Unsettling the "Settled Questions" | Glenn Loury & John McWhorter | The Glenn Show

[@WritingDialogue]

I feel like Glenn and John are two of the most important voices of our time. I'm so grateful for them.

[@stepup6452]

I sooooo agree! We need to get them out on social media, I post them on GAB.

[@ellisv75]

I disagree, I wish they were but I fear they are preaching to the quire.

[@SvenErik_Lindstrom3]

@@ellisv75 I think it's preaching to the choir.

[@ondolite3789]

😂🤣🤣

[@ondolite3789]

@@SvenErik_Lindstrom3 Actually preaching to the queer.

[@robinblick9375]

These two have helped me remain sane in a world going mad.

[@piecrumbs9951]

I think it's safe to say "gone mad" by now

[@AndyMann-vs3sf]

​@@piecrumbs9951No, it is just your life. Americans are sick.

[@CMatthewHawkins]

The Glenn Show with John McWhorter regularly helps those of us who are perplexed to make sense of a complicated world. Glenn and John just keep it coming: "race-conscious math," doing diversity the right way, the strange case of Jussie Smollett, outgrowing the American "white-black" binary, the problem that non-white immigration presents to the "America as irredeemably racist" narrative, and the significance of culture. When it comes to the discourse on black America, Glenn and John cut through the noise and get to issues that matter.

[@thomasreaves588]

Maybe, America is irredeemably racist towards Blacks, just Blacks and only Blacks. Not Latinos, who are not a race but a language culture which includes white latinos, brown latinos, Black latinos and Indigenous latinos. Not Asians, who can be Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai and et cetera. The founding fathers, and their scion, designed this nation to oppress and exploit those who are Black. They did not design this nation and create institutions to oppress and exploit Latinos or Asians. All though, I would add that the Native American Indians along with Blacks can (and frequently do) recognize that this nation's institutions, laws, policies and culture were design to hold them also in an inferior status.

[@joelanderson5285]

@@thomasreaves588 Nope 2+2=4 is not white supremacist its just true.

[@alexm2889]

@@thomasreaves588 well, there are no rules on the books anymore that enforce racism explicitly, so the remaining unconscious bias seems more likely to be coming from culture at this point in history. The question is how to change both the culture itself (to focus on education, etc) as well change the perception of that culture. I think it makes for the good of black communities, the good of the country, and especially due to the history of slavery and Jim crow, it would make sense to utilize resources to help facilitate this and support those voices in the black community that are already contributing to the solution. That said, many of these same issues exist in poor white communities, so it makes no sense to cut it ONLY along racial lines. We want every community to be one that lifts people up and has access to the American dream.

[@alexm2889]

@@joelanderson5285 I think mcwhorters point at the end was to deal with nuance in these conversations that tend to be reduced down to catch phrases and binary stances. Try again.

[@thomasreaves588]

@@alexm2889 One answer in CRT. Teaching critical race theory in schools to kids while they are young helps to change America's culture of racism.

[@StormTrysail]

This is by far my favorite podcast! John and Glenn have no fear to talk about almost everything. Very compelling and informative.

[@kmaidotia]

I thought the same, it was good

[@SvenErik_Lindstrom3]

Exactly! Very compelling and informative. Sadly, a rare combination nowadays.

[@DarrylWhiteguitar]

Glenn and John are fearless and pull no punches. Exactly what we need: people who believe the truth is knowable and try to speak it.

[@ondolite3789]

😂🤣🤣

[@niemand262]

My heart clams down the instant I hear either of your beautiful voices. You've trained me to know that when I hear your voice I'm going to hear calm, de-escalating, productive, rational, clearly presented thought.

[@ChristinaChrisR]

Pavlov would be so proud!🤪👍🏼 Glen and John have done the same to me. Something to calm down and listen to a good convo before bed? This show!

[@snowbunny783]

A wonderful discussion as always. Very much appreciated.

[@griffinsdad9820]

What a gift to end my wrk day on. Thx

[@yanshen5154]

Really great episode John and Glenn.

[@Hollis_has_questions]

Thank you both for a wonderful conversation, Glenn and Heather.

[@Bostronix]

These two are intellectual giants. The warmth of their friendship is obvious and they don’t hold back on their politics when discussing issues. So glad I gave up cable news because there are many similar conversations on here.

