Skip to content
  • Home Home Home, current page.
  • Moments Moments Moments, current page.

Saved searches

  • Remove
  • In this conversation
    Verified accountProtected Tweets @
Suggested users
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Language: English
    • Bahasa Indonesia
    • Bahasa Melayu
    • Català
    • Čeština
    • Dansk
    • Deutsch
    • English UK
    • Español
    • Filipino
    • Français
    • Hrvatski
    • Italiano
    • Magyar
    • Nederlands
    • Norsk
    • Polski
    • Português
    • Română
    • Slovenčina
    • Suomi
    • Svenska
    • Tiếng Việt
    • Türkçe
    • Ελληνικά
    • Български език
    • Русский
    • Српски
    • Українська мова
    • עִבְרִית
    • العربية
    • فارسی
    • मराठी
    • हिन्दी
    • বাংলা
    • ગુજરાતી
    • தமிழ்
    • ಕನ್ನಡ
    • ภาษาไทย
    • 한국어
    • 日本語
    • 简体中文
    • 繁體中文
  • Have an account? Log in
    Have an account?
    · Forgot password?

    New to Twitter?
    Sign up
Simon_Whitten's profile
Simon Whitten
Simon Whitten
Simon Whitten
@Simon_Whitten

Tweets

Simon Whitten

@Simon_Whitten

I make "Science vs Propaganda", a podcast challenging reactionary pseudoscience and misuse of real science. He/him

youtube.com/channel/UCC6Y2…
Joined November 2010

Tweets

  • © 2021 Twitter
  • About
  • Help Center
  • Terms
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies
  • Ads info
Dismiss
Previous
Next

Go to a person's profile

Saved searches

  • Remove
  • In this conversation
    Verified accountProtected Tweets @
Suggested users
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @

Promote this Tweet

Block

  • Tweet with a location

    You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

    Your lists

    Create a new list


    Under 100 characters, optional

    Privacy

    Copy link to Tweet

    Embed this Tweet

    Embed this Video

    Add this Tweet to your website by copying the code below. Learn more

    Add this video to your website by copying the code below. Learn more

    Hmm, there was a problem reaching the server.

    By embedding Twitter content in your website or app, you are agreeing to the Twitter Developer Agreement and Developer Policy.

    Preview

    Why you're seeing this ad

    Log in to Twitter

    · Forgot password?
    Don't have an account? Sign up »

    Sign up for Twitter

    Not on Twitter? Sign up, tune into the things you care about, and get updates as they happen.

    Sign up
    Have an account? Log in »

    Two-way (sending and receiving) short codes:

    Country Code For customers of
    United States 40404 (any)
    Canada 21212 (any)
    United Kingdom 86444 Vodafone, Orange, 3, O2
    Brazil 40404 Nextel, TIM
    Haiti 40404 Digicel, Voila
    Ireland 51210 Vodafone, O2
    India 53000 Bharti Airtel, Videocon, Reliance
    Indonesia 89887 AXIS, 3, Telkomsel, Indosat, XL Axiata
    Italy 4880804 Wind
    3424486444 Vodafone
    » See SMS short codes for other countries

    Confirmation

     

    Welcome home!

    This timeline is where you’ll spend most of your time, getting instant updates about what matters to you.

    Tweets not working for you?

    Hover over the profile pic and click the Following button to unfollow any account.

    Say a lot with a little

    When you see a Tweet you love, tap the heart — it lets the person who wrote it know you shared the love.

    Spread the word

    The fastest way to share someone else’s Tweet with your followers is with a Retweet. Tap the icon to send it instantly.

    Join the conversation

    Add your thoughts about any Tweet with a Reply. Find a topic you’re passionate about, and jump right in.

    Learn the latest

    Get instant insight into what people are talking about now.

    Get more of what you love

    Follow more accounts to get instant updates about topics you care about.

    Find what's happening

    See the latest conversations about any topic instantly.

    Never miss a Moment

    Catch up instantly on the best stories happening as they unfold.

    1. Simon Whitten‏ @Simon_Whitten 16 Feb 2020

      Simon Whitten Retweeted Richard Dawkins

      The view that eugenics is simply the application of selective breeding principles to humans and that it was abandoned solely for ideological reasons is entirely ahistoric.https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/1228943686953664512 …

      Simon Whitten added,

      Richard DawkinsVerified account @RichardDawkins
      It’s one thing to deplore eugenics on ideological, political, moral grounds. It’s quite another to conclude that it wouldn’t work in practice. Of course it would. It works for cows, horses, pigs, dogs & roses. Why on earth wouldn’t it work for humans? Facts ignore ideology.
      Show this thread
      64 replies 1,477 retweets 8,119 likes
      Show this thread
    2. Simon Whitten‏ @Simon_Whitten 16 Feb 2020

      The historical field of Eugenics, as it was understood by its practitioners and advocates at the time, was rooted in a teleological view of evolution. One in which some kinds may be said to be more “evolved” than another.

      3 replies 90 retweets 1,070 likes
      Show this thread
    3. Simon Whitten‏ @Simon_Whitten 16 Feb 2020

      The central thesis of eugenics was based on erroneous thinking about natural selection. Eugenicists viewed their job as increasing fitness – or preventing a decline in fitness – something that was no longer happening due to the survival and prolificness of the poor.

      5 replies 92 retweets 996 likes
      Show this thread
    4. Simon Whitten‏ @Simon_Whitten 16 Feb 2020

      The eugenics movement took place at the height of a moral panic about dysgenics: the view that there were objectively inferior kinds which were out-breeding the superior kinds.

      2 replies 88 retweets 905 likes
      Show this thread
    5. Simon Whitten‏ @Simon_Whitten 16 Feb 2020

      They viewed “fitness” as something other than the ability to pass on genes, otherwise there would have been no need for eugenics and no fear of dysgenics: the most fit organisms are, by definition, those that are more likely to pass on their genes.

