Archive for the ‘Jordan Peterson’ Category

In the belly of Jordan Peterson: ambivalence in question with the ersatz journalist – Cherwell Online

I am sitting on the front bench in the Oxford Union chamber. Next to me, laptops are open.

Who do you write for?, asks the boy on my left. This boy is my friend for the next hour. We shake our heads at the same things, he thinks my notes about lobsters are funny (he was looking at my laptop screen. Thank God I never broke character).

Im independent, I say.

Okay.

I certainly am independent independent from the world of amateur journalism entirely. The boy on my right is in on the whole thing he saw me come in late and sneak onto the front bench.

Just open your laptop and do an essay or something, says boy-on-the-right.

I oblige, and title a document: Professor Jordan Peterson Oxford Union 25th November 2021. There is excitement in the room, and I am in the world of journalists now. It feels great.

The front rows of the benches ahead of me are for Petersons guests. This is what friend-on-the left and I infer, anyway, since theyre dressed much better than anyone else. Lots of shirts and brogues. I spy a fur hat. I spy

Jordan Peterson. There he is outside the glass door. We have all stood in the cold, in a line, for some considerable time to see this man. But why? A happy boy outside told me that Peterson had been incredibly helpful for him; in fact, I really had the sense that he might have changed his life. But otherwise, the Oxford position seems to be one of curiosity garnished with scepticism. This is certainly my own. Perhaps being a Jordan Peterson stan an overzealous or obsessive fan lacks the sort of nuance that these scholars might purport to possess.

Peterson limps into the room. From the front, he is handsome and thin. His hair is dark grey at the forehead and fades into silver at the collar. He walks up to the platform and there is a standing ovation. I look around and cant see any of the sceptics I met outside they must have transformed into stans. Boy-on-the right joins them. Friend-on-the-left and I stay seated besides, I committed to journalistic neutrality just five minutes ago. There are some booers but theyre nowhere to be seen amongst the standing-stans. I feel very confused.

From the back, Peterson is an old man. At the pub that night someone will remind me of the First Rule for Life: stand up straight with your shoulders back (see 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, 2018). His body is angled, and the way he hunches pushes his frame through his clothes. Something has changed. But, he moves with grace. Jordan Peterson is well dressed and dignified. There is a special elegance in the way he twists his hands as he speaks.

The title of the talk is Imitation of the Divine Ideal, he says, and he tells us about perception, truth, artificial intelligence, the problem of interpretation, cybernetics and robots. I try, but I really cant follow. This isnt the Jordan Peterson I (sort of) know. Ive read the first few chapters of his book, Ive seen the iek debate and Ive watched him own and be owned. Im sure something is different, and this isnt surprising: the Professor has recently overcome a clonazepam addiction and survived a coma, and he now lives by an all-meat diet. Peterson faces the room like a man talking to himself. His gaze hovers at floor-line; the upper chamber is all but invisible. There is an inwardness about the whole address. Richard Dawkins, who is sitting ahead of me, nods along. Some latecomers enter the hall and the bench opposite squeeze up. A girl with perfect hair sits down with the boys in boat shoes.

Peterson tells a story about a child who is scared when he sees a dog on his way to kindergarten. In the first version, he has a panic attack, spurring a lifetime of panic attacks, enabled by what Peterson calls the Oedipal sacrifice of his mother. In the second, the mother tells him to be brave and he walks past the dog to school, and he is fine. Here is some familiar Peterson-style argument I can follow. He talks about metafictional narratives, and I am reminded, with sadness, that I am not a real journalist after all. I make my pretend journalist notes anyway.

He loses me again. Now Peterson is talking about chimpanzees, rats and dogs (lots of dogs). He hasnt mentioned lobsters yet (friend-on-the-left laughs).

Do your controversies overshadow the subtler parts of your work?, someone asks. Peterson pauses for a long second.

No, he says. People always hate when I tell them that, on average, women are shorter than men. Thats not a social construct, and its not controversial: its just a fact.

Everyone laughs, including me. Boy-on-the-right looks up from his computer screen. He shakes his head in disgust. Hes researching for an assignment, and he hasnt listened to a word of the talk. This is his first sign of engagement since the standing ovation (this, being at odds with the rest of his behaviour, leads me to believe that he is deeply confused).

