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SIO48: What’s Really Going On at Evergreen College?

Due to popular demand, I’ve decided to embark on a fact-finding mission regarding the Brett Weinstein/Evergreen College fiasco. It took an incredible amount of digging to find anything beyond the same few talking points that have exploded across conservative media in the past few weeks, but the deeper story is a little more complicated and worthy of our attention. As usual, the easy way out is to filter the facts so they comport to a narrative we want, but I do my best to investigate the facts from a neutral standpoint.

What I found might surprise you! Here are extensive links:

Tucker Carlson Interview; Email Exchange; Cooper Point Journal 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; Weinstein View on Equity Policy; Demographics of Professors; Detainment of Black Students; President Letter on Trigger Warnings; President Response to Demands; Letter from 50 Faculty; Professor Solidarity with Students; Prof Setting Record Straight.

Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point!

Support us on Patreon at:  patreon.com/seriouspod

Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod

For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com

Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com

Posted on

SIO48: What’s Really Going On at Evergreen College?

Due to popular demand, I’ve decided to embark on a fact-finding mission regarding the Brett Weinstein/Evergreen College fiasco. It took an incredible amount of digging to find anything beyond the same few talking points that have exploded across conservative media in the past few weeks, but the deeper story is a little more complicated and worthy of our attention. As usual, the easy way out is to filter the facts so they comport to a narrative we want, but I do my best to investigate the facts from a neutral standpoint.

What I found might surprise you! Here are links:

Tucker Carlson Interview; Email Exchange; Cooper Point Journal 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; Weinstein View on Equity Policy; Demographics of Professors; Detainment of Black Students; President Letter on Trigger Warnings; President Response to Demands; Letter from 50 Faculty; Professor Solidarity with Students; Prof Setting Record Straight.

Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point!

Support us on Patreon at:  patreon.com/seriouspod

Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod

For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com

Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com


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SIO47: Conversation with a Critic on Bill C-16

It is immensely important to me that I do my best to engage with those who disagree, and in that spirit I present a conversation with someone who argued a lot with me on Twitter about Jordan B. Peterson and Canadian bill C-16. This conversation took place on May 4th, but with a lot of Trump news and some key interviews I kept the interview as patron only. Lots of listeners have requested its release though, and I think it’s also an inspiring and useful dialogue to hear. So at long last, I give you my conversation with @PithyJoe on the merits of bill C-16.

Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point!

Support us on Patreon at:  patreon.com/seriouspod

Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod

For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com

Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com


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SIO47: Conversation with a Critic on Bill C-16

It is immensely important to me that I do my best to engage with those who disagree, and in that spirit I present a conversation with someone who argued a lot with me on Twitter about Jordan B. Peterson and Canadian bill C-16. This conversation took place on May 4th, but with a lot of Trump news and some key interviews I kept the interview as patron only. Lots of listeners have requested its release though, and I think it’s also an inspiring and useful dialogue to hear. So at long last, I give you my conversation with @PithyJoe on the merits of bill C-16.

Support us on Patreon at:  patreon.com/seriouspod

Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod

For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com

Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com

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SIO46: AHCA – The Scandal Hiding in Plain Sight

After a few small points about the last couple episodes on the hoax paper, we’re back to normal here on commentary Thursday! Today’s main topic is the CBO score on the new incarnation of the evil AHCA bill. AHCA is, in my opinion, the most important political scandal currently happening. After that is a very difficult voicemail segment, in that there are 3 tough questions with no easy answers. But those are the most important kind!

Links:

CBO Score on AHCA 2; NPR Breakdown on CBO Score; In Depth Uproxx Article on the Burrito Truck; Google Doc on Portland Appropriation; Academic Paper on Cultural Appropriation

Support us on Patreon at:  patreon.com/seriouspod

Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod

For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com

Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com

 

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Posted on

SIO46: AHCA – The Scandal Hiding in Plain Sight

After a few small points about the last couple episodes on the hoax paper, we’re back to normal here on commentary Thursday! Today’s main topic is the CBO score on the new incarnation of the evil AHCA bill. AHCA is, in my opinion, the most important political scandal currently happening. After that is a very difficult voicemail segment, in that there are 3 tough questions with no easy answers. But those are the most important kind!