[@j.hmarvelous2231]

Love the show. You guys are titans during these times that great conversations and thought provoking maturity leaders (you guys knowing it or not) we need. Love you guys🙏🏾

[@CousinPaddy]

McWhorter points out exactly what I think the issue is with TV news and opinion (err, if there is a difference anymore): they have three sentences on a matter that requires a three hour discussion. People are so reliant on bumper sticker slogans for their ideological base that they don’t bother to ask themselves if what they absorb is an idea worthy of living in their head.

[@homewall744]

Like "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"?

[@allyourbase888]

I call this “reducing a dynamic multi-variable problem into a binary.” Whenever I encounter reductionist arguments my “useful idiot” radar goes off. If I scratch at the complexity of the issue and am met with derision or worse, chances are high an ideologue has been found.

[@ondolite3789]

Left and right the same.

[@nathanngumi8467]

Word.

[@CpZ-Z-Z]

Have to say I really enjoy hearing both of you think through large issues. Has opened my mind, but equally important, made me think deeper. Thank you and keep up the good fight

[@jwtlucky]

I’d love to see you guys do a long series discussing the huge body of work that Thomas Sowell has done on these topics.

[@allyourbase888]

True American Heroes. Thank you for all you do. 🙏🏽

[@MasterWorlock]

I wish their voices reached more people!

[@loricoil1732]

Sharing the bejeepers out of their podcasts helps.

[@sifridbassoon]

WOW! Congratulations. Not everyone can answers on questions, much less be a part of the question itself!

[@cristinaegas]

Glenn and John endless thank you!!

[@janinemartens2908]

Glenn you should run for President ! This little old grandmother in Austin would vote for you in a heart beat.

[@birtaudabraham5943]

Great episode as usual.

[@graymaher676]

I could listen to you guys forever. So soothing, enlightening, rational and smart.

[@jones2277]

John did very well on the View. Good promotion. Appreciate your effort to reach out to non-academics.

[@garydavidson6917]

Dr Glenn, i saw u on Bill - u were excellent, loved it!!!

[@genuinehajek9622]

John McWhorton you're amazing. I'm reading your book and I find that you're saying what alot of other people are thinking. Thank you!

[@AntonDoesMusic]

You guys, among other voices, have kept me sane since 2020. Thank you for that!

[@SteveMG500]

A recent survey (there's an endless list of these showing similar things) showed that Asian American high schoolers reported that they studied about 4-4+ hours each night. White students said 3-3/12 hours per night. Black students said about 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours each night. If you reversed those numbers many of the academic problems of black school children - their dropouts rates, graduation rates, SAT scores - would change overnight. Does anyone think otherwise? We know - and have for a long time - the answers to these problems (yes, racism, historic and current, is still one of them) but we just don't want to practice or say them. Simple answers are often, paradoxically, hard answers as well; telling black children to work more, to do more, to study more is not popular. It's hard. And so here we are.

[@thomasreaves588]

Was this suppossed study purely racist? I mean, did they attempt to measure the study time rates along other meaningful social or physical characteristics? What did they find when they measured differences in the study times of boys vs. girls? Did they notice any differences in study times along age categories? Do middle school aged kids study more or less than high school age kids for example? Or do elementary school aged kids study less or more than college kids? Were there any region differences? Do kids from the south study more or less that kids from the northern states or western states? How many hours a day do kids in the state of Maryland, or Rhode Island, or NYC, Puerto Rico or Texas study? Are you interested in knowning how many hours a day that the average kid in your home state studies? Or is it all about race, nothing but race, and only race? And what were the study time rates of Native Americans? Did the survey notice any differences between kids attending Catholic schools, charter schools or Jewish Day schools? And how many kids participated in this supposed survey anyway? How large was the sample....1,000....3,000...5,000....10,000...a million billion zillion? I must admit that this little racial "survey" of your strikes me as pure racist bullcr@p fantasy make-believe. Are your study time numbers true(of course not), or are they just an attempt to push a negative narrative about Black children? If someone is dumb enough to trust in this supposed survey of yours, does that make him or her smart and intelligent?

