4 ms·

Academia’s ableist culture laid bare

10 points by sohkamyung 5y ago

Bostonian 5y ago
Any organization that wants to accomplish something must be ableist in some way. Universities are for people who are above average in intelligence, which immediately excludes more than half the population.
- xqcgrek2 5y ago
  Neither of your two statements are true. Plenty of organizations have dead weight, particularly larger ones. Some universities exclude people based on ability (particularly those who market themselves as elite), but not all -- after all, formally a university is an institution for advancing knowledge and historically had have plenty of below-average intelligence noblemen. No, the real issue with "ableism" is the scarcity of resources or efficiency. Some people are just more efficient or capable at achieving particular tasks or goals. An attack against ableism is an attack against capitalism and efficient allocation of resources.
- TeaDrunk 5y ago
  Most of the examples listed are just like... stair vs ramp/escalators. Very little had anything to do with accomplishing anything academic.
slibhb 5y ago
I find myself wondering if this a parody: > My biggest barrier is other people’s assumptions about what I can and can’t do. While I was doing postdoctoral fieldwork in Panama, our team needed to collect female butterflies from the rainforest. There was some scepticism about my taking part, because I wouldn’t be able to hike. I convinced them to drop me off by a river with a stool and some nets, and I parked myself by plants that I knew the butterflies like. I caught two females. The hikers caught only one — and were bitten by chigger mites and mosquitos. It was a great moment to flip life a middle finger.
ramraj07 5y ago
The guy who figured out you could crystallize proteins had only one hand https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_B._Sumner https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_B._Sumner . My biochem teacher said he’d keep test tubes in his pocket and pipette into them!
JoeyBananas 5y ago
Academia encourages people to portray themselves as victims. Applications for most jobs and grants typically have a "Personal statement" component which is universally understood as the place where you are supposed to write your sob story. If you see yourself as a "normal" person and you don't want to write an emotional essay about your personal life and how oppressed you are, you probably won't get the job or grant. This article reads like a personal statement. And it's dripping wet with liberal kool-aid.

10 points by sohkamyung 5y ago

Any organization that wants to accomplish something must be ableist in some way. Universities are for people who are above average in intelligence, which immediately excludes more than half the population.

xqcgrek2 5y ago
Neither of your two statements are true. Plenty of organizations have dead weight, particularly larger ones. Some universities exclude people based on ability (particularly those who market themselves as elite), but not all -- after all, formally a university is an institution for advancing knowledge and historically had have plenty of below-average intelligence noblemen. No, the real issue with "ableism" is the scarcity of resources or efficiency. Some people are just more efficient or capable at achieving particular tasks or goals. An attack against ableism is an attack against capitalism and efficient allocation of resources.
TeaDrunk 5y ago
Most of the examples listed are just like... stair vs ramp/escalators. Very little had anything to do with accomplishing anything academic.

slibhb 5y ago

I find myself wondering if this a parody: > My biggest barrier is other people’s assumptions about what I can and can’t do. While I was doing postdoctoral fieldwork in Panama, our team needed to collect female butterflies from the rainforest. There was some scepticism about my taking part, because I wouldn’t be able to hike. I convinced them to drop me off by a river with a stool and some nets, and I parked myself by plants that I knew the butterflies like. I caught two females. The hikers caught only one — and were bitten by chigger mites and mosquitos. It was a great moment to flip life a middle finger.

ramraj07 5y ago

The guy who figured out you could crystallize proteins had only one hand https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_B._Sumner https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_B._Sumner . My biochem teacher said he’d keep test tubes in his pocket and pipette into them!

JoeyBananas 5y ago

Academia encourages people to portray themselves as victims. Applications for most jobs and grants typically have a "Personal statement" component which is universally understood as the place where you are supposed to write your sob story. If you see yourself as a "normal" person and you don't want to write an emotional essay about your personal life and how oppressed you are, you probably won't get the job or grant. This article reads like a personal statement. And it's dripping wet with liberal kool-aid.