The Joe I referred to was Joe six-pack the plumber who seems to be the main
voter in the current US election. I do not think that anti-intellectual
snobbery is mainly or even largely due to intellectual elitism. Almost all
the scientists and academics I know are either passive with regard to the
general public or are actively interested in getting their message across.
Just look at language. There are tons of words that imply negative attitudes
or downright hostility towards intellectuals, but I have trouble thinking of
any in the opposite direction. Egghead, smart-ass, longhair, etc. Aside from
condescending references to "elevator music" I think that most of the people
I know are simply ready to say "I don't like hip-hop/country/R&B" rather
than putting it down.
Anti-intellectualism is a basic part of our culture, and many others as
well. Totalitarian regimes usually kill off or imprison the academics,
students and and anyone else capable of thinking critically. It is much more
fundamental than simply rejection of snotty professors.
Unfortunately trying to reach out to and communicate with the general public
often backfires. Telling people that we study genetics with fruit flies is
an example. Can you imagine Palin geting a laugh out of telling people that
funding was going to something called Drosophila?
Bill Silvert
----- Original Message -----
From: "Wayne" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "William Silvert" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2008 7:14 PM
Subject: EDUCATION Solution and Problem Re: [ECOLOG-L] Acceptance of basic
research, even with fruit flies
I admit an imperfect knowledge, and one perhaps somewhat biased by USA
provincialism, but it seems that part of this phenomenon must be laid to
the researchers themselves, and to a great extent to the academic community
at large. I do not suggest that any given professor can single-handedly
create more than a ripple where a tsunami is required, but then we can't
cast them all, innocent and guilty, into the sea simultaenously, eh?
But seriously, folks, how hard a look has been given at the complex of
phenomena which have given rise to, shall we say, "anti-intellectualism?"
Let's face it, academia is a GUILD. It is, by definition, an ELITE group.
And the more it hardens the line between itself and the outsiders, the
more the outsiders harden their side of the line. "Joe," in this case, is
a thinly-veiled insult to those outsiders. Academics should, then, expect
support?
WT
----- Original Message -----
From: "William Silvert" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU>
Sent: Monday, October 27, 2008 8:22 AM
Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Acceptance of basic research, even with fruit flies
It isn't just the public Joes that pose a problem. Governments too tend
to dump basic research when funding gets tight, failing to realise that
this is the resource on which all our scientific advances are based. The
past few decades have seen drastic cuts in research funding around the
globe, with only the most obvious applied projects being funded.