[@benstallone6784]

@@thomasreaves588 Wow. I can not comprehend why you are so triggered by a racial survey that suggests cultural differences. Given the racial disparities in outcomes that we observe, these results should be welcome since they offer an explanation that isn't based on genetic determinism. John and Glenn even touched on this topic in the video above if you bothered listening carefully.

[@tinymutantsquid]

@@thomasreaves588 How are any one of those questions supporting your point that the survey is racist? Of course if you survey different groups, and then divide those groups further into different groups, you would expect to find different results. I don't think any rationally thinking person would dispute that. So you should clarify why you think those particular survey results sound racist to you. Are you somebody who is expecting to see the same results across all groups? If they DID ask all of those extra questions that you are suggesting, and also included race, and the numbers were still not equal (how could they be?), would it still be racist? If some survey findings showed that Black people were being mistreated by some particular organization, and somebody's response was to ask "But whatabout all these other questions? Did they ask those? And how many Black people did they ask anyway? Just sounds like woke BS to me..." Would that sound like they were being willfully ignorant? Or just attempting to discredit the survey, perhaps because they had no intelligent response? If you are ideologically against dividing data by different racial groups, you must be against collecting racial data about housing, economics, police behavior, and so on. Or is it only racist if it doesn't fit your preferred narrative? Does that sound like the intelligent high ground you are claiming? (of course not)

[@bryanb30]

Addressing the comments some how the idea that all are created physically equal and if it was not for outside factors like environment all would finish the race at the same time. The information does not require all the data points because it’s observable truth. One just needs to travel abroad where a significant amount of a particular demographic also occupies for a time period and how the natives are surprised when one does not exhibit the usual behavior patterns or cultural traits of that demographic. Cognitively agile individuals recognize patterns relatively quickly in one’s own experience regardless of language barrier’s but this is conjecture and hardly scientific. The for lack of a better word black “elite” and high achievers knew these differences. Genetics was always extolled in regards to whom one marries and socializes with for the very same reasons but seemingly most are not enlightened about such history. Class and culture came first within this community. So family, work ethic, social exposure were paramount. Trying to keep it brief Frequently those that mention racism (not that one believes in such things apart from being good or evil) are the most racist and see everything via the lens of race.

[@Mrs.CGraves]

This is true. It’s not saying work more, but work like your peers do, because it’s already assumed the other ethnicities don’t work like that, that the World magically is available to white or Asians, without ANY extra work. That every white or Asian 18 year old inherits money and future access. Which plays into a disadvantage or victim mentality. Humans are capable of doing hard things, and perseverance in hard times. We all have our “hard” and that’s our cross to bare, but assuming certain groups can’t compete is ridiculous. We have to BE HONEST. We have to teach parents as a group what ALL the other Rents are doing to get their kids to that next level. Instead of allowing them to “assume” only they have it hard. That’s the biggest problem is assumptions of others on yourself. All people no matter the circumstances are capable. Let’s assume that. Take race completely out. If we stop focusing on it it becomes obsolete (which it was from ‘mid 90-00’s)

[@mkj1951]

I have also missed Glenn on Bill Maher - I don't watch him - but now will have to and look for it.

[@americanaforever6725]

“Diversity” of talents and ideas are critical for greater success. Race is not a criteria for diversity.

[@tteot1wph]

I just watched John on the view, I think he did a great job dumbing down his points. I just wish they had given him more time

[@pepps779]

The lack of time is why I rarely watch mainstream cable for informational purposes. Everything is structured into 15 min bits or shorter, and there is this ridiculous obsession with large panels of people instead of one on one discussions.

[@WhathehadasSole]

😂 the MTV generation started it. It's not just the old Boomer led interviews like with Charlie Rose or Barbara Walters but even Sway for the younger viewers went away. Now it's 2 interviewers at the least for a "diversified" approach to shoot their questions at the guest.if

[@explrr22]

@@pepps779 I agree and came to see things that way somewhat casually in reaction to comparison with selected internet media discussions. I'd add another judgement that I didn't come to until recently, but seems insightful after I encountered it. Neil Postman also talked the nature of broadcast media favoring the simple and short, but also pointed out the urgency and constancy of "now this" constant stream, that discourages pausing, reflecting, and inspection by viewing/listening/reading audience. Of course we're free to consume books and long form podcasts, etcetera in that same reflexive manner (and it's clear some do). But... those formats make it easy to pause, reflect, and revisit in ways pop mass broadcast media inhibits and discourages.