Links:

CBO Score on AHCA 2; NPR Breakdown on CBO Score; In Depth Uproxx Article on the Burrito Truck; Google Doc on Portland Appropriation; Academic Paper on Cultural Appropriation

Support us on Patreon at:  patreon.com/seriouspod

Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod

For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com

Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com

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SIO45: James Lindsay, Co-Author of the ‘Conceptual Penis’ Hoax Paper

Last week you heard Eli Bosnick’s side of why the ‘Conceptual Penis’ hoax paper was disingenuous and unskeptical, and today I speak with one of the paper’s authors, James Lindsay. James has been a previous guest on the show; he’s been someone I have always admired for his intellectual rigor and willingness to back up what he believes and to have the tough conversations. For that much I really, really respect him coming on. But I can’t hide my opinion on this hoax. I think it was garbage and it was latched onto unskeptically by people who fancy themselves critical thinkers. I challenge James on the paper and we get to hear his side of it.

Today’s episode is actually 2 in 1, because after the conversation I reminded James to send me the links corroborating his arguments. When I received them, I was appalled that each description of the scholarly articles he sent was a lazy and ideologically motivated strawman. As such, I emailed him a heads up that I would be going in depth into his sources and describing exactly how he (or maybe Real Peer Review, if that was his source) is either intentionally or just ignorantly misunderstanding these abstracts. I’m incredibly disappointed at this dishonest or careless behavior. If you are going to waltz into a field that ISN’T your expertise and claim that the bulk of it is bunk, it is incumbent upon you to do the research and know what you’re talking about. For the sake of transparency, I will paste word for word the sources email James sent me:

“Hi Thomas,

In all the fuss, I can’t remember what I was supposed to send you, but I’ll give it a try.
Curing erectile dysfunction reinforces hegemonic masculinity: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X00003001004 (we cited this paper in ours)
Fat men’s penises might not exist, social construction: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1363460716640734
Male lactation can exist through social construction: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2916660
Pregnancy shouldn’t be associated with femininity: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10894160.2012.653766
Wikipedia shouldn’t demand sources because sexism: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S8755461515000547
STEM syllabi are sexist because focus on facts: http://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2467&context=tqr
Feminists see themselves as activists to infect other fields of study with ideological biases, compare themselves favorably to viruses like HIV and ebola: http://hipatiapress.com/hpjournals/index.php/generos/article/viewFile/1983/1624#page=78
Meanwhile, almost 15000 kids a year are graduating from such programs: https://datausa.io/profile/cip/05/

 

Those are all the papers. In the later half of the episode I discuss the research I did on all of them and how atrocious James’s descriptions were.

Support us on Patreon at:  patreon.com/seriouspod

Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod

For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com

Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com


Direct Download

Posted on

SIO45: James Lindsay, Co-Author of the ‘Conceptual Penis’ Hoax Paper

Last week you heard Eli Bosnick’s side of why the ‘Conceptual Penis’ hoax paper was disingenuous and unskeptical, and today I speak with one of the paper’s authors, James Lindsay. James has been a previous guest on the show; he’s been someone I have always admired for his intellectual rigor and willingness to back up what he believes and to have the tough conversations. For that much I really, really respect him coming on. But I can’t hide my opinion on this hoax. I think it was garbage and it was latched onto unskeptically by people who fancy themselves critical thinkers. I challenge James on the paper and we get to hear his side of it.