Are you okay?, he asks me.

Yes!;

he thinks I am crying.

I laugh even harder.

Its not that funny, its just absurd.

I know how this goes: we, as (supposedly) rational thinkers, subscribe to the first step of Petersons argument. But now we are on board the Peterson train, and if we stay aboard, we will soon pass under rough skies.

But dont be scared, boy-on-the-right! You should get on the train with us what no one has told you yet is that you can get off wherever you like! Get on with me, and Ill stay with you so long as the sky is flat.

I am not telepathising hard enough, and boy-on-the-right is still staring at his screen. Think about John Stuart Mill, boy-on-the-right! You just cannot be sure that a silenced opinion doesnt contain some element of the truth

Nope.

Were getting to the end of the talk, and finally! Peterson pushes me too far. I climb off the train with friend-on-the-left. We sigh and feel the sweet validation of arriving where we had expected.

What a total waste of an hour, says a girl at the end of the bench. Its true, Peterson was incoherent; but I know much more than I did before, and I am glad. I have been in the belly of the beast, and I have taken its temperature.

I have learnt more about boy-on-the-right than the Imitation of the Divine Ideal: I have seen the people who truly wont listen. Peterson is right about that. Even face-to-face with the enemy, he wont look up from his screen. Why had he even come? He must have been curious like me; and then he must have been afraid. I imagine dead dogmas whizzing around his brain; theyre pastel pink and green because theyre actually Instagram infographics. I know Im right! They are saying. I just dont know why!

Jordan Peterson is burning in a fire of his own making bowing under the pressure of the twenty-four rules he has stacked upon himself. It feels like his career will not continue as before. I think I understand why he believes in God, because he believes in big ideas, and because it all seems to be too much for this man. I do not hate him.

The talk finishes and there is another standing ovation. A head of bright red hair pops up and I recognise the Jordan-Peterson-changed-my-life boy from outside.

I remember a Tweet by bad-bitch Democrat A.O.C (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) from November 2020

Is anyone archiving these Trump sycophants for when they try to downplay or deny their complicity in the future? I foresee decent probability of many deleted Tweets, writings [and] photos

and look again at the ambivalent ones cheering all around me.

The students in this room are probably not Trump supporters, but this rhetoric of surveillance has filtered into their consciousness, nonetheless. If A.O.C doesnt scare people out of the wrong ideas, it seems like she just scares them out of expressing them: and I can see that all we have done is force stans to adopt a faade of scepticism. The truth of their feelings has simply been pushed one layer deeper, and all it takes is a round of applause to lift it right up to the surface; the curtain raises for just a moment.

What happens when people are alone, or online? How does suppressed desire express itself then? And what will happen in the polling booth when no one is watching? Many in this room of young men (they make up ninety percent of us) will believe that they are subject to a culture of conformism and hyper-vigilance, and we should diffuse their fears by acknowledging them, not silencing them lest we risk alienating people further (and even pushing them further to the Right). Listening more attentively, and even gently, could invalidate Petersons and A.O.Cs narratives of hostility, and we may find that this is a conflict that we no longer need, and that there is no Culture War without its student soldiers. In some ways, the Jordan-Peterson-spectacle is funny; and we can laugh. But we cannot dismiss these people. Perhaps instead we might look a hunched Professor in the face and ask ourselves: whats it all about?

What do you think youll submit?, asks friend-on-the-left as we close our laptops.

Probably a poem, I say.

Bibliography

@AOC. 6th Nov 2020. Twitter.

Full tweet: Is anyone archiving these Trump sycophants for when they try to downplay or deny their complicity in the future? I foresee decent probability of many deleted Tweets, writings, photos in the future

URL: https://twitter.com/aoc/status/1324807776510595078?lang=en

Image Credit: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0

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Original post:
In the belly of Jordan Peterson: ambivalence in question with the ersatz journalist - Cherwell Online

This Is the Academic Lefts Version of Ethnic Cleansing – National Review

Jordan Peterson explains here why he is no longer teaching at the University of Toronto.

