OMG. So I think coincidentally, but maybe driven by The Algorithm, I now see
that CalTech accused another contributor to the War on Science, Christian Ott,
of creating a fake researcher:
Caltech Professor Who Harassed Women Was Also Investigated For Creating An
Imaginary Female Researcher
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/azeenghorayshi/harasser-faked-female-scientist
"Caltech 'found that the name was fictitious and had been used in ways such as in
email correspondence, proceedings, and in the TAPIR group directory,' Farnaz Khadem,
Caltech’s chief communications officer, told BuzzFeed News in an emailed statement."
🙄
On 9/19/25 4:01 PM, glen wrote:
In the NY Mag article, it lays out the rhetoric of the new Krauss anthology
<https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-War-on-Science/Dawkins/9798888457566>
that runs right along the same lines as Sabine's anti-establishment
(anti-big-Science) rhetoric. She fits into that crowd almost perfectly.
I'd place her with Pinker, both of which seem to fit Sartre's Waiter (where the
person playing the role gives away their inauthenticity through uncanniness).
In the wee hours of the morning, Sabine or Steven may sporadically wonder if
their convictions are authentic. But most of the time, they seem totally
convinced, high on their own supply. This distinguishes them from obvious
grifters like Jordan Peterson or ultracrepidarian old white men like Richard
Dawkins.
The whole collection of them provides us a broad sampling of what not to do
when arguing some point. And of course, nobody's perfect. We're all just
flopping around trying to do the right thing. So I try to turn the lessons back
onto myself, even if I usually fail.
On 9/19/25 3:24 PM, Russ Abbott wrote:
Just watched Rebecca Watson's video. She really lays it out. "Fearless" doesn't
do her justice.
But I'm confused about your reference to Sabine. Would you explain. Thanks.
_
_
__-- Russ <https://russabbott.substack.com/>
P.S. Here's my post
<https://russabbott.substack.com/p/the-gun-that-killed-charlie-kirk> about
Charlie Kirk.
On Thu, Sep 18, 2025 at 7:42 AM glen <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
The “Debate Me Bro” Grift: How Trolls Weaponized The Marketplace Of Ideas
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/09/17/the-debate-me-bro-grift-how-trolls-weaponized-the-marketplace-of-ideas/
<https://www.techdirt.com/2025/09/17/the-debate-me-bro-grift-how-trolls-weaponized-the-marketplace-of-ideas/>
I've ranted about the retreat into informal reasoning because formal reasoning
doesn't seem bushy enough to handle all the vagaries we need for wild type reasoning. A
friend of mine who leans heavily to the right, but thankfully could not vote for Cheeto
Jesus, made the comment that Kirk was "just trying to talk to people". I regret
that I didn't try to correct him. I did remind him that I spent a lot of my off time in
college surrounded by very aggressive Christians, trying to tell them how wrong they
were. I mean, anyone who engages in that sort of thing in a place like Texas (where we
were) should *know* they're likely to get shot. I was fine with the risk. And so should
Kirk have been.
Anywya, it seems to me his assassination is tightly analogous to the
assassination of the United Health CEO. The *damage* Kirk has done to discourse
is analogous to the damage people like Thompson do to health (not healthcare,
but health). Is it the same? No, of course not. Is it analogous? Yes, I think
so.
And I know lots of people here are tolerant of Sabine. But she's right
there in the pit of vipers with Kirk. This article may help put that in
perspective:
How the New Atheists Joined the MAHA War on Science
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/new-atheists-maha-war-on-science.html
<https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/new-atheists-maha-war-on-science.html>
But any of us are susceptible to the attractor. And once you're in it,
*how* do you extract yourself?
p.s. As usual, Rebecca is fearless:
https://skepchick.org/2025/09/charlie-kirk-and-the-empathy-paradox/
<https://skepchick.org/2025/09/charlie-kirk-and-the-empathy-paradox/>
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