Episode 129: We Must Fight Against Presentism In Our Analysis Of Nazi Dinosaurs

Come see us in Arlington, Virginia on October 29th!

https://www.arlingtondrafthouse.com/shows/186960

Culture war drama hits a new low when a podcasting convention issues an apology for letting Ben Shapiro show up and… actually, that’s about it. Then, Jesse Singal regales us with the story of the American Historical Association’s president, James H. Sweet, and how his attack on presentism got him canceled. Thankfully, Katie Herzog intervenes to soothe us with some nice drawings of dinosaurs and – no, nevermind, turns out there’s drama here, too: paleoartist and behavioral geneticist Emily Willoughby has been exposed for sending black elementary schoolers to jail. Somehow.

Intro

Ben Shapiro causes a firestorm by standing, also breathing

Coverage in Reason

https://reason.com/2022/08/25/ben-shapiro-podcast-movement-harm-done-twitter/

Presentism

Sweet’s credentials (Jesse forgot to mention he’s the president of the AHA)

https://history.wisc.edu/people/sweet-james/

His article in question

https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/september-2022/is-history-history-identity-politics-and-teleologies-of-the-present

The AHA’s tweet of the article, which likely kicked things off

American Historical Association @AHAhistorians

How do historians undertake their chosen profession with integrity in an era of unrelenting presentism? asks AHA president James H. Sweet in #AHAPerspectives.

historians.orgIs History History? Identity Politics and Teleologies of the PresentWhen historians concede to discuss the past with the terms of the present, they abandon the skill set that makes them historians.

Twitter doing what it does best

Dr. Matthieu Chapman @matthieuchapman

"Why do all these black and brown people keep writing things that disagree with my white supremacist view of history?"

American Historical Association @AHAhistorians

How do historians undertake their chosen profession with integrity in an era of unrelenting presentism? asks AHA president James H. Sweet in #AHAPerspectives. https://t.co/v87fCG2BeA

Terry Bouton @TerryBoutonHist

Just to be clear. The leading US history org responds to book bannings, teacher firings, curriculum censoring, & SC rulings that badly misuse history by telling scholars to retreat to obscure subject matter with no contemporary relevance to avoid the appearance of "presentism."

American Historical Association @AHAhistorians

How do historians undertake their chosen profession with integrity in an era of unrelenting presentism? asks AHA president James H. Sweet in #AHAPerspectives. https://t.co/v87fCG2BeA

The Tattooed Prof’s response to Sweet’s piece

https://thetattooedprof.com/2022/08/19/on-presentism-and-history-or-were-doing-this-again-are-we/

The World Socialist Web Site jumps in

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/08/24/ogzj-a24.html

Phil Magness also comes to the defense of Sweet’s essay

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/2022/08/22/the_suicide_of_the_american_historical_association_577652.html

Nazi Dinosaurs

Some paleo art, to cleanse the palate

http://www.charlesrknight.com/Gallery/Knight/Prehistoric/AMNH/Leaping_Laelops.jpg

http://21essays.blogspot.com/2012/03/kongs-debt-to-charles-r-knight.html

Surprise! Not even paleo art is free of drama

https://www.vice.com/en/article/vvb8kj/why-paleontologists-get-riled-up-over-this-heretical-pterosaur-concept-art

Paleo artist Emily Willoughby has some works on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Word-Human-Reason-Perspective/dp/1629016381

https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Painting-Dinosaurs-Using-Science/dp/1785009559/

She also has some on FurAffinity (SFW, astoundingly)

https://www.furaffinity.net/view/3856285/

https://www.furaffinity.net/view/5274416/

Prehistorica_CM’s attack on Willoughby

Prehistorica (Christian M.) @Prehistorica_CM

Let me say this carefully. IQ is a pseudoscientific myth, and the “research” she is involved in directly contributes to inequality and actively harms disadvantaged people. She also believes that things such as aggression, political predisposition, and “misconduct” are heritable.

