R.E. argument that controversial statues i.e. #Colston are 'educational'

The Statue of Liberty, 93m tall, in maybe the world's most famous city, has this on the plaque adorning it (pic)

How's that working out for the US lately?

Statues clearly have crap 'educational' impact Image
Statues celebrate, commemorate, glorify etc. But it's a real stretch to say they 'educate' in any meaningful way. I'd wager that what most people will have learned from a city centre statue, if anything, is where you're likely to find a traffic cone on a weekend morning
And even if you do believe a statue should 'educate', then it should include all relevant information on it. #Colston statue made no mention of his slavery role. That's like putting up a statue of George Washington labelled 'Amateur Lumberjack, had false teeth'

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More from @garwboy

Oct 25
Disposable vapes to be banned from June



The disposable vapes ban has amped up negative coverage of vaping, and conflated *environmental* with *health* concerns

That's unhelpful, as coverage of vaping was already badly skewed

Consider the following

/1bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…
Daily Mail, 02/02/23
"Number of kids hospitalised by vaping QUADRUPLES in a year - as top expert fears crisis will only get worse"

That's obviously bad. If kids being hospitalised by something *quadruples* within a year, something must be done

But, wait a sec...

/2 Image
Under the hood, there are a few things to consider

1. 'Kids' in this context actually means 'under 18s'. So while the mind goes to poor innocent primary school children, it also includes practically-adult late teens, the ones typically demonised by publications such as this.

/3
Read 19 tweets
Oct 12
US states sue TikTok, claiming its addictive features harm youth mental health



On closer inspection, this case misuses neuroscience so severely that it seems like it could potentially make it illegal in the US for young people to have fun.

Seriously

/1theguardian.com/technology/202…
There are so many neuropsychological flaws in this case

E.g. filings state TikTok is designed to be "intentionally addictive". The conclusion here is that TikTok, a software construct, causes addiction.

Many would agree that this is valid. But you know who doesn't?...

/2 Image
The AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION (APA)

The DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) lists all the disorders, and their diagnostic criteria, acknowledged by the APA. Various forms of addictions are in there. 'TikTok addiction' is not.

/3
Read 19 tweets
Oct 2
Why are there so many awful stories about wellness bros?



Bizarrely, I cover this in my new kids book

*cough*

Basically: almost everyone benefits from a *community*, but many people really shouldn't have an *audience*

/1 theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
amzn.eu/d/0u5THhR
Image
At the fundamental, basic level, the ultrasocial human brain usually calibrates what it learns, figures out how the world works, based on feedback from other humans

Do a thing -> People get angry at you = Thing is bad
Do another ting -> People praise you = Thing is good

/2
This will be part of the reason why you get so much more conspiracy thinking now.

Before social media, you said "Guys, I actually think the Earth is flat", you get mocked in the pub by your mates, and your 'Derek Flat-Earth' for the foreseeable. So, you don't say it again.

/3
Read 13 tweets
Sep 20
Yesterday was the SEVEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY of...

#Pickle coming to live with us.

So, to celebrate the seven years of cat-based chaos our lives were immediately consumed by, here are seven of Pickle's greatest moments, in no particular order.

/1 Image
That time when Pickle 'convinced' me that he was stuck on the roof, which led to much mockery and swearing.



/2
That time when Pickle first encountered his ongoing nemesis: the neighbour's parrot, Bimbo.

Yes, that's his actual name. He's sixty years old now, so it probably made more sense with they first got him

/3


Read 9 tweets
Aug 29
I'm increasingly wary of such advice/guidelines/rules regarding phones for kids, as it all depends on two assumptions

- All parents know better about phones etc.
- All parents can be trusted to prioritise their child's wellbeing

But... neither of these are true

/1 SP simplepolitics Following : Smartphone advice from phone provider EE has issued guidance for parents of under 16s to help improve 'digital wellbeing': Under 11s 11-13 13-16 Recommend no smartphones, instead non-smart devices with limited capabilities like text/calls. If a smartphone is to be used it needs parental controls and to restrict access to social media. Smartphones appropriate but still with parental controls. Social media access should be linked to a parent/guardian account. SP
Firstly, adults/parents being inherently (and illogically) suspicious of new tech and how it affects 'the children' is a phenomenon as old as civilisation.

And all this advice/guidelines seem both aimed at and shaped by such parents. This is not an evidence-based approach

/2
Not saying that countless parents aren't genuinely concerned, and may possibly be right to be concerned, but 'concerns' and 'possibilities' really aren't valid, robust grounds for the formation of rules that will directly impact countless young-people's lives.

/3
Read 15 tweets
Jun 12
This popped up in my feed. I've not encountered it before. So, here's my professional analysis

WHAT IN THE NAME OF GIDDY FU*K IS THIS BULLSH*T??

Apparently parents of autistic kids are being targeted by such things, so here's everything wrong with it I can find

#Autism #ND
/1 Online ad for service offering to treat autism with stem cell therapy  Image includes small boy, in grayscale, looking down sadly, designated 'before'. Next to this is supposedly the same boy in colour, smiling and pointing, with the other hand doing a thumbs up. This one is designated 'after'.   Text reads:
The line "Considering stem cell therapy for #autism ?"

I've no idea whether or not anyone is considering that, as I've never heard of the concept before. But nobody *should* be considering that. Because it's not a thing. For so many reasons.

/2
Then there's... this

Basically, this is word salad. Throw enough credible or science-y sounding words together, and it adds up to complex gibberish. What's a 'global family'? Why not throw a 'quantum' or 'neuro' in there too. They might as well at this point.

/3 Line from ad which reads " -Proven Experience: Since 2011, we've been aiding global families in achieving notable progress for children with autism through our holistic treatment programs, including stem cell therapy
Read 13 tweets

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