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He really didn’t coin the term for her specifically, as nice as that sounds.
Well, at least in connection with her:
Coined by English philosopher and historian of science William Whewell in March 1834 in an anonymous review of Mary Somerville’s book On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences in the Quarterly Review
That sounds like it was for her specifically in the first use
Beautifully spoken
Fucking relatable.
No thank you to the hundreds of years of chemist men taking credit for women’s discoveries.
No thank you to the old white Persian man gate keeping chemistry from Ukranians and older women in my class.
No thank you to the sexist math book author who used shoeless women in a kitchen as a word problem example.
No thank you to Amazon for banning my 15 year account for calling the sexist math book author out in reviews.
White Persian?
There is an excellent Science channel on Youtube and Nebula with a Physics PHD who’s made some eye-opening content about harassment and misogyny in STEM and Academia.
I recently got recommended her channel. She’s amazing, like Jenny Nicholson but for science.
She’s a great science communicator. Another famous Youtuber (Captain D) called her “the Jenny Nicholson of science” her Dark Matter video is my favorite, though her Gell-Mann Amnesia video is a “must watch” imho.
Watch her dark matter video. And the follow up. But for the love of God, dodge the comments. SO MANY people read the title of the video and then went to make comments calling her wrong, even though she spent like an hour specifically addressing the arguments they make.
Dark matter is not a theory. It’s a problem. Fuck!
The only thing you should post in those comments is:
Dark Matter
Where is it?
How much?
Where is it?
How much?
Do we need it?
I thought it was a theory like how gravity works is a theory.
Like I said, watch her video. She goes into lots of detail and gives a much better explanation than I could ever hope to. But here I go anyway:
The gist of it is that “dark matter” isn’t really an attempt to explain anything. Like, theory of gravity, we have some good rules, things accelerate depending on mass and proximity to other things. Theory of dark matter? Not so much.
Dark matter is a problem in the sense that it’s an observable phenomenon we can’t really explain. When we observe really far away stars and galaxies, they interact in ways that imply far larger amount of matter than what we are actually observing. So where’s that matter? We don’t know! Dark matter! But unfortunately that nomenclature and the many ideas surrounding what does cause the dark matter phenomenon have deeply clouded the conversation.
Dark matter is not a theory of how things work. It’s a problem to be solved.
So it’s more we know it’s there we just don’t currently know what it is.
It isn’t theoretical much like the stink around me rn isn’t theoretical even if I cannot see or smell it with my stuffy nose because when I farted the dog barked at me and ran out of the room. I might not be able to directly observe it but clearly it is there.
Uhh I guess it’s kinda like that, minus you knowing you farted. Imagine the dog barked and ran but you genuinely had no idea why that happened. As a joke you go “dang that was like I farted so bad even the dog couldn’t stand it!” But now everyone heard you say you farted, so any time a dog barks and runs away they call it “Rowbot’s fart.”
Dark matter may not literally be matter of any kind at all. All we know for sure is that objects with a certain amount of observable matter are, for some reason, behaving like they have much, much more. But also not with any consistency; sometimes it’s like 30% more, sometimes they act like they’re twice their size. We just call it dark matter because “dang it’s like there’s a bunch of matter we can’t see.” But we don’t really know what’s causing the discrepancy.
To be fair, it’s not like we’re totally clueless about it, but as of yet no single hypothesis has any concrete proof.
Love her videos! Really opened my eyes to a lot of this.
Here are two videos on that subject that are great to start out with
What she has been through is awful.
I wish though that more people knew the difference between an Acknowledgements page and a Thank You page.
This should properly be titled Anti Thanks.
Acknowledgements should only cover individuals and institutions whose contributions are a direct factor in the material body of the text.
You should let her know so you can make your way into the next printing
Not a physicist but fuck it is so relatable.
I appreciate her telling it like it is and not bowing to a pressure to please.
Reminds me of Sabine Hossfelder, a physicist, who had made some similar experiences.
Proof that educated people can still be immensely stupid and be utter human trash.
It’s sad that she decided to channel her experience into transphobia, as if punching down will somehow make up for all the punches she got.
Really? That’s news to me.
Was news to me also, very sad news indeed
She also made a video extolling the virtues of capitalism and how science wouldn’t have progressed without it, but then oddly went on to make videos about why she had to leave academia because of profit motive forcing her to research things that didn’t matter but got grant funding to keep her alive, without making the connection that the profit motive that destroyed her dream is due to capitalism.
Also, she’s very ableist in that she is against autistic people
Ironically - still successfully highlighting how smart people can be assholes.
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Love the part on the video where essentially she says “I was given my first research position thanks to a grant for women. Also, there should be no research grants for women”. Piece of shit.
To be clear, you are criticising Sabine for saying there should be no research grants for women? If so, you perhaps misinterpret her meaning? If I know Sabine at all from her videos she would have simply meant that in an equal world, grants aimed specifically at either sex should not be necessary. I don’t think this is a “raise the drawbridge” stance, if that’s what you mean.
in an equal world, grants aimed specifically at either sex should not be necessary
Not quite, I’m afraid. Her point was essentially “I had very good grades, so I would have been hired anyway, but instead of hiring me normally, they hired me through this grant for women, which is a form of discrimination”. She’s not explicitly saying “kick the ladder when I’m up top”, but it’s essentially the conclusion. She mentions it on the “what’s wrong with academia” thingy video.
can’t wait to experience that myself!! 🥰
Fuck these misogynistic pigs, idiots like these need to be called out more often. It’s too bad she couldn’t give names out and completely humiliate and ruin them.