      2 replies 73 retweets 856 likes
      Show this thread
    6. Simon Whitten‏ @Simon_Whitten 16 Feb 2020

      What was objectively inferior about the breeding poor? Mutation load. They believed (incorrectly) that most mutations were deleterious and therefore good breeding stock had low heterozygosity while defective characteristics were caused by build up of mutations.

      3 replies 54 retweets 776 likes
      Show this thread
    7. Simon Whitten‏ @Simon_Whitten 16 Feb 2020

      Eventually it was discovered that heterozygosity was far from rare (or bad) and that most mutations were neutral. Meanwhile the emergence of the modern synthesis drove out the teleological approaches to evolution. This all happened around 1940-60, and eugenics died shortly after

      5 replies 51 retweets 820 likes
      Show this thread
      Simon Whitten‏ @Simon_Whitten 16 Feb 2020

      Key points: 1) Eugenicists were trying to create objectively better humans, not select for subjectively-valued traits. 2) Eugenics died when the emergence of modern evolutionary genetics showed it to be impossible (not just unethical).

      2:35 AM - 16 Feb 2020
      • 189 Retweets
      • 1,217 Likes
      • Markus Stoor Bibblings and Babblings Cleve Hicks Enceledust 🚀 Ben Hutchings Gyavira Ringa Tomas ☭ 🏳️‍🌈 Daniel da Silva Tarquin Holmes Gustavo Costa
      10 replies 189 retweets 1,217 likes
        1. New conversation
        2. Simon Whitten‏ @Simon_Whitten 16 Feb 2020

          Simon Whitten Retweeted Arthur Chu

          Quote tweeting this because it's worth noting this "all good traits are correlated" assumption more explicitly. Legacies of this kind of reasoning are common in modern "Hereditarian" arguments.https://twitter.com/arthur_affect/status/1229006460773756928 …

          Simon Whitten added,

          Arthur ChuVerified account @arthur_affect
          In fact the key prejudice that drives eugenics is something now Juan to be definitively false (that all "positive" traits are correlated, that physically healthy and beautiful people are also competent, virtuous and wise) https://twitter.com/Simon_Whitten/status/1228991252106039302 …
          Show this thread
          3 replies 65 retweets 718 likes
          Show this thread
        3. Simon Whitten‏ @Simon_Whitten 16 Feb 2020

          It's also present in the pro-eugenics comments made by Boris Johnson's new advisor (opposition to which seems to have inspired @RichardDawkins tweet in the first place). https://schoolsweek.co.uk/andrew-sabisky-political-forecaster/ …pic.twitter.com/2zKYjDavbk

          5 replies 45 retweets 520 likes
          Show this thread
        4. Simon Whitten‏ @Simon_Whitten 16 Feb 2020

          Unfortunately due to my recent low productivity I have nothing new/relevant to promote, but those who liked this thread may also enjoy this tangentially relevant Youtube video:https://youtu.be/2FcpNZ2BEgY 

          10 replies 31 retweets 396 likes
          Show this thread
        5. End of conversation
        1. New conversation
        2. El Yobo‏ @elyobo 16 Feb 2020
          Replying to @Simon_Whitten

          I think 1) here is key; when Dawkins says "it works", he's not endorsing it (as many seem to think), but he is mistaking the intent - it doesn't work for what the eugenicists were actually trying to do.

          3 replies 1 retweet 6 likes
        3. I won't forget the sirens of March.‏ @futurebird 16 Feb 2020
          Replying to @elyobo @Simon_Whitten

          "as many seem to think" I don't even know many people are making this mistake. Most of the posts I've seen about this haven't been moral outrage but, rather explaining the obvious error. Not that moral outrage should be ruled out for someone conflating eugenics with science.

          1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
        4. Show replies
        1. Hassan khan‏ @hkhanirl 16 Feb 2020
          Replying to @Simon_Whitten

          Thank you, thank you for presenting the historical context and showing that Richard Dawkins is wrong about the science element of Eugenics experiment. The entire 20th century horrors provide the evidence against Eugenics.

          0 replies 1 retweet 12 likes
          Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
          Undo
        1. New conversation
        2. Becky Whinnerah‏ @BeckyWhin 16 Feb 2020
          Replying to @Simon_Whitten

          Re 1), what is objectively better? I presume you mean physical fitness?

          1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
        3. James‏ @MalucoMarinero 16 Feb 2020
          Replying to @BeckyWhin @Simon_Whitten

          This is sort of the crux of the problem. Objectively better depends on context, which is always changing. The whole point is without constant neutral mutation evolution would never have the diversity necessary to survive an unknown future.

          1 reply 1 retweet 16 likes
        4. Show replies
        1. I won't forget the sirens of March.‏ @futurebird 16 Feb 2020
          Replying to @Simon_Whitten

          Thank you for stating this all these people saying "he's not being offensive he's just saying 'it works'" are getting on my nerves for missing the fact that it dosen't "work" eugenics is to genetics and astrology is to astronomy

          0 replies 1 retweet 23 likes
          Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
          Undo
        1. New conversation
        2. Pete LaPlace‏ @hothotcocoa05 16 Feb 2020
          Replying to @Simon_Whitten @newsmite

          "Objectively better humans." You don't see how f*cked up that is?

          1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
        3. newsmite‏ @newsmite 16 Feb 2020
          Replying to @hothotcocoa05 @Simon_Whitten

          i do, it's the eugenicists who do not.

          0 replies 0 retweets 6 likes
        4. End of 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.

        Promoted Tweet

        false

        • © 2021 Twitter
        • About
        • Help Center
        • Terms
        • Privacy policy
        • Cookies
        • Ads info