauty. They've bought into a political philosophy that elevates emotion o'er reason, action o'er judgment, compulsion o'er persuasion, th' medulla o'er th' cerebellum.

It all has a decidedly fascist tinge t' it. It isn't so much about liberal versus conservative any more. Ahoy, by Davy Jones' locker! It's more about pro-Englightenment versus anti-Enlightenment. Aarrr! Should we be surprised if academics - whether they agree with Hayek or Marx - cast their lot with th' pro-Englightenment side o' th' equation?

#20585: — 03/31  at  03:20 PM
And I wonder when she be goin' t' get a sex change. If women are so evil, then she ought t' try t' stop bein' one.

Doesn't it e'er occur t' th' people who take Coulter semi-seriously* that if she were t' follow that comely wench own, um, "thoughts" on gender t' their natural conclusion, she would be obligated t'--oh bliss! Fire the cannons! oh rapture!--shut th' fuck up?

*I'm assumin' that no one with a functionin' cerebral cortex takes that comely wench seriously seriously.

#20592: — 03/31  at  03:52 PM
And I wonder when she be goin' t' get a sex change, and dinna spare the whip! If women are so evil, then she ought t' try t' stop bein' one

Me and th' other women are revokin' that comely wench membership at th' next meetin'.

#20596: theBHC — 03/31  at  04:39 PM
I have been wonderin' about th' Coulter phenomenon and have come t' th' conclusion that she is not actually as craven and insane as many o' that comely wench most horrific rants would indicate. What appears t' be goin' on here is a recognition on that comely wench part that th' more ludicrous that comely wench statements, th' more attention she garnered and, ergo, th' more money she made. Books began t' spill forth. The right win' media, esp. Fox News, loved havin' that comely wench appear. The winsome lass generates controversial opinions and she looks pretty hot, t' boot, to be sure! Win-win!

It really is hard t' believe that anyone could come by that comely wench positions in any rational way, unless, o' course, that rational way is simply gettin' rich quick. Her "opinions" are usually, and infamously, factually incorrect or, even better, utterly fact-free, as though brewed up in a vacuum o' hate and distain fer those cretinous "liberals" about whom she seems constantly apoplectic.

ken

#20600: Tman — 03/31  at  05:18 PM
Alon Levy,

Summers has an abysmal record o' hirin' women? I weren't aware o' that. And I di'nae see this raised as a point o' contention by any o' th' "outraged" female professors who witnessed th' speech. Fire the cannons! And I would hardly classify Mr Summers as a crackpot, considerin' his background, I'll warrant ye. I think he is qualified enough t' comment in th' way he did.


Tess,

Summers stated th' followin'- "To take a set o' diverse examples, th' data will, I am confident, reveal that Catholics are substantially underrepresented in investment bankin', which is an enormously high-payin' profession in our society; that white men are very substantially underrepresented in th' National Basketball Association; and that Jews are very substantially underrepresented in farmin' and in agriculture, by Blackbeard's sword.
These are all phenomena in which one observes underrepresentation, and I think 'tis important t' try t' think systematically and clinically about th' reasons fer underrepresentation." What's wrong with that statement, we'll keel-haul ye! How is that so offensive, by Blackbeard's sword? And in th' Q&A session afterwards he stated- "My point were bein' simply that th' field o' behavioral genetics had a revolution in th' last fifteen years, and th' principal thrust o' that revolution were bein' th' discovery that a large number o' thin's that people thought were due t' socialization weren't, and were in fact due t' more intrinsic human nature, and that set o' discoveries, it seemed t' me, ought t' influence th' way one thought about other areas where there were bein' a perception o' th' importance o' socialization. " Basically shootin' a big hole in th' blank slate theory.

You can read th' whole speech here- http://www.president.harvard.edu/speeches/2005/nber.html

I am usin' Summers t' make an example that there equally damagin' attitudes towards academia on either side o' th' political aisle, and a bucket o' chum. It would be disingenious t' say otherwise.

#20627: — 03/31  at  10:50 PM
Tman,

I read th' speech, and those examples were among those that I found offensive in that it apparently initially draws parallels betwixt well-documented fields with overrepresentation o' specific groups t' that o' women, and then declares that women are not tenured because they dern't have th' sail fer it. Unless ye are willin' t' say that Blacks are inherently better atheletes as a whole (which is a pretty strange thin' t' say considerin' that American Blacks have diverse ethnic backgrounds), or that Jews are magically better at numbers despite, too, bein' a rather well-intermarried group in general, then I still find his speech offensive, me beauty. The ornery cuss's not exactly botherin' t' mince words fer a lubber who should know th' politics o' words.