[@scottmitchell1974]

And it still went over their heads, sadly.

[@bradmorse6320]

That Sunny Hostin woman is a train wreck.

[@dakkagaming671]

_"The battle is won when the average American regards a corporate journalist exactly as they regard a tobacco executive."_

[@Smithistory]

A fellow Malice fan I see.

[@shamsam4]

And another.

[@patrickdonovan5507]

Glenn, you were masterful on Bill Maher!

[@scottmitchell1974]

There can be nothing more racist than to say that black kids/people need to do math...differently!

[@Grequierecafe]

I listened to McWhorter’s book. I enjoyed it and may have another listen. Great human-scale voice, great content.

[@letusgiveplanks]

John! Hurry up and watch Glenn on Bill Maher!

[@danicecreager951]

I have the giggles listening to Dr. John/Jeopardy having the giggles over who would stand out on a street at 2:00am :-) Thank you, Gentlemen :-)

[@paulvale3396]

Civil intellectual discourse is provided for all by two of the finest thinkers in modern America. Thank you, sirs. Press on!

[@OkTxSheepLady]

Katherine Johnson (née Coleman; August 26, 1918 - February 24, 2020) was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights.[1] During her 33-year career at NASA and its predecessor, she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped pioneer the use of computers to perform the tasks. The space agency noted her "historical role as one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist.

[@christinehill4491]

John's audiobook sells so well because everything he writes sounds better when he says it in his self-described "snooty voice."

[@beaucannington8616]

This country is more moderate, especially now, than people think, as it should be. We need more moderates like these men on both the left and right to eliminate the crazy voices (and people) on the extremes.

[@Bostronix]

Great summary of Bill Maher. He will not shut up; he should let his guests speak.

[@eswyatt]

If you're going to make the case that math is overdone in physics, economics, or whatever, you have to be able to engage the subject on its own terms. If you can't do the math, the argument that math is not the best way to approach the subject is not going to be taken seriously.

[@lawrencerobinson2350]

Answer on Jeopardy!!!!!?!?!?! You’ve made it!!!!! That’s Awesome John McWhorter!!!!

[@bonniespeck]

What makes me angry is in the interest of equity, they are holding back people who have the mental capacity to excel in math and science.

[@michaelhiggins2562]

I hope to see you both on more and more national programs. Don't be afraid to go places where you think in advance you might be a little uncomfortable. I bet if you go you will not, in fact, be sorry (i.e. Glenn with Tucker Carlson). The country needs to be exposed more to your intellect, wisdom, thoughtfulness, etc.

[@petercherry2649]

Please keep up the good work 👏 🙌 👍 👌 continue to teach black is beautiful not a sorry group of victims

[@haroldthomas2172]

Physics discussion was great.

[@OkTxSheepLady]

Re standardized tests: I started first grade in the University of Texas practice school.where education students did their practice teaching and almost every child’s parent was attending UT. Most of the parents were veterans of WW2. Our grade was given a standardized test and almost every child got one question wrong. The question was “Which man is working?” We were to choose between a man chopping wood and a man reading a book. With student fathers we all knew reading ment “working”. The culture does matter.

[@kmaidotia]

Glenn is really well read!

[@Hellyers]

So glad I found the new channel!

[@macibranch6901]

The real tragedy with Smollet is that gay hate crimes do happen, there is a strong racial disparity among them, more so than police brutality, and now there is an infamous example of why this shouldn’t be believed. Because one actor needed to keep being famous. It’s only going to hurt the communities who read that list of names every November 20th on Trans Day of Remembrance.

[@jaklinhyde]

Well if investigated correctly and that person isn't lying about what happened to them then it shouldn't be too big of an issue. If you're telling me because of juicy smuleé the cops are just going to automatically discredit the potential victim then we would have a real problem on our hands

[@sifridbassoon]

what type of "racial disparity" are you talking about - white on gay white? white on gay black? white on gay asian? black on white gay? black on black gay? black on asian gay? Please state which one (or more) you are referring to.

