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How can this be the leading sentence in a scientific article?? "Do we gain insight by comparing President Trump to a chimpanzee?" Edit: this is in response to

by Zhenya 8y ago

How can this be the leading sentence in a scientific article?? "Do we gain insight by comparing President Trump to a chimpanzee?" Edit: this is in response to this idea being floated in the media and this article is responding to it. Thanks child comment for the context.

jasode 8y ago
>How can this be the leading sentence in a scientific article?? >"Do we gain insight by comparing President Trump to a chimpanzee?" If you look again at that sentence you quoted, it has a hyperlink to primatologist Jane Goodall comparing Trump to a chimpanzee.[1] Because Goodall is somewhat of a celebrity on the subject of chimps, and Trump is...obviously Trump, a lot of various media outlets picked up on the combination. E.g. Guardian, FT, Huffington, Fox News, etc.[2] So it seems like the author is basically responding to all of that. [1] http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-aggressive-chimp-and-may-not-last-long-668128 http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-aggressive-chimp-and-ma... [2] https://www.google.com/search?q=comparing+President+Trump+to+a+chimpanzee https://www.google.com/search?q=comparing+President+Trump+to...
- Zhenya 8y ago
  Great point. Updating my comment.
- bumblebritches5 8y ago
  > Trump is...obviously Trump No, Trump is President Trump. Get it fucking right, or get the fuck out.
iak8god 8y ago
It's hard to understand what you're objecting to. 1) This is pop sci, not a "scientific article", and 2) the text you quoted links to another article about the most famous primatologist in the world making exactly that comparison.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
mc32 8y ago
I think it shows the hypocracy on the left. On the one hand it may be a fair question to ask, scientifically [comparing people to any non human species], but imagine someone on the right used that sentence for someone on the left, even if honestly seeking scientific inquiry. They’d be lambasted for being insentive at the least.
- chillwaves 8y ago
  > even if honestly seeking scientific inquiry. OK, so show us an example. We don't have to "imagine" someone on the right comparing Barack and Michelle Obama to chimps, or apes, or gorillas in a non-scientific inquiry because it was a constant during his presidency.
  - mc32 8y ago
    And we’re saying that that was okay? I don’t think so. So why is it okay in this case? Or are we saying it’s dishonest for a leading expert to engage in this juvenile behavior pretending it’s scientific inquiry? Imagine a scientist on the right equivocating Hillary with a rat, or something to that effect. People on the right get compared to Neanderthals as well. My point is no one should honestly be making these comparisons, if they also want to keep the moral high ground.
    - chillwaves 8y ago
      As mentioned elsewhere, the context is from a comment one person (a celebrity scientist) made. > the hypocracy on the left This statement seems designed to drag discourse into the gutter. I do not believe you are here to speak in good faith. There are 1,000 ways I can legitimately criticize Trump without referring to him as a chimp, and frankly it's not something that comes up very often. Imagine the criticism of Trump and tell me honestly you think him being compared to an animal is anywhere near 1/10th of 1%. Re: Obamas, it seemed to be one of the go to. You are creating a false equivalency. Ironically, the article we are discussing is refuting the comparison.
      - 8y ago

by Zhenya 8y ago

jasode 8y ago

>How can this be the leading sentence in a scientific article?? >"Do we gain insight by comparing President Trump to a chimpanzee?" If you look again at that sentence you quoted, it has a hyperlink to primatologist Jane Goodall comparing Trump to a chimpanzee.[1] Because Goodall is somewhat of a celebrity on the subject of chimps, and Trump is...obviously Trump, a lot of various media outlets picked up on the combination. E.g. Guardian, FT, Huffington, Fox News, etc.[2] So it seems like the author is basically responding to all of that. [1] http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-aggressive-chimp-and-may-not-last-long-668128 http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-aggressive-chimp-and-ma... [2] https://www.google.com/search?q=comparing+President+Trump+to+a+chimpanzee https://www.google.com/search?q=comparing+President+Trump+to...

Zhenya 8y ago
Great point. Updating my comment.
bumblebritches5 8y ago
> Trump is...obviously Trump No, Trump is President Trump. Get it fucking right, or get the fuck out.

iak8god 8y ago

It's hard to understand what you're objecting to. 1) This is pop sci, not a "scientific article", and 2) the text you quoted links to another article about the most famous primatologist in the world making exactly that comparison.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

mc32 8y ago

I think it shows the hypocracy on the left. On the one hand it may be a fair question to ask, scientifically [comparing people to any non human species], but imagine someone on the right used that sentence for someone on the left, even if honestly seeking scientific inquiry. They’d be lambasted for being insentive at the least.

chillwaves 8y ago
> even if honestly seeking scientific inquiry. OK, so show us an example. We don't have to "imagine" someone on the right comparing Barack and Michelle Obama to chimps, or apes, or gorillas in a non-scientific inquiry because it was a constant during his presidency.
- mc32 8y ago
  And we’re saying that that was okay? I don’t think so. So why is it okay in this case? Or are we saying it’s dishonest for a leading expert to engage in this juvenile behavior pretending it’s scientific inquiry? Imagine a scientist on the right equivocating Hillary with a rat, or something to that effect. People on the right get compared to Neanderthals as well. My point is no one should honestly be making these comparisons, if they also want to keep the moral high ground.
  - chillwaves 8y ago
    As mentioned elsewhere, the context is from a comment one person (a celebrity scientist) made. > the hypocracy on the left This statement seems designed to drag discourse into the gutter. I do not believe you are here to speak in good faith. There are 1,000 ways I can legitimately criticize Trump without referring to him as a chimp, and frankly it's not something that comes up very often. Imagine the criticism of Trump and tell me honestly you think him being compared to an animal is anywhere near 1/10th of 1%. Re: Obamas, it seemed to be one of the go to. You are creating a false equivalency. Ironically, the article we are discussing is refuting the comparison.
    - 8y ago