While I agree with the first part of what you said, I don’t think the longterm solution is to call out individuals and make their lives horrible. It sure is a good way to maybe deter a few people from doing those misogynistic things. But what we need is actual structural change. It shouldn’t be possible these people to do such things in the first place without being sanctioned. And we should educate people more on feminism and intersectional struggles in general.
counterpoint: many people fundamentally need to be shamed if they’re being shitheads, or they will never improve. The important part is just that they also need to be given a clear way to redeem themselves.
Naming and shaming is part of the structural change.
Only if the accusations are true. It is just a post on the internet, there is no proof any of this is true or factual. Don’t be in such a hurry to harm others and damage their lives.
As the husband of a woman with a PhD, let me assure you that I have witnessed several of these first hand when I travel with her to conferences.
We should absolutely ruin their lives. Fuckem
As a woman, and having known many other women, I can promise you that none of what is mentioned is particularly far fetched. It’s sad, but we all have multiple stories like this. Almost any woman could put together a similar paragraph of incidents she has personally experienced.
Edit to add: she didn’t even name anyone! No one is harmed, except the people who know they should be ashamed of themselves.
As a man I’d have never believed how common such behavior is. I’d have thought that’s really outlandish.
Now I’ve gone through the (probably stereotypical) process of a guy having a daughter, she’s an adult now.
What she told me - no, all this stuff isn’t unusual at all. The first time she was afraid (and called me as she already had a phone of her own) she was not even 10 years old, riding her bike from my place to the ex-wife’s place, teenage boys catcalling her.
There’s a lot of us men around who find it hard to believe, because it doesn’t happen to US. But it does. Frequently.
It’s not happening to us, but it’s happening all around us and we choose not to see it. Once my own daughter began talking to me about her experiences and pointing out men’s problematic behavior in public, I can no longer not see it.
I know it never happened around me personally, I’m tall and mean looking, but working in service for over a decade and most people don’t know how bad it is. You learn that the restraining order needs to happen BEFORE it gets worse not as it gets worse. And none of that protects workers traveling to work. You can’t let anyone walk alone to their car alone after close, and if a guy comes in and asks for an associate with those creep vibes, and they aren’t known to the associate or a part of their private life in anyway, you need to aggressively fight it. On visit two looking for her, you have to pull her behind closed doors and report to the police he’s stalking and get a restraining order. SECOND VISIT. Anything less and you’re letting to go way to far.
A bit more, this is a chapter from a PhD thesis
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normalize it to the point that the anti-acknowledgements name names
This seems to be the Netherlands (TU Delft). Maybe it’s normal there.
I don’t think so. Academia is still a pyramid system, and a lot of people want a post-doc or not burn bridges
Never let the actions of others dictate your future. If you have a goal never never give up.
Victim blaming, classic
Who is the victim?
The woman who had to endure constant misogyny during her scientific career. You’re placing the responsibility on her instead of the people oppressing her
What I read was “don’t let these bastards stop you”, as in “whatever they do, you have your place in science or any other pursuit you make”.
It doesn’t mean “no change needs to be made”. Rachel didn’t give up, and was right about it, and it’s good she spoke up.
Simpler said than done. Of course I agree with you, but we need deeper changes in our society, in our behaviour as people. If you get told time and time again, that you’re worthless, can’t achieve anything etc. that’s going to leave a mark. Sure, encouraging to not let that dominate one’s thoughts is a useful skill. But it shouldn’t be necessary in the first place.
You can also have a chance to get out of such a negative surrounding, connect with people that respect you and do actions that raise your self esteem (back).
Maybe instead of meaningless platitudes actual change would be in order.
Spoken like a true man. I’m a victim of sexism in STEM, now resigned to finish my degree in Japanese rather than deal with the awfulness that is men in Engingeering.
What a cunt.
You are indeed!
Yes yes, intelligent woman be intimidating to some people.
But how old is this, is it still that bad? The “computer girl” could be around 2000.
Boy did this comment backfire.
It’s all in the wording, but I think it’s also the contradiction between the first and second/third sentences.
Yes yes, intelligent woman be intimidating to some people.
Acknowledges that intelligent women are intimidating to some. It also uses present tense, which implies the author knows this is still the case.
But how old is this, is it still that bad? The “computer girl” could be around 2000.
Ah “it”. Which it? That some people are intimidated by intelligent women or that the author encountered a ton of sexism?
I think it’s ok to ask how prevalent sexism still is these days, especially if you personally experience it / don’t participate in a field dominated by the opposite gender.
Something like “I thought society would have finally realized this behavior wasn’t appropriate after me too, is that not the case?” sounds less tone deaf.
You don’t think the “yes yes” is dismissive?
Ha, I mentally skipped the second yes. Agree, add that to the list.
You think old men in academia are up to date on their misogyny? Why?
…the dissertation. Which means years of being at a university, though granted it’s unlikely to be 25.
Feminist Hacker Barbie is the proper meme response to that and that’s 2014/15, but chuds tend to live under rocks so that might explain it.
But surely equality has been achieved in the last few months, this all feels so very January. People are so much more open minded now than in those dark days of the past. Why waste time even discussing such outdated attitudes that totally and completely disappeared in February and are certain to never return?!
My bad for not being in circles where this behavior was common the last 20 years i guess?
I’ve certainly been there, shocked to realise my personal slice of reality was unusual. At least in this case, it’s a good problem to have.
Now I want an anti-acknowledgment section in my dissertation too
