Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #antiintellectualism, aggregated by home.social.
Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'
-- Isaac Asimov
⬆ #Wisdom #Quotes #IsaacAsimov #AntiIntellectualism #Democracy #Ignorance #Knowledge #Politics
#ConservativeMen #Education #Antiintellectualism #RichardHofstader #LucasBean
https://open.substack.com/pub/lucasbean/p/why-conservative-men-cannot-spell
I'm certainly not the smartest person, but I CAN learn and GROW.
"In 1963 historian Richard Hofstadter at Columbia University published Anti-Intellectualism in American Life. The book won the Pulitzer Prize. It remains one of the most important examinations of American culture ever written. And its central argument was not what most people expect.
Hofstadter was not writing about stupid people. He was writing about resentful ones.
His central finding was that anti-intellectualism in America was never primarily about ignorance. It was about status. Specifically it was about the specific psychological pain of feeling looked down on by people with more education, more credentials, and more cultural authority than you. And the response to that pain was not to close the gap. It was to attack the people on the other side of it.
Hofstadter defined anti-intellectualism as the resentment and suspicion of the life of the mind and of those who are considered to represent it and a disposition to constantly minimize the value of that life.
Read that definition carefully. Resentment. Suspicion. Minimization. These are not the responses of people who simply disagree with expert conclusions. These are the responses of people who feel threatened by the existence of expertise itself. People who experience a doctor’s recommendation or a scientist’s finding or a teacher’s lesson not as information but as an implicit judgment about their own worth.
When you feel stupid in the presence of educated people you have two choices. You can do the hard work of becoming less ignorant. Or you can decide that the educated people are the problem.
One of those choices is difficult and humbling and takes years.
The other one takes about thirty seconds on social media."
What the FUCK is happening?!?! Everyone just casually talking about the movie Disclosure as if it's a real disclosure of aliens on Earth. A "soft" introduction for the weakling populations who are not "in the know".
These people raise children and vote. Humanity is fucked.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO3t2z0H7nc
#UFOmania #idiocracy #massdelusion #antiintellectualism #paranormal
The Dumb States of America: Antiintellectualism, the death of democracy and why the world is exhausted of Americans
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Los Estados Tontos de América: El antiintelectualismo, la muerte de la democracia y por qué el mundo está harto de los gringos
“When ideas are crushed and dissenters are criminalised or even pathologised, the harm doesn’t stay abstract. It shows up as hunger, as homelessness, as lives cut short.
Violence isn’t always soaked in blood. Poverty, homelessness, famine; these are forms of violence. They’re structural. Someone has made sure the poor stay poor while they fatten themselves up.
A nation of sheep has a government of wolves. Those who fight for the sheep are dangerous to the wolves. Perhaps… the wolves need a reminder that, at the end of the day, they all bleed the same colour—and the river of blood enriches the soil for the sheep to graze.”
Written during the height of nationwide protests in my country that I had to self-censor and avoid naming it
https://wrzky.com/the-violence-of-stupidity/
#politics #poverty #dissent #IndonesiaGelap #womensrights #muslimvoices #writer #press #activism #antiintellectualism
Alberto Manguel writes in A History of Reading, “Throughout the South, it was common for plantation owners to hang any slave who tried to teach the others how to spell… The slave-owners (like dictators, tyrants, absolute monarchs and other illicit holders of power) were strong believers in the power of the written word. They knew, far better than some readers, that reading is a strength that requires barely a few first words to become overwhelming. Someone able to read one sentence is able to read all… For all these reasons, reading had to be forbidden… An illiterate crowd is easiest to rule; since the craft of reading cannot be untaught once it has been acquired, the second-best recourse is to limit its scope.”
— Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World by Irene Vallejo
#Conservative #Antiintellectualism
Here's your fucking "turning point", assholes:
youtube.com/shorts/ABmXh...
Let’s debunk this viral graphi...
absolutely! #Antiintellectualism #Antiscience is a right wing #Conservative tool to undermine objective, democratic thinking! #Alberta #Canada #USA #Trump
absolutely! #Antiintellectualism #Antiscience is a right wing #Conservative tool to undermine objective, democratic thinking! #Alberta #Canada #USA #Trump
Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'
-- Isaac Asimov
⬆ #Wisdom #Quotes #IsaacAsimov #AntiIntellectualism #Democracy #Ignorance #Knowledge #Politics
⬇ #Photography #Panorama #BartolomeIsland #PinnacleRock #Galapagos
I agree completely. No notes.