A slice:

This is one of many issues of appalling ideology currently demolishing the universities and, downstream, the general culture. Not least because there simply is not enough qualified BIPOC people in the pipeline to meet diversity targets quickly enough(BIPOC: black, indigenous and people of colour, for those of you not in the knowing woke). This has been common knowledge among any remotely truthful academic who has served on a hiring committee for the last three decades. This means were out to produce a generation of researchers utterly unqualified for the job. And weve seen what that means already in the horrible grievance studies disciplines. That, combined with the death of objective testing, has compromised the universities so badly that it can hardly be overstated.

Read the whole thing.

Read the rest here:
This Is the Academic Lefts Version of Ethnic Cleansing - National Review

Elton John, George Lopez and the top 35+ shows in Houston – Houston Chronicle

George Lopez

Most venues are still following COVID-19 guidelines, including reduced capacity, social distancing and masks. Several shows require proof of the vaccine or a negative test.

FRIDAY

Elton John: Pop icon returns for two shows. 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Toyota Center, 1510 Polk; 866-446-8849.

George Lopez: Comedy superstar. 8 p.m. at Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land, 18111 Lexington, Sugar Land; 281-207-6278.

Pecos Hank: Roots. 7 p.m. at McGonigels Mucky Duck, 2425 Norfolk; 713-528-5999.

Max Flinn: Country. 9:30 p.m. at McGonigels Mucky Duck, 2425 Norfolk; 713-528-5999.

Robert DeLong : House. 7:30 p.m. at House of Blues, 1204 Caroline; 888-402-5837.

Kalo and Brown Sugar: Rolling Stones tribute. 9 p.m. at the Continental Club, 3700 Main; 713-529-9899.

Dale Watson: Country. 8:30 p.m. at the Dosey Doe Big Barn, 25911 Interstate 45 N., The Woodlands; 281-367-3774.

James Kennedy: Vanderpump Rules star. 10 p.m. at Rise Rooftop, 2600 Travis; 832-767-0513.

The Meteors: Punk. 7:30 p.m. at Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel; 713-225-5483.

Shake Russell: Americana. 8 p.m. at the Dosey Doe Breakfast, BBQ and Whiskey Bar, 2626-B Research Forest, The Woodlands; 832-823-4414.

Mahalo, Zookeeper and Party With Ray: House. 10 p.m. at Stereo Live, 6400 Richmond; 832-251-9600.

Ishi: Dance-pop. 8 p.m. at White Oak Music Hall, upstairs, 2915 N. Main; 713-237-0370.

The Garden: Rock. 8 p.m. at White Oak Music Hall, downstairs, 2915 N. Main; 713-237-0370.

SATURDAY

Borgeous: House. 10 p.m. at Stereo Live, 6400 Richmond; 832-251-9600.

Oak Ridge Boys: Country. 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Grand 1894 Opera House, 2020 Postoffice, Galveston; 409-765-1894.

The War on Drugs: Rock. 7 p.m. at White Oak Music Hall Lawn, 2915 N. Main; 713-237-0370.

Samantha Fish: Blues. 8 p.m. at The Heights Theater, 339 W. 19th; 214-272-8346.

El Ten Eleven: Post-rock. 7 p.m. at White Oak Music Hall, upstairs, 2915 N. Main; 713-237-0370.

Southern Slang: Rock. 9 p.m. at the Continental Club, 3700 Main; 713-529-9899.

Sebastian Leger: House. 10 p.m. at Rise Rooftop, 2600 Travis; 832-767-0513.

Kym Warner and Warren Hood: Americana. 7 p.m. at McGonigels Mucky Duck, 2425 Norfolk; 713-528-5999.

Opie Hendrix: Pop/rock. 9:30 p.m. at McGonigels Mucky Duck, 2425 Norfolk; 713-528-5999.

Kristen Kelly: Country. 8 p.m. at the Dosey Doe Breakfast, BBQ and Whiskey Bar, 2626-B Research Forest, The Woodlands; 832-823-4414.

Phil Vassar: Acoustic country. 8:30 p.m. at the Dosey Doe Big Barn, 25911 Interstate 45 N., The Woodlands; 281-367-3774.

