Attacks on Knowledge from Ashurbanipal to Trump

This lecture explores the destruction of libraries, archives and other knowledge, from Babylonian times until now, and its implications for society today. What are the motivations for destroying knowledge, and how have libraries and archives responded to these threats? What must we do now that knowledge is digital, and controlled by a small number of very powerful companies?
A lecture by Richard Ovenden
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-an...
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[@jamesquigley9762]

Archiving social media is like recording all bar and pub conversations. It could be useful for sociology research or for a police state.

[@TheLazyGeneTV]

I have no repsect for Trump, but what does him lying about his crowd size have anything to do with the destruction of knowledge?

[@kathydent2116]

The point that Ovenden fumbled with was Kelly Ann Conway's comment about 'alternative facts'. He was alluding to the history of totalitarian regimes who erase the facts that they don't like. Stalin did this and Trump would have done it if he could.

[@josephr.gainey2079]

@@kathydent2116 And, let's be honest, Biden is attempting to do the same thing!

[@kathydent2116]

@@josephr.gainey2079 No, he isn't. Biden is safely within the lying limits of the average leader in a western democracy. Trump was way outside of this because he basically doesn't know the difference between the truth and a lie. He thinks that if he wants it to be true then it is true. That's why he's still dangerous.

[@hazzardalsohazzard2624]

@@kathydent2116 Biden is asking private companies to remove content he doesn't like. That's censorship without using the Government. That's the leader of the country decreeing censorship. Trump never did anything like that, he only accused social media companies of censoring him and his followers.

[@MrTiti]

@@hazzardalsohazzard2624 no

[@eduardosuarez2414]

Destroying knowledge? Like "decolonising" mathematics?

[@prometeo_X]

Let me guess, you're white

[@kathydent2116]

Usually decolonising means recovering information that was previously concealed for political reasons. I would think that decolonising maths would mean recovering knowledge, not destroying it.

[@eduardosuarez2414]

@@kathydent2116 Please think about what you're saying. You could make that argument about history; written by the victors and all that. History can be invented. Mathematics is a discovery, not an invention. It is knowledge of how things work in the universe. You think there's some lost mathematical knowledge that has been hidden for 'political reasons'? It's not like there's a better method of calculating the circumference of a circle from its radius that was hidden from us because it was discovered by a black person. 'Decolonising' is about destroying knowledge in favour of subjective "truth". Don't be fooled.

[@kathydent2116]

@@eduardosuarez2414 I'm okay with a black person having invented the method for calculating the circumference of a circle that we use today, aren't you? We'll never know who discovered all that stuff - we only know that someone in Greece recorded it in a book. That doesn't mean it was discovered in Greece. The human race started in Africa, so we probably get all our earliest knowledge from there. We're all Africans, aren't we?

[@josephr.gainey2079]

@@eduardosuarez2414 Absolutely!!!!! And it is about re-writing history for political purposes. That's why you hear nothing but bad things about George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, etc. but nothing about Martin Luther King plagiarizing "I have a dream" from Rev. Prathia Hall (1940-2002) and over one-third of his dissertation--meaning he didn't earn a doctorate--and the illegitimate children he father (over 1,000+ instances of adultery by King are documented) and never acknowledged nor supported financially. That's known as being a deadbeat dad, isn't it?!?!?!?

[@chipvogel]

Closest Trump was to book burning was his comment on violent video games. TDS is showing.

[@coimbralaw]

When did you become infected with the virus of white supremacy?

[@ilpezkato]

Donaldo desperately needs all of his accountant's books to be burned

[@kathydent2116]

I think you'll find that gas-lighting on social media is the modern equivalent of book burning. Book burning is a way of destroying the truth. Trump's full energy was directed at destroying the truth, every day for four years.

[@OccultThinkTank]

@@kathydent2116 *"Trump's full energy was directed at destroying the truth, every day for four years."* Where is the Evidence supporting this claim? Trump had the Lowest Unemployment rate since the 60's! He did more to help black people than Obama! Not to mention caused a booming economy. All that while combating *The LIE* of Russia collusion which there was *NO EVIDENCE* supporting! If you want to call this White Supremacy, please explain how any of what I mentioned only benefits white people. In short keep your racist narrative to yourself.

[@kathydent2116]

@@OccultThinkTank Oh dear. If you haven't seen the evidence every day for for the last five years, there's nothing I can say that will help you.

[@fortunatomartino8549]

So finally, it's admitted Degenerate literature was being destroyed

[@michaeltowslee4111]

define degenerate.

[@stuartmiers9747]

Had a notification for this. I'm no fan of Trump, but to compare him to the Nazis? What is this, a comedy lecture?

[@TheOwlman]

Which lecture were you watching?

[@jasonkirk7802]

They are both fascists.

[@TheOwlman]

@UCIyd7-C6KiiIjH-0_MyleUA You need to learn discernment, the subject was the supression of information not a comparison between the two.

[@ESmith-ik8vu]

Mr Ovenden did not compare Trump to Nazis. He talked about the destruction of knowledge done by them both.

[@schwadevivre4158]

The comparison is with authoritarians who encourage the destruction and withholding of records of which they disapprove and that would undermine them. Of course the traitor president can be compared to such people