Zoologist Derren Nash’s subsequent disavowal of Willoughby

Darren Naish @TetZoo

Over recent days, palaeoartist Emily Willoughby has been accused of being associated with race science and its attendant political positions. For that reason I cannot, from hereon, have any association with Emily or her work. I will not be engaging in discussion on this matter.

DinoDJ accuses Willougby of promoting eugenics and racism

DinoDJ 🏳️‍🌈 @DinoDJ14

Let’s make one thing clear, the situation with Emily Willoughby here is not just “Twitter drama” that slips away after a day or two, it’s VERY serious with VERY heavy real world implications, don’t forget it. It doesn’t just go away. absolutely nothing about this is okay

History illustrator Midiaou Diallo ties Willougby to the foundations of white supremacy

Midiaou Diallo ☭ 🇬🇳(COMMISSIONS OPEN) @Midiaou7

This is the type of research that incarcerates Black people, as early as elementary school, setting them up for the school to prison pipeline. This is ultimately a major component of White Supremacy at a basic level

Prehistorica (Christian M.) @Prehistorica_CM

By now a lot of you are aware, but for anyone in the dark, paleoartist Emily Willoughby is involved in “research” that is directly tied to eugenics, racism, and classism. She also believes, or is at least indifferent to, the myth that intelligence has a racial component. https://t.co/dBQmpsbvQi

Willoughby’s drawing for Everyone Draw Mohammed Day

https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/957957987673186344/1011361260463460432/unknown.png

Midiaou’s response to the piece

Midiaou Diallo ☭ 🇬🇳(COMMISSIONS OPEN) @Midiaou7

I’m not going to share it. But Emily Willoughby has also outright drawn an image of the Prophet, peace be upon him, for this reasoning below.

Someone digging up an old FurAffinity post of hers

𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙮𝙪𝙝 @oisseaudie

@eawilloughby 😐

Willoughby’s response to the drama

Emily Willoughby @eawilloughby

1/ So, today there has been an outpouring of accusations levied against me, mostly concerning the research that I do as a PhD researcher in behavior genetics. Most of what has been said today is either stated in ignorance or has been blatantly false.

Eric Turkheimer, prominent progressive behavioral geneticist, comes to Willoughby’s defense

Eric Turkheimer @ent3c

I do research on IQ tests and their relationship to genetic differences among individuals. I don't know Emily but I funded her via Templeton and her advisor Matt McGue. I am not familiar with everything she has ever written, but she is being attacked unfairly today. /1

Emily Willoughby @eawilloughby

1/ So, today there has been an outpouring of accusations levied against me, mostly concerning the research that I do as a PhD researcher in behavior genetics. Most of what has been said today is either stated in ignorance or has been blatantly false.

Jerry Coyne, blogging at “Why Evolution Is True”, covers the drama

https://whyevolutionistrue.com/2022/08/17/the-ignorant-and-misguided-demonization-of-a-behavior-geneticist/

Paleoartist Mark Witton has a very important question about Willoughby’s work

Mark Witton @MarkWitton

@eawilloughby @humidbones I have just read a piece by Turkheimer following your tweet and it did, as you suggest, have a progressive outlook, arguing against problematic people and applications of research in your field. Is your work in a similar spirit?

vox.comCharles Murray is once again peddling junk science about race and IQPodcaster and author Sam Harris is the latest to fall for it.

PEN America Charlie Hebdo insanity
https://pen.org/pen-receives-letter-from-members-about-charlie-hebdo-award/

University of Washington trans study comes to bizarre conclusion, unsupported by its own data

https://mynorthwest.com/3602854/rantz-despite-concerning-trans-study-uw-kept-quiet-because-of-positive-coverage/

Jesse’s original article critiquing the study

Researchers Found Puberty Blockers And Hormones Didn’t Improve Trans Kids’ Mental Health At Their Clinic. Then They Published A Study Claiming The Opposite. (Updated)

Image: Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur - stock illustration via Getty