About Merit

Pro sports: one of the few remaining high-visibility industries where merit is honored without apology, resulting in a consistently high-quality final product.

From Eli Steele:

Here are dozens of other reasons we need to refocus on merit: "In Defense of Merit in Science." Abstract:

Merit is a central pillar of liberal epistemology, humanism, and democracy. The scientific enterprise, built on merit, has proven effective in generating scientific and technological advances, reducing suffering, narrowing social gaps, and improving the quality of life globally. This perspective documents the ongoing attempts to undermine the core principles of liberal epistemology and to replace merit with non-scientific, politically motivated criteria. We explain the philosophical origins of this conflict, document the intrusion of ideology into our scientific institutions, discuss the perils of abandoning merit, and offer an alternative, human-centered approach to address existing social inequalities.

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Daryl Davis Offers the Perfect Antidote to Cancel Culture

What is Cancel Culture? In their excellent new book, The Canceling of the American Mind, Greg Lukianoff and Rikki Schlott offer many examples of cancel culture along with this definition (p. 9):

Cancel Culture is just one symptom of a much larger problem: the use of cheap rhetorical tactics to "win" arguments without actually winning arguments. After all, why bother meaningfully refuting one's opponents when canceling them is an easier option? Just take away their platform or career. Nobody else will dare to tread the same ground once you make an example of them.

There is good news here, however. Once you understand Cancel Culture as one part of an unhealthy societal conversation, the solution becomes quite clear: We don't have to argue like this.

What's the opposite of cancel culture? Free speech. Lukianoff and Schlott explain:

In the meantime, you should know that Free Speech Culture is a set of cultural norms rooted in older democratic values. Embracing Free Speech Culture means turning back to once popular sayings like "everyone is entitled to their own opinion," "to each their own," «it's a free country," and even "don't judge a book by its cover."

Who is my favorite person who exemplifies the opposite of cancel culture? Daryl Davis. Here's one of his recent Tweets:

Daryl's story is incredible. I've described it in prior posts (and see here and here), but here is a recent succinct description of Daryl's wisdom and heroism by Joe Rogan:

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MLK’s Statement on “Black Power”

Matt Orfalea Tweet:

It's as if the DEI officer didn't even read the book by MLK that she's promoting, as she goes on to push blatant racism. Here's what MLK actually said in that book.

"One unfortunate thing about Black Power is that it gives priority to race precisely at a time when the impact of automation and other forces have made the economic question fundamental for blacks & whites alike. In this context a slogan “Power for Poor People” would be much more appropriate than the slogan “Black Power”.

-Martin Luther King Jr, "Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?" (1967)

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