Destroying Civilisation - Now Maths is Racist

 Rod Liddle: We’re screeching into a new Dark Age, and bad scientists are leading the charge

The Sunday Times,12 December 2021
 
Stuck fast in a confined space between his mum and dad, Tane Mahuta eventually kicked out, sending his father, Ranginui, up to the sky and his mother, Papatuanuku, down to the earth. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the world was formed, according to Maori folklore.

A little later a demigod called Maui went fishing with a jawbone and was lucky enough to catch the north island of New Zealand, which is how it came into being. The south island was Maui’s canoe. A big canoe, then. I don’t know if the Maoris have an explanation for how their country’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, was brought into existence. Perhaps one of those demigods put some puppies in a blender.

The Tane Mahuta stuff is a colourful and possibly (your call) delightful explanation of the creation of the world — although not, for me, wholly persuasive. It is not notably more mad than the idea that an all-powerful God, probably masked up and working from home according to guidelines, put in an onerous six-day shift to create everything around us and then took Sunday off to watch the golf on Sky. We create these myths in darkness and hope that they will provide us with a little light until something genuinely illuminating comes along, such as science: evidence-based and empirical.

So, from New Zealand, comes more evidence that what I call the De-Enlightenment really is upon us. There, a government working party has demanded that the story of Tane Mahuta and his various strange relatives should be given equal emphasis when children are taught the origins of the world: equal emphasis, that is, to the stuff we know to be true. To the science.

One very eminent scientist called Garth Cooper, a professor of biochemistry and clinical biochemistry at the University of Auckland, slightly balked at this. He signed an open letter suggesting that, while it was important everybody knew about the interesting Maori take on creation, “In the discovery of empirical, universal truths, it falls far short of what we can define as science itself.”

You might have expected his colleagues to agree. Nope, not a bit of it. Cooper is in the process of being cancelled nationwide, with pretty much only the New Zealand Free Speech Union supporting him. The Royal Society of New Zealand has denounced him and he may be expelled from it. His own vice-chancellor at Auckland, a Brit called Dawn Freshwater, said he had caused “considerable hurt and dismay among our staff, students and alumni”.

A letter attacking him for causing “untold hurt and harm” was got up by two other academics. The first is Siouxsie Wiles, a pink-haired woman whose hobby is playing with Lego, despite her objections to the gender stereotypes inherent within Lego figurines. The other is Shaun Hendy, who is the mathematical modeller behind New Zealand’s policy of remaining within lockdown for ever in case someone dies. The letter was signed by more than 2,000 academics.

This story has not gained much traction in the British press, and when it has, it has been on the undoubtedly important issue of freedom of speech. Our own Richard Dawkins has written to the Royal Society of New Zealand voicing his incredulity.

Yet for once freedom of speech is not the crucial issue for me here. It is instead the burgeoning madness and stupidity, condescension and racism that are propelling us towards the De-Enlightenment. All of those academics, and the Royal Society, know full well that the Maori explanation for the creation of the world is not correct. And yet, hypocritically and patronisingly, they pretend otherwise.

The argument — facile beyond comprehension — is that science has been used by white, western, developed nations to underpin colonialism and is therefore tainted by its association with white supremacy. As Dawkins pointed out, science is not “white”. (The assumption that it is is surely racist.) Nor is it imperialist. It is simply a rather beautiful tool for discerning the truth.

It is not just New Zealand. Science is under attack in America and indeed here. Rochelle Gutierrez, an Illinois professor, has argued that algebra and trigonometry perpetuate white power and that maths is, effectively, racist.

Oxford University has announced that it intends to “decolonise” maths: “This includes steps such as integrating race and gender questions into topics.”

A lunacy has gripped our academics. They would be happy to throw out centuries of learning and brilliance for the sake of being temporarily right-on, and thus signalling their admirable piety to a young, approving audience.

It is an indulgence that, with every fatuous genuflection towards political correctness, is dragging us all backwards.

Will Victoria Become the Australian California?

According to news reports thousands of people and businesses are leaving California in the US to move to states like Texas and Florida. They are moving to escape from loony socialist governance, crime, dysfunctional cities, and associated high costs of living including taxes.

When I lived in Queensland from the 70s to 90s, people were moving from New South Wales, Victoria and other places to Queensland. We called them Mexicans. Most were looking for sunshine, less populated areas, and reduced costs of living, especially for housing. Taxes were never an issue since taxes across Australia are pretty much the same.

Between 1988 and 1991 I managed the business and computing department at the Bundaberg TAFE College and had, from memory, five people approach me about jobs in computing. Their stories were the same. They'd moved from Sydney to escape large cohorts of immigrants, too much traffic and high costs of housing. 

They could buy a decent house for $100,000 in Bundaberg and after selling their lower quality Sydney house for much more, live a lovely life near the Queensland coast. Unfortunately, they didn't do their homework regarding jobs. The region had very high unemployment and hardly any job vacancies at the time. 

Now we have a situation in Victoria where a socialist government has become more totalitarian than people want and has passed legislation that is, by any measure, apparently draconian. The state has become a Police State during the currently ongoing Covid-19 crisis and the legislation is a harbinger of things to come. People are worried.

I expect that there will be more than the usual number of people "escaping" Victoria's harsh regime for states with less oppressive regimes. Time will tell. Watch this space.

Robin

The Big Mushroom

Australia has a number of "The Big ... " geographical locations like The Big Banana and The Big Rocking Horse and The Toy Shop but nobody has The Big Mushroom.

My friend Leon turned up yesterday with a Big Mushroom, perhaps the biggest I have ever seen, the size of a dinner plate.

He also had a couple of large tubs full of mushrooms he was giving to anyone who wanted them. I love mushrooms so I accepted half a dozen and plan to fry them in some butter and have them on toast. None is as large as the one Leon demonstrates below, but they are nice-sized mushies and will be good to eat.

Leon gave the big mushroom to another friend of ours, which is good, as I probably wouldn't have had the heart to chop it up. Perhaps I may have preserved it somehow.

Leon is a farmer who grows several crops, none of which is mushrooms and he tells me these just "appeared" in the field. It must mean there is good soil and the right conditions for mushrooms to pop up.

Now I'm off to cook my mushies.

Robin

Malcolm Roberts Debates with a Moron

Few people are brave enough to debate Malcolm Roberts or numerous other genuine scientists about climate change because deep down, many who outwardly support the mainstream media and political agenda narrative, know that it's essentially bullshit.

In this short debate, Malcolm Roberts, a mining engineer who has done extensive research into the IPCC global warming agenda, demolishes some unknown fellow called Mark who talks a lot of disjointed "facts" without any real data.

There are hundreds of scientists and gifted amateurs who challenge the global narrative of extinction, alarmism, and the idea that somehow wind turbines and solar will ever provide sufficient energy to live decent lives. Unfortunately, those people have been banned from the discussion because those with vested interests - follow the money - don't want the truth to come out.

As a result, the misinformed public largely remains misinformed and believes there is a climate emergency.

We owe it to ourselves and the good of our societies and countries to ensure we are properly informed as billions of our taxes are being squandered needlessly.

#Robinoz