Palantir Twitter Manifesto
https://youtube.com/watch?v=DIMS5FSZoAw&si=Qpd8fJqVSLFw5b_H
#ai #palantir #warcrimes #facism #technofeudalism #alexcarp #antiintellectualism
"No! Never! Unless... you were a dangerous intellectual..."
https://piefed.social/c/historymemes/p/2001804/no-never-unless-you-were-a-dangerous-intellectual
"No! Never! Unless... you were a dangerous intellectual..."
https://piefed.social/c/tankiejerk/p/2001803/no-never-unless-you-were-a-dangerous-intellectual
Posting about BINI, a pop group from the Philippines, and clicking on the tag #TurkishCelebrities reminded me of my ignorance of vast areas of the world and its diverse peoples.
I try my best not to be a blinkered Anglo, whilst also recognizing that I can never hope to have much more than a fragmentary and superficial understanding of the histories of most of the planet's inhabitants. For deeper insights, I am dependent on experts and informants with firsthand knowledge and experience.
I hope it doesn't sound too smug if I say that at least I am aware of my ignorance.
What frightens me is that the most powerful man on earth is not only ignorant, but also unaware of the depth of his ignorance and, insofar as he is aware of his ignorance, resistant to remedying that ignorance to any degree by careful reading of briefings, thoughtful discussion with experts, or - can you imagine it? -- opening a book.
Ultimately, my ignorance is of little consequence one way or the other. His ignorance could, quite literally, be the end of the world.
#Image: Bryce Vickmark/ZUMA; RomoloTavani/iStock; photoillustration by Ivylise Simones
#Politics #History #DonaldTrump #NuclearWar #BINI #Philippines #Türkiye #Turkey #Ignorance #Antiintellectualism
In this cloistered vision of tech-driven learning, they believe that deep intellectual work—the kind you do when you author a complex piece of music, for example—has little or no inherent value. Their disdain for it has fueled their attacks on higher education, the humanities, and learning for its own sake, which they believe has no purpose beyond its inevitable digitization and monetization."
"As the historian Richard Hofstadter noted, a fierce anti-intellectual spirit has long animated American culture, but it has typically targeted the knowledge elite from below. What’s striking about today’s brand of anti-intellectualism is that it infuses the American knowledge elite; it stems from the bedrock conviction among tech oligarchs that they have mastered everything and have nothing left to learn."
~ Elizabeth Spiers
And NOBODY ELSE FUCKING CARES, thereby affirming my complete lack of relevance or importance. You plebians.
The ultimate goal for much of the human species, is to never have to think about anything ever.
Some even create entire cultures/narratives to support and glorify this belief. I've seen myself, over and over again, the sheer desperation and madness that grips people trying to achieve this goal.
The abuse of #AI is just the latest and most convincing crutch of the global #antiintellectualism movement.
A quotation from Ambrose Bierce
BOOK-LEARNING, n. The dunce’s derisive term for all knowledge that transcends his own impenitent ignorance.
Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist
“Book-learning,” “Devil’s Dictionary” column, San Francisco Wasp (1881-05-14)
More about this quote: wist.info/bierce-ambrose/82789…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #ambrosebierce #devilsdictionary #antiintellectualism #booklearning #books #dolt #dunce #education #ignorance #knowledge #learning #willfulignorance
Instagram story rants…
Anti-Intellectualism: Clinging to "lack of privilege" and "lack of exposure to the arts" as a reason to, uh, [checks notes]… Rabidly insult anyone lucky enough (through dumb chance and no thanks to my actual life circumstances, I assure you) to HAVE that privilege and exposure? Not helping your cause, sweetie. If not everyone can fit at the table, you build a bigger table. You don't destroy the table altogether in a fit of spite.
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Not sure how saying "there are $10 opera tix available" got to me being told to "take my meds and control my emotions," but… there you go. I guess if some people can't have nice things, then NOBODY should have nice things, instead of making nice things more accessible. And THAT is anti-intellectualism. HOW DARE YOU HAVE READ A BOOK. SOME PEOPLE CAN'T READ AT ALL. SHUT THE LIBRARIES DOWN. YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF FOR NOT KEEPING YOURSELF IGNORANT AND EQUAL WITH THE LEAST OF THESE. NO ONE SHOULD RISE ABOVE THE LOWEST BAR.