Today’s episode is actually 2 in 1, because after the conversation I reminded James to send me the links corroborating his arguments. When I received them, I was appalled that each description of the scholarly articles he sent was a lazy and ideologically motivated strawman. As such, I emailed him a heads up that I would be going in depth into his sources and describing exactly how he (or maybe Real Peer Review, if that was his source) is either intentionally or just ignorantly misunderstanding these abstracts. I’m incredibly disappointed at this dishonest or careless behavior. If you are going to waltz into a field that ISN’T your expertise and claim that the bulk of it is bunk, it is incumbent upon you to do the research and know what you’re talking about. For the sake of transparency, I will paste word for word the sources email James sent me:

“Hi Thomas,

In all the fuss, I can’t remember what I was supposed to send you, but I’ll give it a try.
Periods are a social construct: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0891243216672662?journalCode=gasa
“Doing Gender” (number one cited gender studies paper in the number one journal — referred to first sentence of abstract): https://campus.fsu.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/academic/social_sciences/sociology/Reading%20Lists/Social%20Psych%20Prelim%20Readings/IV.%20Structures%20and%20Inequalities/1987%20West%20Zimmerman%20-%20Doing%20Gender.pdf
Donated blood is a social construction: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09581596.2017.1297384?src=recsys&journalCode=ccph20
Scientific method is sexist: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/027753959580031J
Alligators teach hegemonic masculinity: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0190272516656620?etoc=
Squirrels: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0966369X.2017.1314949?journalCode=cgpc20

Pilates is racist: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/dance-research-journal/article/div-classtitlethe-pilates-pelvis-racial-implications-of-the-immobile-hipsdiv/2CDDDB16BFD648003DCAB3DD0634FF81
Curing erectile dysfunction reinforces hegemonic masculinity: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X00003001004 (we cited this paper in ours)
Fat men’s penises might not exist, social construction: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1363460716640734
Male lactation can exist through social construction: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2916660
Pregnancy shouldn’t be associated with femininity: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10894160.2012.653766
Wikipedia shouldn’t demand sources because sexism: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S8755461515000547
STEM syllabi are sexist because focus on facts: http://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2467&context=tqr
Feminists see themselves as activists to infect other fields of study with ideological biases, compare themselves favorably to viruses like HIV and ebola: http://hipatiapress.com/hpjournals/index.php/generos/article/viewFile/1983/1624#page=78
Feminist glaciers: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0309132515623368#corresp-1
Meanwhile, almost 15000 kids a year are graduating from such programs: https://datausa.io/profile/cip/05/
Also, T&F supports Cogent: http://editorresources.taylorandfrancisgroup.com/introducing-cogent-oa/ “

Those are all the papers. In the later half of the episode I discuss the research I did on all of them and how atrocious James’s descriptions were.

Support us on Patreon at:  patreon.com/seriouspod

Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod

For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com

Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com

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SIO44: Debunking the ‘Conceptual Penis’ Stunt with Eli Bosnick

An embarrassingly unskeptical article appeared in Skeptic Magazine recently featuring a hoax paper published in a Gender Studies journal  by two authors: James Lindsay (past guest of the show) and Peter Boghossian.  Michael Shermer, the editor of Skeptic magazine, and several major figures in the skeptic movement like Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins took the conclusion that Gender Studies as a field has been demolished by this hoax. This is incredibly irresponsible. The hoax paper accomplished no such thing, and Eli is here to explain in depth why.

Links:

Skeptic Magazine Article

Other sokal hoaxes:

  • A US nuclear physics conference accepted a paper written entirely in autocomplete.
  • A trio of MIT grad students created an algorithm that creates fake scientific papers – in 2013 IEEE and Springer Publishing found 120 published papers had been generated by the program.
  • A paper entitled “Get me off your fucking mailing list” was accepted for publication by computer science journal.
  • A 2013 hoax saw a scientific paper about fictional lichen published in several hundred journals.

Cogent OA FAQ

Lichen Paper published in 45% of DOAJ publishers

Gender Studies Journal Rankings

Excellent Debunk by Bleedingheartlibertarians

Other Excellent Debunk, with Source for Sokal Quote

 

Support us on Patreon at:  patreon.com/seriouspod

Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod

For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com

Questions, Suggestions, Episode ideas? email: haeley@seriouspod.com

 

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