Here's some food for thought: I was recently reading Dr. Ben Bova's book "Immortality" wherein he suggests that in less than twenty years, scientists will probably figure out how to halt cellular senescence by lengthening telomeres inside our DNA, which will increase human lifespans by hundreds (and possibly thousands) of years. For those who would laugh at Bova, it should be remembered that he correctly predicted that the Russians would put a satellite into orbit, and that the Americans would put a man on the moon, and in that order.
Dr. Bova goes on to say that if and when we cure cancer as well as other diseases, and indefinitely prolong man's life, it will be due primarily to the work of Nobel Laureate James Watson, a man who was driven out of polite society for saying pretty much what Charles Murray and [Jason] Richwine are saying.
To put it bluntly, the "racist" men of science have put our species closer to eradicating death and disease altogether. What has an "anti-racist" like Tim Wise done for his country lately? Wish death on older white people who have the temerity to have different political views than him? It's pretty simple: the "racists" seek enlightenment, the "anti-racists" seek to keep us in ignorance.
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Here's a heads up: Racists can also be contributing members of society. However, that doesn't make them not racist, or make their racisim acceptable.
We didn't let the Nazi's off because they invented motorways, and your bigot friend doesn't get a free pass no matter how good a researcher he is.
For those who would laugh at Bova, it should be remembered that he correctly predicted that the Russians would put a satellite into orbit, and that the Americans would put a man on the moon, and in that order.
Since Bova published his first book, a novel, two years after Sputnik was launched, this is not a particularly credible claim.
To put it bluntly, the "racist" men of science have put our species closer to eradicating death and disease altogether.
And? Wagner was a racist, Ezra Pound was a traitor and Phil Spector is a murderer. Sometimes great people do terrible things - errare humanum est.
"To put it bluntly, the "racist" men of science have put our species closer to eradicating death and disease altogether."
Once more, racists seek to bolster their self-esteem by pretending that accomplishments that are not theirs are attributable to them by deign of their skin color.
Pathetic.
"To put it bluntly, the "racist" men of science have put our species closer to eradicating death and disease altogether."
Save that kind of talk for when scientists and doctors ACTUALLY DO cure death and disease forever. If ever (I'm extremely skeptical over whether the human lifespan can be extended indefinitely, maybe just increased to 180 years or maybe a few thousand at most). What the fuck does Jason Richwine have to do with that?
"What has an "anti-racist" like Tim Wise done for his country lately?"
You can thank anti-racists like Franz Boas and Ashley Montagu who contributed as much or more to modern scientific understanding of human genetics than James Watson. They corrected the long-standing Western belief in discrete human "races". The debunking of this belief was one of the driving forces of the explosion in knowledge of human genetics in the past 50 years.
Watson appears to be/have been a gifted scientist who expressed some troubling personal views connected to, but not inherently proven by his research. That doesn't mean that any work that he did was flawed, though all research should be examined for bias.
While I respect Bova as an SF writer, I don't see anything about him that indicates he has an earned doctorate in anything scientific. While SF writers can be fascinating commentators on medical and scientific topics, their comments and predictions should always be taken with the appropriate amount of NaCl. :) In other words, just because an SF writer says something, doesn't mean he's right!
Watson appears to be/have been a gifted scientist who expressed some troubling personal views connected to, but not inherently proven by his research. That doesn't mean that any work that he did was flawed, though all research should be examined for bias.
While I respect Bova as an SF writer, I don't see anything about him that indicates he has an earned doctorate in anything scientific. While SF writers can be fascinating commentators on medical and scientific topics, their comments and predictions should always be taken with the appropriate amount of NaCl. :) In other words, just because an SF writer says something, doesn't mean he's right!
I happen to know Hirschibold, and this comment represents merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg of silliness he has spouted and/or believes. I have emails and emails of braindead, fundie comments from him, so it is not surprising someone took note of something he'd said online...
To be fair, Hirschibold is not a bad person but I think he only says crazy comments to get "likes" on websites. I'm not convinced he even believes what he says half the time.
It matters very little to Hirschibold that James Watson's opinion on race and intelligence was an off-colored comment not validated by any personal research (recall: the reason Hirschibold mentioned Watson was, beyond the Nobel Prize, he is a RESEARCH scientist). In other words, Watson's comment is about as useful as a biology undergrad's opinion on the same subject.
And, to add, though Watson may hold a personal opinion, he's no Charles Murray, who is not a scientist. Nor is he a Hirschibold. Most AmRen readers are so insulated from scrutiny that someone like Hirschibold can say whatever he wants without being taken to task on the illogicality of what they believe...
I don't care if someone finds a cure for all disease and invents a way to grow food in even the harshest climates. Doing something good for humanity doesn't excuse assholish behavior.
Bobby Fischer was probably the greatest American chess player ever, yet he had some pretty bad things to say about Jews. Of course, he may have been a bit crazy in his later years, but still. It doesn't mean his prowess on the chess board gave him the right to hate certain groups of people.
L. Ron Hubbard was a science fiction writer, too, so I guess that means that Scientology is the one true religion.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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