[@chrisb8932]

not to pick on you.. I'm as gay as a picnic basket and survived the AIDS epidemic, but i'm so sick of all this virtue-signaling victimology point-gathering BS. whatever color, sex, etc. we're going to need barcodes soon if this this categorization of folks goes on.. jeez

[@Mrs.CGraves]

I can assure you, from a law enforcement perspective.. all crimes committed against LGBT people will 100% be taken seriously no matter what. Jussie did a disservice to himself. But, from LEO it didn’t change the seriousness of all crimes everywhere.

[@TheNoonish]

I think there’s an additional tragedy in that Smollett could have just apologized, told the truth, pled guilty and paid a modest fine and he’d have been forgiven. He’d have remained a punchline to people in the right, but in Hollywood left-leaning circles he would been accepted and allowed to continue his career. Maybe he’ll still have a career, but nobody is going to trust him anymore. He’s tainted by being a known liar who turned on people he trusted the moment things didn’t work out like he hoped.

[@jsvz9333]

Thanks gentlemen as always

[@THECHARGEwithDennisMetzler]

Glenn--so glad you got a better camera!!

[@st2rl2]

Thank you

[@LuckyInCards]

I saw that Jeopardy! episode (I try to watch them all.). I am a little disappointed John McWhorter said he doesn't watch. But I am still a fan of Glenn and John.

[@davidjenkins2627]

John: The best way to approach a visit to the View is to pretend you're addressing a group of 8 year olds.

[@MrValentineMusic]

This episode a banger

[@macibranch6901]

“Why are black people not succeeding?” Why does Raskolnikov kill? He thinks he’s Superman, he’s the chosen one meant to save everyone. How did civil rights spur black people to action? By telling them they were the chosen people whose civil rights would liberate the world. The Greeks understood that heroes die horrible deaths, but Christians are always tempted to write in happy endings. It’s an easy way of saying I accomplished my goal, so I can stop existing. Rick and Morty’s Meseeks episode plays with the idea. Happens to trans people who transition all the time. Why? Because transition is so overwhelmingly difficult, it’s tempting to think afterwards life should get easy. Life never gets easy.

[@nestorbrown4718]

That’s John making concessions to appease his corporate overlord (NYT) under a pretended benefit of the doubt. You can make 3 sentence summaries of complex matters and events that are accurate. Glenn does it everyday. The media corporate woke journalists are activists. They are methodically and consciously being disingenuous, and they are intentionally misrepresenting and presenting purposely tainted, slanted misinfo.

[@jeffpurvis2867]

Just subscribed. Great intelligent men. Thank you.

[@markwoodson2020]

I agree with John and am willing to forgive everyone. We as a culture used to see grace as a virtue. " Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." Only one side of the culture war has the absolute certainty that the other side is evil. It has been common practice for years to smear people as racist. The corporate news claiming that half the country are monsters, is another example. You cannot have a conversation with someone who thinks you are less than worthless.

[@jamesmarshall1567]

saw that on jeopardy. very nice

[@joshuakessler8346]

you guys are slowly and deliberately saving the American project

[@deenzmartin6695]

great conversation. you should get stephon alexander and/or eric weinstein on the show. eric and stephon are friends and i think a conversation with either (or both) of them would be very interesting and productive.

[@Tlicious04]

This is exactly what I immediately thought of when Glenn mentioned The Jazz of Physics!

[@omniamericana2172]

I’ll ask the question here. I would love to hear John put this math issue in context of or juxtaposed to Ebonics. Which, if I remember correctly, he, if not supported, had a nuanced view vs the knee-jerk way the media covered it. If I “misremembered” his take, well?

[@OkTxSheepLady]

I remember thinking when the acceptance of Ebonics was announced that it’s a guaranteed way to segregate black students because language is the strongest divider of people. People are Prejudiced against an adult with non-standard grammar as soon as they speak. You can dress the dress and walk the walk, but if you can’t talk the talk you’re out of many circles.

[@omniamericana2172]

@@OkTxSheepLady But Ebonics wasnt the destination it was (according to advocates) a portal to “correct” standard English. And great for you, I’d like to here John’s take -given- again if my memory serves me. Granting that math and english are different- still I’d like to here HIM unpack this.

[@craigsmith1443]

Congratulations, John! You deserve the notice. Next: The Medal of Freedom, because there isn't a Medal of Truth.