MONDAY

Current Joys: Singer-songwriter. 7 p.m. at White Oak Music Hall, upstairs, 2915 N. Main; 713-237-0370.

Gene Watson: Country. 7 p.m. at the Dosey Doe Big Barn, 25911 Interstate 45 N., The Woodlands; 281-367-3774.

TUESDAY

Giulia Millanta and Amanda Pascali: Singer-songwriters. 7 p.m. at McGonigels Mucky Duck, 2425 Norfolk; 713-528-5999.

Martin Barre: Fifty years of Jethro Tull. 8:30 p.m. at the Dosey Doe Big Barn, 25911 Interstate 45 N., The Woodlands; 281-367-3774.

Fit for an Autopsy: Deathcore. 6:30 p.m. at Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel; 713-225-5483.

WEDNESDAY

Sports: Dream pop. 8 p.m. at Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel; 713-225-5483.

THURSDAY

Beetle: Beatles covers. 7 p.m. at the Continental Club, 3700 Main; 713-529-9899.

Dr. Jordan Peterson: Author/lecturer. 7:30 p.m. at Bayou Music Center, 520 Texas; 713-230-1600.

Kurt Travis: Rock. 6 p.m. at White Oak Music Hall, upstairs, 2915 N. Main; 713-237-0370.

Jordi Baizan: Singer-songwriter. 7 p.m. at McGonigels Mucky Duck, 2425 Norfolk; 713-528-5999.

10 Years: Metal. 7 p.m. at Rise Rooftop, 2600 Travis; 832-767-0513.

Statesboro Revue: Country. 8 p.m. at the Dosey Doe Breakfast, BBQ and Whiskey Bar, 2626-B Research Forest, The Woodlands; 832-823-4414.

Bijou, Nostaglix and Michael Sparks: House. 10 p.m. at Stereo Live, 6400 Richmond; 832-251-9600.

joey.guerra@chron.com

Joey Guerra is the music critic for the Houston Chronicle. He also covers various aspects of pop culture. He has reviewed hundreds of concerts and interviewed hundreds of celebrities, from Justin Bieber to Dolly Parton to Beyonce. He's appeared as a regular correspondent on Fox26 and was head judge and director of the Pride Superstar singing competition for a decade. He has been named journalist of the year multiple times by both OutSmart Magazine and the FACE Awards. He also covers various aspects of pop culture, including the local drag scene and "RuPaul's Drag Race."

Excerpt from:
Elton John, George Lopez and the top 35+ shows in Houston - Houston Chronicle

CDC: Natural Immunity Offered Stronger Protection Against COVID Than Vaccines During Delta Wave | Jon Miltimore – Foundation for Economic Education

On Wednesday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provided new research showing that, during the recent Delta wave, individuals who had previously contracted COVID-19 had more protection against the virus than those who had been vaccinated.

Before the Delta variant, Covid-19 vaccination resulted in better protection against a subsequent infection than surviving a previous infection, CDC epidemiologist Benjamin Silk told the Wall Street Journal. When looking at the summer and fall of 2021, when Delta became predominant in this country, however, surviving a previous infection now provided greater protection.

Both vaccinated individuals and those who had recovered from the virus showed significant defense, scientists added. (The CDC released its findings to reporters, but its research was not yet available online as of Thursday morning.)

Previous research suggests receiving vaccination after a COVID infection can offer additional protection against the virus.

Recent research, the Mayo Clinic says, suggests that people who got COVID-19 in 2020 and then received mRNA vaccines produce very high levels of antibodies that are likely effective against current and, possibly, future variants. Some scientists call this hybrid immunity.

The findings are significant and dovetail with recent scientific research out of Israel that showed previous infection from COVID-19 conferred longer-lasting and more robust protection than vaccines against the Delta variant.

Following the Israel study, prominent scientists argued that the fact that natural immunity offered more protection than vaccines made mandatory vaccination unscientific and unethical.

Prior COVID disease (many working class) provides better immunity than vaccines (many professionals), so vaccine mandates are not only scientific nonsense, they are also discriminatory and unethical, wrote Harvard Medical School professor Martin Kulldorff, an epidemiologist and biostatistician.

