4 ms·

But that's basically all medical science before the 20th century

maweki 4y ago
First of all, that's no reason to not talk about/teach it. And second of all, there are degrees to it. Not every bit of medical knowledge was obtained by vivisection and Mengele-style experiments on "undesirables".
- throw0101c 4y ago
  > First of all, that's no reason to not talk about/teach it. There are a finite number of hours in the day and week: what do we spend them on? If you want to learn the history of science/math, take a history course. If you're in a science/math course presumably your goal is to learn those subjects, and not history.
  - n4r9 4y ago
    What if a student wants to learn mathematics, but feels alienated because so many of the results are named after stale old white men, some of whom oppressed their own ancestors, and no one seems to acknowledge this? I'm not saying we should rename the results, but showing a modicum of awareness and sensitivity can do wonders for bolstering students' confidence.
    - throw0101c 4y ago
      > What if a student wants to learn mathematics, but feels alienated because so many of the results are named after stale old white men, some of whom oppressed their own ancestors, and no one seems to acknowledge this? Who did Euclid or Pythagoras oppress? Leibniz or Newton? Pascal or Laplace? Euler or Gauss?
      - n4r9 4y ago
        Well, Isaac Netwon supported the slave trade by holding the equivalent of millions of pounds in shares in the South Sea Company: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Sea_Company https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Sea_Company Liebniz wasn't much better: "Leibniz’s early views were no more savoury; ‘barbarians,’ whom he considered ‘beasts’ (see Perkins, 111), could be destroyed in order to civilize them." https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-leibniz/ https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-leibniz/ Obviously not all mathematicians espoused problematic views, but it's worth demonstrating sensitivity to this aspect if it broadens the appeal of the subject.
    - pif 4y ago
      Is this an example of the stereotypical American "academic" leftist idiotic fringe that takes many votes to the Tea Party?
      - n4r9 4y ago
        Who are you calling idiotic? Me, or someone that would feel alienated by university mathematics?
        pif 4y ago
        You, for wanting to waste everybody's time with problems that are yet to be confirmed.
        n4r9 4y ago
        Please stop being abusive, it lowers the level of discussion and really doesn't help your case.

First of all, that's no reason to not talk about/teach it. And second of all, there are degrees to it. Not every bit of medical knowledge was obtained by vivisection and Mengele-style experiments on "undesirables".

throw0101c 4y ago
> First of all, that's no reason to not talk about/teach it. There are a finite number of hours in the day and week: what do we spend them on? If you want to learn the history of science/math, take a history course. If you're in a science/math course presumably your goal is to learn those subjects, and not history.
- n4r9 4y ago
  What if a student wants to learn mathematics, but feels alienated because so many of the results are named after stale old white men, some of whom oppressed their own ancestors, and no one seems to acknowledge this? I'm not saying we should rename the results, but showing a modicum of awareness and sensitivity can do wonders for bolstering students' confidence.
  - throw0101c 4y ago
    > What if a student wants to learn mathematics, but feels alienated because so many of the results are named after stale old white men, some of whom oppressed their own ancestors, and no one seems to acknowledge this? Who did Euclid or Pythagoras oppress? Leibniz or Newton? Pascal or Laplace? Euler or Gauss?
    - n4r9 4y ago
      Well, Isaac Netwon supported the slave trade by holding the equivalent of millions of pounds in shares in the South Sea Company: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Sea_Company https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Sea_Company Liebniz wasn't much better: "Leibniz’s early views were no more savoury; ‘barbarians,’ whom he considered ‘beasts’ (see Perkins, 111), could be destroyed in order to civilize them." https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-leibniz/ https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-leibniz/ Obviously not all mathematicians espoused problematic views, but it's worth demonstrating sensitivity to this aspect if it broadens the appeal of the subject.
  - pif 4y ago
    Is this an example of the stereotypical American "academic" leftist idiotic fringe that takes many votes to the Tea Party?
    - n4r9 4y ago
      Who are you calling idiotic? Me, or someone that would feel alienated by university mathematics?
      - pif 4y ago
        You, for wanting to waste everybody's time with problems that are yet to be confirmed.
        n4r9 4y ago
        Please stop being abusive, it lowers the level of discussion and really doesn't help your case.