[@DSJALLDAY]

Enjoyed this

[@chadwicktate]

Dr. Lowery, what you said regarding the professor’s position on sciences being somewhat closed social groups, particularly at the highest levels, seems to be self-evident. That suggests to me that the opposite of the current movement should be espoused by those who want more diversity. With math and science you ultimately get to win by being right. Being creative may set you apart, but the ability to have math based exchanges has to precede that. Doesn’t it?

[@Juulmand1]

John McWhorter is not doing a disservice to religion, specifically Christianity, by labeling wokeism a religion. Quite the contrary. Peter Boghossian, an atheist, said that the best way to destroy the church is fill the pulpits with woke pastors. John McWhorter is right.

[@jeffwillis2592]

Thanks you two. To answer Glenn, you maybe talk about race a little too much, but that's your niche, and I'm okay with it. What makes you gems is your clear thought, your willingness to think in deep ways, then speak precisely using big words and small words unabashedly. Great job providing a model of how to play the devil's advocate and how to "Steel Man" opposing arguments.

[@brianjoyce9040]

Thx guys. Revealing many points most people overlook helps us all. Equal Opportunity as it should/could/would be for a better world. Unprepared and ill suited ‘dumbed down’ individuals being forced into highly technical positions serves no one. If I may, analogous to RNC/DNC deciding which ‘ill suited’ characters we have available to vote for.

[@pamschilaty262]

My question on the home appraisal, was it the same appraiser? Just wondering because having had appraisals done, two different appraisers rarely come to the same appraisal amount. Not saying that the disparity couldn't have come from a racial bias, but, there could have been other factors.

[@TheNoonish]

Had the same thought, and it seems like this experiment makes no sense if it was the same appraiser. We can’t know all the factors that went into that appraisal. There’s a danger to trying to extrapolate from an anecdote.

[@patrickdonovan5507]

I got the book on audible! Awesome John! Read Authentic and l Losing years ago, gonna get them on audible for a relisten!

[@svenm7264]

43:40 onwards is sheer brilliance (before that it's good too, but this is exceedingly good)

[@newtonsprincipia5393]

Diversity has always been the thrust forward for physics. It took two thousand years between Aristotle and Galileo before the diverse theory of a heliocentric solar system was accepted.

[@tinakrueger4644]

Love listening to the common sense of these 2. I would love to know their view of the institutions they work for. In their opinion, have these Ivy League Institutions lowered their standards for certain people?

[@ciscornBIG]

Glenn calling it a "Subway dispensary" is very funny.

[@yootuub301]

DeSantis introduces ‘Stop WOKE Act’ ! Thanks guys!!!👍🏻

[@newmediarules]

I won't be around 100 years from now, but a hundred years from now this show will be referenced in the (equivalent of) history books. Of course this prediction hinges on a lot of uncontrollable unpredictable factors, but notwithstanding I still have a hunch.

[@dbarker7794]

My estimation of McWhorter dropped when he said he does not watch Jeopardy!

[@rollinmark8952]

I feel it's odd that John seemed surprised that so many watch Jeopardy. I think it's fantastic however, that he showed up as an answer!

[@bhbluebird]

I thought John did a good job on The View. It is one of the few times they didn't talk over a guest to push an agenda.

[@litcrit1624]

I wonder what happened with John's answer at 12:10, requiring an edit.

[@hottub231]

Dr. Loury, what brand of sweater are you wearing? Save some style for the rest of us!

[@BartdeBoisblanc]

4:00 This sounds like an example to the road to hell is paved with good intensions.

[@Napalm6b]

Oh man McWhorter is lining up with James LIndsey on his criticism of "other ways of knowing".

[@mikem668]

There are ironies everywhere. One of the best courses I ever took was Physics for Poets. You can learn the concepts, discuss them accurately 30 years later with a real physicist, use the ideas to guide your research and NOT be a real physicist. Your friend is right, but it's Thomas Kuhn on scientific revolutions. It's not race, it happens to every renegade, and it will happen to the postmodern woke. (It's happening now.) Maxwell is an interesting example. Michael Faraday was an experimentalist who didn't even know algebra. Darwin learned from animal breeders and butterfly collectors. Cognitive science is a field filled with interdisciplinary teams, from philosophy, anthropology, and psychology to computer science and neurology. As is big data. An art history major without a degree can do AI or brain injury research because I did it. But precision matters. And it also matters in jazz. Geniuses like Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet can teach classically trained trumpet players and whole orchestras merely by their records or presence. Bechet did it with a square orchestra run by a middle class band leader from Washington named Duke Ellington. On the other hand Fletcher Henderson, who sold his arrangements to Benny Goodman during the depression, was a chemistry professor. Black jazz musicians threw threw their cymbals at a young Charlie Parker in Kansas City. I doubt it was racisim.

