26/ To repeat: Hoff Sommers & MacDonald are the ONLY TWO sources Pinker used to deride rape statistics. They are the ONLY TWO sources behind his "junk statistics" & "commodious definition" claims. . . . .
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27/ Pinker didn’t include data from the CDC. From psychologists or criminologists or sociologists. Just opinion pieces. From Christina Hoff Sommers & Heather MacDonald.
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28/ He does mention the Bureau of Justice Statistics later on in the paragraph, w/out mentioning that, for the past 20 years, the BSJ has been researching how it, as an agency, UNDERESTIMATES rape and sexual violence:pic.twitter.com/s24LfjuKft
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29/ Oh, and just generally, Pinker is a BIG fan of Heather MacDonald & the "Campus Rape Myth" Op-Ed: In fact, he thinks it's priceless!pic.twitter.com/xtmv08dRNW
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30/ Many people will claim that Pinker performs a public service by breaking down complex questions to the public. I am dubious about this claim. Maybe some of his arguments are good. . . . But this is what I know for sure:
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31/ Pinker cherry-picks data. I also know he uses questionable sources (Op-Eds from conservative think-tanks!!). I also know that his data representation is not, shall we say, honest. This figure, for example, is based on data re: the Semai that has been discredited. . .pic.twitter.com/hFRkZSsoWF
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32/ Pinker used data that is KNOWN to be bad from (Knauft). . . . maybe it was a mistake? Or maybe it was for some other purpose. . . one might suspect, given that Pinker *inflated* the numbers here, that he might have some other purpose. . . . .
pic.twitter.com/xxJPsDzYJj
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33/ Whatever the case, shitty “scholarship” like this has real consequences--esp when coming from someone w/ as much authority as Pinker. For example, his claim that rape is over-reported ended up in a Wikipedia article on rape stats:pic.twitter.com/NirgBcDcWr
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34/ So: in my opinion, Steven Pinker is a bit of charlatain. I won’t try to convince you to believe the same. But I will tell you: 1. He may be a genius. But he is a genius w/ an ideological agenda. 2. Always check the End-Notes.
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Mangy Jay Retweeted Mangy Jay
PS: Thread on the Thread. . . . .if you have the reaction, "You shouldn't criticize a piece of work just because of the sources!" please read:https://twitter.com/magi_jay/status/973071212254556160 …
Mangy Jay added,
Mangy Jay @magi_jay1/ I should have known I was stepping into something when I decided to talk about 1. Steven Pinker & 2. Rape/Sexual assault. Let's be clear: it is *perfectly* legitimate to critique a work based on its sourcing. . Frankly, I'm a little dismayed that this even needs to be said. https://twitter.com/magi_jay/status/972957975362056200 …Show this thread10 replies 21 retweets 156 likesShow this thread
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