I've been thinking a bit about why I'm so unimpressed by the arguments about how terrible "academic silencing" is, and I've got some thoughts 1/n
-
-
12/n Any narrative that talks about silencing but focuses on some of the most famous scientists globally is, to my mind, more about generating media attention than it is about academic integrity
Show this thread -
13/n To a great extent, that's because they are defending the powerful from scrutiny, instead of trying to make space for the powerless to have a voice
Show this thread -
14/n When you defend a powerful professor, his friends and colleagues will join you When you defend a post-doc who's been kicked out of a lab for blowing the whistle, you have to fight the powerful people who silenced them with no support
Show this thread -
15/n If we really care about the sanctity of open debate, we should be stopping attacks that punch down, not the rare occasion when a tenured professor's colleagues are mean to them in a way that has no real impact on their career
Show this thread -
16/n And look, I'm not writing any of this on my own behalf. I have by no possible definition of the word been "silenced" But I know plenty of people who kind of have
Show this thread -
17/n Some of them are public, not all of them want to be, but if you want examples
@hertzpodcast has covered this sort of issue numerous times. It's prevalent, and it is a problemShow this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
I think the point is that someone like Scott Atlas was derided and ignored, pilloried by media and academia alike, for having a counter narrative to the one prevalent through most of 2020. The man was one of the heads of the task force and few people have heard his viewpoints.
-
That's just not true. He had a massive global platform, and huge power over the United States response. He was one of the most listened to people on the globe, regardless of what you think of his opinions
- Show replies
New conversation -
-
-
Haha. If only he *had* been silenced...
-
When the history of the pandemic is written, surely this will be one of the biggest questions: how on earth did a neuroradiologist get so much publicity/airtime for his non-evidence based views?
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.