[@mikedodson4595]

There is a lot going on in your post man. I applaud you.

[@mikem668]

@@mikedodson4595 Glenn and John remind me of doing research on hard problems. Race isn't an issue until race is the issue. Everyone has different experiences and they all could be valuable under the right circumstances. But they come up when needed, they aren't normally the agenda. You can tell I have a lot of sympathy for generalists or people who took non-traditional paths because I am one. That said, a partial truth can be very important. Telling a friend about this video he told me a story. He knew of someone who got interested in math as a hobby. That person ended up solving a piece of a famous math problem. Wrote a paper, talked at conferences, got hired as a professor. And was assigned to teach calculus. Then had to admit they had never learned calculus. I believe you surround yourself with smart people. Most smart people know many things. Most smart people are happy to ask when they don't know something and happy to learn about it. Very often there aren't that many people in the world, even in academia, who understand or are even interested in your specific research problem. But in my experience, if you find them and aren't BSing them, they will help you. I knew a black guy that ran the jazz department in a record store. He could get his nephews to listen to jazz. I didn't know many people that cared about jazz the way we did. Kindred spirits. That's Glenn and John. They strike me as a model for free inquiry.

[@SevenRiderAirForce]

"Jail time for a guy like him could be pretty tough" Yes, that's the point.

[@haroldthomas2172]

Social Capital is a brilliant concept. Applies to many groups...

[@ladylove3636]

It astounds me every time you say bi-weekly that you don't say fortnight... x

[@paxnorth7304]

I do very much love how 90% of the universe seems to be 'hiding'...

[@maryagrusa9850]

Peer pressure against succeeding educationally isn't limited to the black community alone. That kind of pressure crosses racial lines and is found everywhere.

[@nestorbrown4718]

Nobody suggested it was, but it’s not even close to being on the same scale. #overrepresentation

[@michaelhiggins2562]

John, you were NOT awful on the view!

[@LenoreNorrgard]

I always appreciate your perspectives! However, "Jail time for someone like him would be pretty tough" -- for whom is it not tough, isn't that the point? Why would someone else be jailed for this, and not this man? I'm not even into punishment, but I'm most definitely not for tailoring the penalty because someone is famous, rich, popular, or what.

[@sifridbassoon]

I interpreted that remark simply as an observation. Anyone who is black and gay will not have an easy time in jail. That's just a fact, and he was commenting on it. I don't think he was suggesting Smollet get some kind of break.

[@LenoreNorrgard]

@@sifridbassoon thanks, I didn't get that, and if that's the case I appreciate it. That raises other questions.

[@towmantorrey3939]

Hello Glenn, I would love to hear your opinion on what happened to Travon Martin? being followed by George Zimmerman?

[@pdumpsterful]

You never watched the trayvon hoax?

[@cherylewers6322]

Glenn, you're wonderful but I have a question for John which is perhaps a bit bizarre but hopefully not too personal: John, do you have ticker tape synesthesia?

[@nathanpose8607]

The Monahan report controversy was the beginning of strong journalistic taboos regarding the discussion of minority cultures.

[@kkampy4052]

I went to B & N to get John's book and they were sold out! Glenn and John, you and people whom think like you need to get more books on the shelves. The books I saw were Coates, De Angelo, Dyson et al. We need more counteracting viewpoints on the shelves.

[@RBartolo]

It is absurd to think that any race is limited by linear thinking in math or any other technical art: listen to the uneducated and self-taught jazz masters starting with say Art Tatum, Ellington, Parker, Coltrane, and ask the question whether these geniuses of a very complex, new and improvised art suffer from linear thinking...

[@jones2277]

i'd love to learn more about this theory of dark matter in the context of social science.