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The author is head of something he calls "Persuasion." Not everyone is impressed. https://newrepublic.com/article/158401/problem-yascha-mounks-persuasion https

The author is head of something he calls "Persuasion." Not everyone is impressed. https://newrepublic.com/article/158401/problem-yascha-mounks-persuasion https://newrepublic.com/article/158401/problem-yascha-mounks... It's free speech 101 - you can say what you like (as long as you're not inciting crime or violence.) But no one owes you a pulpit. I have far more of a problem with mob farming and Twitter incitement: see also anti-vaxing, organised climate change denial, and political rabble rousing. Because those are covert rather than free - pretending to be independent and organic while actually being centralised and astroturfed.

nomdep 5y ago
> you can say what you like (as long as you're not inciting crime or violence.) But whatever reason is to forbid inciting crime or violence is equally valid to forbid inciting firing or un-inviting someone isn’t it?
- randallsquared 5y ago
  Absolutely not. Crime/violence are taking something from someone. Firing/uninviting are deciding not to trade with someone.
- sokoloff 5y ago
  There’s clearly a line somewhere, otherwise there’s no point in speech (if it cannot be used to influence others in even the smallest of ways). While I don’t think MIT made the best call here, I think that Twitter users (mobs or otherwise) should be free to ask MIT to do this. I would have preferred that MIT had professionally yet firmly declined as the controversy is unrelated to the topic. (IMO, they’d be wise to avoid having a flat-Earther present at an EAPS event, but that’s not the analog here.)
h2odragon 5y ago
You don't think there's any real, individual, independant doubt about vaccines, global warming, or political causes? Just "everybody you disagree with"? or is your side also controlled by conspiracies of the elites dictating the opinions of their followers?
- whitexn--g28h 5y ago
  At this point over 200 million Americans have been vaccinated. 700k people have died of COVID-19. In the US there is no independent individual who could come to a conclusion other than it is safer to get vaccinated than to get COVID-19. I’m not sure who is spreading the anti-vax nonsense, but at this point it seems like more of a Darwin Award than a conspiracy by the elite.
  - h2odragon 5y ago
    Those that have had COVID may legitimately feel they have less need for the vaccine. Some of us have other medical reasons not to take one. Or might just be ornery. No matter how convinced you are that "no independent individual" disagrees with you; it still happens.

nomdep 5y ago

> you can say what you like (as long as you're not inciting crime or violence.) But whatever reason is to forbid inciting crime or violence is equally valid to forbid inciting firing or un-inviting someone isn’t it?

randallsquared 5y ago
Absolutely not. Crime/violence are taking something from someone. Firing/uninviting are deciding not to trade with someone.
sokoloff 5y ago
There’s clearly a line somewhere, otherwise there’s no point in speech (if it cannot be used to influence others in even the smallest of ways). While I don’t think MIT made the best call here, I think that Twitter users (mobs or otherwise) should be free to ask MIT to do this. I would have preferred that MIT had professionally yet firmly declined as the controversy is unrelated to the topic. (IMO, they’d be wise to avoid having a flat-Earther present at an EAPS event, but that’s not the analog here.)

h2odragon 5y ago

You don't think there's any real, individual, independant doubt about vaccines, global warming, or political causes? Just "everybody you disagree with"? or is your side also controlled by conspiracies of the elites dictating the opinions of their followers?

whitexn--g28h 5y ago
At this point over 200 million Americans have been vaccinated. 700k people have died of COVID-19. In the US there is no independent individual who could come to a conclusion other than it is safer to get vaccinated than to get COVID-19. I’m not sure who is spreading the anti-vax nonsense, but at this point it seems like more of a Darwin Award than a conspiracy by the elite.
- h2odragon 5y ago
  Those that have had COVID may legitimately feel they have less need for the vaccine. Some of us have other medical reasons not to take one. Or might just be ornery. No matter how convinced you are that "no independent individual" disagrees with you; it still happens.