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Ah yes, the "cultural privilege" of being raised fundamentalist Christian so classical music was one of the few genres I was ALLOWED to explore. My bad.
"No point learning how to do x because AI can do it for me faster, why waste my time?" - is a really frustrating thing to hear when trying to teach people. Even if you want to use these "tools" you will use them better if you know what you are doing. Knowing how to use a coping saw means you are better at using a jigsaw or scrollsaw.
A quotation from Robert Heinlein
Could it be otherwise here? Could any one sect obtain a working majority at the polls and take over the country? Perhaps not — but a combination of a dynamic evangelist, television, enough money, and modern techniques of advertising and propaganda might make Billy Sunday’s efforts look like a corner store compared to Sears Roebuck. Throw in a depression for good measure, promise a material heaven here on earth, add a dash of anti-Semitism, anti-Catholicism, anti-Negroism, and a good large dose of anti-“furriners” in general and anti-intellectuals here at home and the result might be something quite frightening — particularly when one recalls that our voting system is such that a minority distributed as pluralities in enough states can constitute a working majority in Washington.
Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) American writer
Essay (1952-10), “Concerning Stories Never Written,” Revolt in 2100, Postscript (1953)
More about this quote: wist.info/heinlein-robert-a/82…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #heinlein #robertheinlein #robertaheinlein #extremism #America #antiintellectualism #cult #government #politicalsystem #prejudice #sect #theocracy #tyranny #xenophobia
History is full of people who out of fear, or ignorance, or lust for power have destroyed treasures of immeasurable value which truly belong to us all. We must not let that happen again.
Carl Sagan (1934-1996) American scientist and writer
Cosmos, ep. 13 “Who Speaks for Earth?” PBS TV (1980)
More about this quote: wist.info/sagan-carl/82424/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #carlsagan #cosmos #antiintellectualism #censorship #culturallegacy #culture #destruction #fear #greed #library #museum #power #treasure #vandalism
INTELLECTUALS ARE BOURGEOIS SCUM
https://piefed.social/c/historymemes/p/1820980/intellectuals-are-bourgeois-scum
The consistent persecution of every higher form of intellectual activity by the new mass leaders springs from more than their natural resentment against everything they cannot understand. Total domination does not allow for free initiative in any field of life, for any activity that is not entirely predictable. Totalitarianism in power invariably replaces all first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty.
Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
The Origins of Totalitarianism, Part 3, ch. 10 “A Classless Soceity” (1958 ed.)
More about this quote: wist.info/arendt-hannah/81214/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #arendt #hannaharendt #antiintellectualism #control #hacks #initiative #loyalty #predictability #talent #totalitarianism
Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'
-- Isaac Asimov
⬆ #Wisdom #Quotes #IsaacAsimov #AntiIntellectualism #Democracy #Ignorance #Knowledge #Politics
I have no illusions that Oklahoma 's dismal education rankings will improve dramatically before my kid finishes high school...although it's nice to dream.
But still, I have high hopes that the next few years *will* bring tangible, beneficial changes.
We CAN have good things, Oklahoma! We just have to vote for proven excellence, proven compassion, and proven emphasis on the betterment of humanity.
4/
#Oklahoma
#education
#OklahomaEducation
#Asimov
#AntiIntellectualism
#empathy
#SocialJustice
#Ironic that a country created in large part by an assemblage of #Enlightenment #intellectuals has its #institutions and #publiclife so thoroughly degraded by an especially virulent expression of #anti-intellectualism. #US
Some people just can't be reasoned with...
Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'
-- Isaac Asimov
⬆ #Wisdom #Quotes #IsaacAsimov #AntiIntellectualism #Democracy #Ignorance #Knowledge #Politics
⬇ #Photography #Panorama #Canyon #SlickRock #IcebergCanyon #LakePowell #Utah
The year is 2025, and the US of A has an ongoing #measles outbreak.
The failure of the US isn't just the half of anti-intellectual terrorists, but also the other half upholding a system of government that allows the terrorists to win... Perhaps permanently.
