Mastodawn

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

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William Lindsey

Apr 6

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."

#antiintellectualism #SiliconValley #techbros #AI
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William Lindsey

Apr 6

"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

#antiintellectualism #SiliconValley #AI
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https://www.thenation.com/article/society/peter-thiel-marc-andreessen-silicon-valley-anti-intellectualism/

Pitchaya Sudbanthad Apr 2

"They pay lip service to innovation but hate the deep mental work and creativity that produces novelty and original thought. They care about such things only if they can be turned into a $20-a-month subscription service and then parlayed into mission-critical enterprise software."
#tech #bigtech #techbros #AI #antiintellectualism https://www.thenation.com/article/society/peter-thiel-marc-andreessen-silicon-valley-anti-intellectualism/

The Anti-Intellectualism of the Silicon Valley Elite

How the self-styled know-it-alls atop the knowledge economy want to dismantle the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake

The Nation

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harriehq Mar 29

And NOBODY ELSE FUCKING CARES, thereby affirming my complete lack of relevance or importance. You plebians.

#Music #music-industry #industry-plants #anti-intellectualism #devaluation #culture #history #knowledge

Yahooey Mar 28

“The nation that complacently and fearfully allows its artists and writers to become suspected rather than respected is no longer regarded as a nation possessed with humor or depth.” — James Thurber, "On The Brink of Was," The New Yorker (01958-12-07)
#JamesThurber #Quotation #Quote #QOTD #Art #Censorship #AntiIntellectualism #ArtisticFreedom

https://yahooeysblog.wordpress.com/2026/03/28/quote-of-the-day-5464/

Quote of the Day

Yahooey's Blog

JKN Mar 27

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.

#idiocracy #education

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hauch Mar 26

Anti-intellectualism isn't only attacking the concept of expert knowledge and people who have it, but also attacking and dismissing the people who could, even if in many cases only partially, have and understand that knowledge in the future.

"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing", but having less of it just leaves more room for belief, speculation and resentment and therfore makes it more dangerous.

6/6

#ActuallyAutistic #ADHD #AntiIntellectualism #Autism #Education #Expertise #Learning