we shouldn’t trust historians to teach us history because they are people with biases. instead we should learn from instagram influencers, who would never lie to us.
Or be smart and don’t trust either
i’m going to push back on this because it’s not true. there is a tremendous difference between someone who has gone through years of training on recognizing and mitigating biases and Just Some Guy with a large tiktok following and no accountability.
historians can absolutely be biased and even wrong, but they have to show their sources. there are a lot of problems with academia, but “systemically incentivized to Lie And Mislead The Populace based on the wishes of the donors” is not actually at the top of the list.
This is actually a really good encapsulation of how you get to a post-truth mindset. Because that is what this ‘trust no one, always do your own research’ stuff boils down to.
Like, are you going to put together your own version of history from the Pyramids to today, entirely without relying on historians? Just original sources, for all of it? And you’re also going to learn all the laws of physics from scratch? You’re going to learn everything there is to learn about biology by observing animals? You’re going to learn about food safety by testing every food?
No, you’re not. You’re going to ‘do your own research’ by reading a half full of out of context sources and then deciding whatever you want. Which is probably how those instagram influences got to their bizarre takes.
And, no, the alternative isn’t ‘always trust scientists’. Scientists do fuck up and they have biases and incentives. And if I’m honest, most historians have probably not had years of training on recognizing and mitigating biases. It’s not the best research field in that respect. But there is a massive difference between a research field that is biased but still fact-checks each other and pushes out people who do not list their sources, or a social media community where the people who tell the wildest stories are pushed to the top of the pile.
The way we get to a post-truth society is when we lose sight of that difference. When ‘there are biases’ becomes the same as ‘it’s all lies’. Or ‘there’s a hidden agenda’. There’s just not. Historians don’t get paid nearly enough for that. They’re just nerds arguing over their blorbos and unfortunately a lot of them are white male historians who argue over rich white male blorbos and who do not seriously question the dominance of that perspective. It’s as simple as that.
So, there’s apparently research coming out now about microplastics being found in people’s bloodstreams and the possible negative effects of that and I feel the need to get out ahead of the wave of corporate sponsored “be sure to recycle your bottles!” or “ban glitter!” campaigns and remind everyone:
It’s fishing nets. It’s fishing nets. It is overwhelming fishing nets It always has been fishing nets. Unless regulations are changed, it will continue to be fishing nets.
The plastic in the ocean in largely discarded nets from industrial fishing. The microplastics are the result of these nets breaking down. The “trash islands” are also, you guessed it. Mostly fishing nets and other discarded fishing industry equipment.
Do not allow them to continue to twist the story. Do not come after disabled people who require single use plastics. Do not come after people using glitter in art projects and makeup. These things make up a negligible amount of the issue compared to corporate waste, specifically in the fishing industry. Do not let them shift the blame to the individual so they can continue to destroy the planet and our bodies without regulation.
Industries are incredibly resistant to taking responsibility for their own waste, to the point where “consumers are responsible for industrial waste” is somehow considered a sensible, ethical, worthy sentence.
It is actually perfectly reasonable to say that “industries are responsible for industrial waste” and “the effects of industry can, should and must be fixed by industry” and “Industry can, should and must be held responsible for its impacts on the commons, such as air, water, oceans and land.”
it’s so weird how much of a raccoon’s… raccoonness? is tied up in its pattern. This looks like a completely different animal, some sort of weird marsupial.
You’re teleported to 44 BCE Rome in your everyday street clothes. You’re brought before Caesar and he believes you might be from the future, hoping to bring him fortune. One day he questions you, asking “How Do I Die?”
This ask has been sitting in my inbox forever - and I’m really sorry about that - but I finally found it!!! I’m also gonna add some other links from other posts too.
lobe stretching is painful but knowing i can POTENTIALLY get the other lobe to the same size means im a step closer to starting on a blank slate with some new SAME SIZE ear piercings