There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread..., nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'
-- Isaac Asimov
⬆ #Wisdom #Quotes #IsaacAsimov #AntiIntellectualism #FalseEquivalence #Ignorance #Knowledge #UnitedStates
⬇ #Photography #Panorama #CoyoteButtesNorth #TheWave #VermilionCliffs #Utah
Ep 92 - Anti-intellectualism, Empathy, and Hand Tattoos w/ Schizophrenic Reads
https://tankie.tube/videos/watch/b9dd7a4b-3bd6-4b6a-b525-9a02d9d8f867
Is the U.S. facing a "reverse Sputnik moment"? Paul Krugman warns America is lagging while China races ahead in tech and economy. Unlike the post-Sputnik surge, the Trump era cuts science funding and attacks education, fueling anti-intellectualism that threatens U.S. global leadership. Explore his analysis and the future impact: https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/china-has-overtaken-america #PaulKrugman #China #USpolicy #Trump #RenewableEnergy #Science #Technology #GlobalLeadership #Education #AntiIntellectualism
Umberto Eco’s List of the 14 Common Features of Fascism
"Freedom and liberation are never-ending tasks."
"There was only one Nazism,” he says, “the fascist game can be played in many forms, and the name of the game does not change.” Eco reduces the qualities of what he calls “Ur-Fascism, or Eternal Fascism” down to 14 “typical” features. “These features,” writes the novelist and semiotician, “cannot be organized into a system; many of them contradict each other, and are also typical of other kinds of despotism or fanaticism. But it is enough that one of them be present to allow fascism to coagulate around it.”
>> list
https://www.openculture.com/2024/11/umberto-ecos-list-of-the-14-common-features-of-fascism.html
#FarRight #fascism #violence #IdealisedPast #tradition #AntiIntellectualism #parochialism #Machismo #nationalism #EthnoNationalism #racism #FearOfDifference #xenophobia #heroism #heroes #identity #AntiSci #newspeak #misogyny #culture #education
See, when you say you've 'had enough of experts', to British ears it just sounds like Brexit and Micheal "Cokehead" Gove from 10 years ago.
But nobody learned from our mistake, so they'll all copy the Brits and look just as stupid and pathetic....do you all want to be British or something, is that it? Start drinking tea and taking nothing seriously then...
“Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life”*…
Portrait of Edmund Burke– who figures formatively in this tale– by the studio of Joshua Reynolds
While the 18th century is commonly perceived as the quintessential age of rationalist modernity, it was also the cradle of a second and strikingly different movement. In fact, at the very moment when rationalist thought seemed to have reached its peak, a comprehensive revolt against the Enlightenment’s fundamental views erupted in European intellectual life. From the second half of the 18th century to the age of the Cold War and today, the confrontation between these two modernities has formed one of the most prominent and enduring features of our world.
The Enlightenment wished to liberate the individual from the constraints of history, from the yoke of traditional unproven beliefs. This was the motivation of Locke’s Second Treatise of Government, Kant’s Reply to the Question: What Is Enlightenment?, and Rousseau’s Discourse on the Origin of Inequality: three extraordinary pamphlets that proclaimed the liberation of man. It was against the liberation of the individual by reason that this new “Anti-Enlightenment” movement launched its attack, and its campaign was infinitely more sophisticated and subtle than that of the classical, undisguisedly authoritarian enemies of the Enlightenment. This anti-Enlightenment movement constituted not a counterrevolution but a different revolution. It revolted against rationalism, the autonomy of the individual, and all that unites people: their condition as rational beings with natural rights…
The anti-democratic political tradition that opposed Enlightenment thinking advanced the catastrophic campaigns of Nazi Germany and haunts us still: “The Origins of Anti-Intellectualism.”
* Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge‘”*… – Isaac Asimov
###
As we opine on opinion, we might send understanding birthday greetings to Herbert Marshall McLuhan; he was born on this date in 1911. A professor, philosopher, and public intellectual, he was a foundational thinker in media theory, coining the expression “the medium is the message” and the term “global village,” and predicting the World Wide Web almost thirty years before it was invented.
McLuhan was a– arguably, the– central figure at the center of the discussion of media in the 1960s and 70s; his views were controversial and his influence began to wane in the 1980s. But with the advent of the web, there has been a resurgence of interest in his thinking.
“Only puny secrets need protection. Big secrets are protected by public incredulity…”
– Marshall Mcluhan
#antiIntellectualism #EdmundBurke #Enlightenment #history #McLuhan #media #philosophy #ratioalism