The CDCs findings were released days after the Supreme Court ruled that President Joe Bidens vaccinate-or-test requirement for businesses with more than 100 employees was unconstitutional.

The high courts decision prompted some businesses, including Starbucks, to scrap their vaccine mandates for employees.

"We respect the Court's ruling and will comply," John Culver, COO and group president for North America at Starbucks, told employees on Tuesday.

Despite the protection offered by previous COVID infection, many public officials and countries have been reluctant to recognize natural immunity.

Novak Djokovic, the worlds top-ranked tennis player, recently had his visa seized by Australian authorities when he arrived (unvaccinated) to play in the Australian Open, even though he was initially granted a medical exemption because of a recent COVID infection. Meanwhile, Austrias conservative government recently announced it will make vaccination compulsory for adults, who will face steep finesup to 3600 eurosif they fail to comply, even if they have already had the virus.

In the United States, universities have been inclined to expel students not considered fully vaccinated, which in some cases reportedly includes students whove had multiple vaccine shots, have previously had COVID, and have received a medical exemption from a physician.

Recent evidence, however, suggests the reluctance to treat individuals whove had COVID as fully vaccinated may be waning. The NCAA, for example, recently announced in its winter guidelines that athletes who previously had COVID will be considered fully vaccinated if the infection took place within three months.

The CDCs announcement that previous infection offered more protection than vaccination against the Delta variant is likely to fuel calls to end vaccine mandates, particularly for individuals whove already been infected.

Harvard Epidemiologist Says the Case for COVID Vaccine Passports Was Just Demolished

Stanford Epidemiologist Says COVID Vaccination Is Primarily a Matter of Personal Health, Not Public Health

Stunning New Study Undercuts the Case for Vaccine Mandates

The Case for Vaccine MandatesRefuted

Why GoFundMe Deleted This Grieving Fathers Fundraiser After His Sons Death

Originally posted here:
CDC: Natural Immunity Offered Stronger Protection Against COVID Than Vaccines During Delta Wave | Jon Miltimore - Foundation for Economic Education

Peterson marks 1000th point in rout over Webster – Amery Free Press

The Clear Lake boys basketball team earned its fourth win of more than 20 points this season, with a 79-33 win over Webster Jan. 14.

We were able to play aggressive defense and limit them offensively the whole first half making it hard for them to get to the hoop and get uncontested shots, explained Clear Lake coach Ryan Blanchard. All night long we were willing to make the extra pass so the overall ball movement by the team was outstanding.

The game was marked by two offensive achievements. Riley Peterson scored 30 points for the third time this season. This time, the 30-points allowed Peterson to eclipse the 1,000 point barrier for his career. He also pulled down six rebounds and blocked two shots.

The second achievement came from Tyson Blanchard, who posted a triple double for the second time this year. He finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists along with three steals.

We came out with defensive intensity for the first time all year, so we are hoping to make that a nightly occurrence, Ryan Blanchard said.

Besides Tyson Blanchards three steals, Clear Lake (6-1 conference, 9-1 overall) finished with 17 steals. Jordan Blanchard led the way with four, while Caleb Logan and Andrew Campion also had three each.

Will Cain was the final Warrior in double figures with 12 points. Campion also had three assists and three steals.

Clear Lake shot 32-for-54 (59.2%) from the field. Webster is now 0-8 and 1-10 overall.

Post play carried the Warriors to the eight-point win Jan. 11.

We were able to dominate in the paint for most of the game which was the difference for us, Ryan Blanchard said.

Peterson was an efficient 14-for-20 from the field with two free throws for 30 points. He added 11 points, four steals, three blocked shots and two assists.

Tyson Blanchard almost had another triple double with nine points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Cain tallied five points and four rebounds.

Siren likes to slow the game down and that concerned me even though we had the size advantage in the paint, Ryan Blanchard said. They do a very good job taking care of the ball and making teams work on both ends of the court. We didnt shoot particularly well and had a few breakdowns on defense and they were able to connect on some deep threes.

Continued here:
Peterson marks 1000th point in rout over Webster - Amery Free Press