[smileatyourself]

There has been news that a lecturer at Cambridge made racist remarks towards black people.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/ed...r-7878747.html

Does anyone have the inside information on this?

Not many newspapers mentioned it, certainly not Daily Torygraph or Times.

[Adam C]

Sounds like Nazi material to me. He claims not to be, but what non-Nazi uses pictures of Hitler on their website?

[Annoying-Mouse]

Seems like a pretty cool guy a part from all the mild sexism/racism. Also, seems more misunderstood or maybe I'm misunderstood because he clearly believes he has academic backing of his views as evident by the number of papers he keeps linking on his website. Nazi Flag seems like a joke to me.

Cambridge should fire him though because little bitches are getting their panties in a bunch thus threatening reputation of the university just like Satoshi Kanazawa did with LSE (even though they didn't fire him but still).

[py0alb]

Ah yes, holocaust denial, eugenics and crude racial slurs, those hilarious tongue-in-cheek jokes.

[Toaster Leavings]

He's right about eugenics, it's not inherently wrong. It definitely received a bad name after Germany and other places in Europe abused the idea. The rest of his racist/sexist comments are baseless though, which makes him a toolbox.

[Arekkusu]

Well, it is true that eugenics would be useful for the human race if it could be ethically done, it is true that racism is a natural in-group bias and it is true that men are better suited to competitive careers. But it's possible to stretch theoretical facts too far, in the real world you generally have to make some practical concessions, and doubtless there is some sort of agenda here.

[sebsy]

One of my lecturers (who is Russian) once told the Chinese people at the back of our lecture to "either shut up or at least speak in English". Was pretty ironic as he couldn't speak English great anyway (or teach for that matter)

[Barden]

A computer scientist hired by Cambridge to teach economics? How.. the... what?

[Hashshashin]

(Original post by Barden)
A computer scientist hired by Cambridge to teach economics? How.. the... what?

What's wrong with that? He's teaching maths/stats/econometrics, not economic theory.

[Orianne]

Racist? His wife is Chinese!

[placebo24]

(Original post by Orianne)
Racist? His wife is Chinese!

A Chinese guy is one of the most racist people I know.

[Harry S Truman]

(Original post by py0alb)
Ah yes, holocaust denial, eugenics and crude racial slurs, those hilarious tongue-in-cheek jokes.

Where does he deny the Holocaust? It's possible to think that David Irving is an important historian without being a Holocaust denier (see, for example, Christopher Hitchens), and I'm unaware of Irving being an actual Holocaust denier despite his conviction for it.

[py0alb]

(Original post by Harry S Truman)
Where does he deny the Holocaust? It's possible to think that David Irving is an important historian without being a Holocaust denier (see, for example, Christopher Hitchens), and I'm unaware of Irving being an actual Holocaust denier despite his conviction for it.

You're a historian. Surely you can't possibly think that the openly racist, anti-Semite, Hitler fanatic, Holocaust denier neo-Nazi David Irving is an important historian. Most people regard him as a historical author and fascist polemicist, not even a historian at all.

[Harry S Truman]

(Original post by py0alb)
You're a historian. Surely you can't possibly think that the openly racist, anti-Semite, Hitler fanatic, Holocaust denier neo-Nazi David Irving is an important historian. Most people regard him as a historical author and fascist polemicist, not even a historian at all.

I never claimed I did take him seriously - indeed, I'm quite disinterested in the historiography of Nazi Germany. But many important historians, such as Norman Stone and Hugh Trevor-Roper, have taken Irving's work very seriously even if they disagree with his views. My understanding is that he's a very skilled researcher at the very least.

[iammichealjackson]

(Original post by Orianne)
Racist? His wife is Chinese!

Surprisingly there are more "races" than english and chinese.

[tufc]

He's entitled to his views. As long as he's not using his position to indoctrinate students, I don't see what the fuss is about.

[NuckingFut]

He basically uses fancy words to disguise his racism.

Kind of an intellectual racist!

[NuckingFut]

(Original post by Orianne)
Racist? His wife is Chinese!

Ah, its the old "im not racist, one of my friends is black/asian/american/maroon/alien/e.t.c" line!

[QuinStar]

(Original post by Arekkusu)
it is true that men are better suited to competitive careers.

I don't generally join in these TSR debates, but felt compelled to respond to this snippet- males are not better suited to competitive careers, our society simply permits them to adapt their lives more wholly to such. With less pressure to prioritise familial ties, men are purely allowed to embrace more time consuming jobs- allowed and encouraged- in a way women are not. Any person with an ability to cope with stress and relative intelligence and knowledge of their field would be well suited to a competitive career. This is in no way gender specific, and small biological differences (in terms of temperament due to hormones or whatever) should not be exaggerated to the extent of these glib, overarching statements.

That's all.

[py0alb]

(Original post by QuinStar)
I don't generally join in these TSR debates.

probably because you're not naturally competitive?

/jk