Duncan Parrish

Tech, Linguistics, Politics, Science. Developing Artificial Immersion, a new and ingenious way to learn languages.

[Duncan Parrish @duncanparrish]

@razibkhan His actual main point is *probably* "Diversity must never however become formulaic; any admission or appointment must ultimately rest on merit" but judge for yourself:
https://t.co/ToZD4JBAQZ

[Duncan Parrish @duncanparrish]

The conclusion of the post is:

There’s a reason diversity is an important principle in our universities. It is a clear and simple principle, or at least ought to be: that we must strive always for the widest possible pool of applicants for any university position, as this is the only way in which the very best can emerge from the process. Exactly the same applies to student applications. Diversity must never however become formulaic; any admission or appointment must ultimately rest on merit.

In the impossibly sad aftermath of Arday’s death, we should remind ourselves both that we need to take academic criticisms seriously, where they raise legitimate questions, but also that we must not allow anyone to criticise the mere fact an academic happens to be black.

In his great “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King said that he wanted his children to be judged not by the colour of their skin but by “the content of their character”. Let’s apply that same principle to academia too.

[Duncan Parrish @duncanparrish]

@drianpace His actual main point is *probably* "Diversity must never however become formulaic; any admission or appointment must ultimately rest on merit" but judge for yourself:
https://t.co/ToZD4JBAQZ

[Duncan Parrish @duncanparrish]

The conclusion of the post is:

There’s a reason diversity is an important principle in our universities. It is a clear and simple principle, or at least ought to be: that we must strive always for the widest possible pool of applicants for any university position, as this is the only way in which the very best can emerge from the process. Exactly the same applies to student applications. Diversity must never however become formulaic; any admission or appointment must ultimately rest on merit.

In the impossibly sad aftermath of Arday’s death, we should remind ourselves both that we need to take academic criticisms seriously, where they raise legitimate questions, but also that we must not allow anyone to criticise the mere fact an academic happens to be black.

In his great “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King said that he wanted his children to be judged not by the colour of their skin but by “the content of their character”. Let’s apply that same principle to academia too.

[Duncan Parrish @duncanparrish]

@RuxandraTeslo @phl43 His actual main point is *probably*: "Diversity must never however become formulaic; any admission or appointment must ultimately rest on merit" but judge for yourself:
https://t.co/ToZD4JBAQZ

[Duncan Parrish @duncanparrish]

The conclusion of the post is:

There’s a reason diversity is an important principle in our universities. It is a clear and simple principle, or at least ought to be: that we must strive always for the widest possible pool of applicants for any university position, as this is the only way in which the very best can emerge from the process. Exactly the same applies to student applications. Diversity must never however become formulaic; any admission or appointment must ultimately rest on merit.

In the impossibly sad aftermath of Arday’s death, we should remind ourselves both that we need to take academic criticisms seriously, where they raise legitimate questions, but also that we must not allow anyone to criticise the mere fact an academic happens to be black.

In his great “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King said that he wanted his children to be judged not by the colour of their skin but by “the content of their character”. Let’s apply that same principle to academia too.

[Duncan Parrish @duncanparrish]

The full post is:

Our former Senior Tutor at Pembroke College in Cambridge used to say in his speech to the incoming first-year students, on their first day: “You’re not here to learn to be clever; you’re here to learn to be kind.” We should all perhaps reflect on that message, in the aftermath of the tragedy of Jason Arday.

It’s been a sad end to a challenging story. But there are lessons for us all to learn from it – lessons for the university, undoubtedly. But lessons for the media too.

As Chancellor, I have no authority to intervene, and I cannot speak officially for the university. But I can of course express a personal view. And that is that there are two really important principles for us to hold fast to.

The first is that we must uphold the importance of academic integrity. If there are credible accusations of plagiarism or suggestions of academic misconduct against any academic, however distinguished, they ought to be rigorously and openly investigated. Cambridge lives or dies as a centre of academic excellence; and protecting those standards of excellence should always be a priority for the university.

I am therefore glad that the university announced that it was going to conduct an investigation into the processes that were in place that led to Arday’s appointment, as well as into how it handles accusations of research misconduct. Though any decisions on the detail of the investigation are now understandably on hold in the immediate aftermath of what has happened.

I know from having chaired appointment panels in other departments that they should be conducted with the utmost rigour. There is deep probing of the candidates’ work and CVs; there is an opportunity for members of the department to witness test lectures from the candidates; there is a grilling of referees. We should examine whether all of this is enough; any appointment process for a professor in any department must happen in a way that tells the panel as much as possible about the reality of the candidate’s work and ability to teach and undertake research. We should also be examining the structures of support that are available for Cambridge academics if difficulties arise.

The second principle, however, is that we must not give in to mob-rule, particularly where it is targeted at a specific academic or group of academics. Arday rightly needed to be defended against unfair, unevidenced, illegitimate criticism – though properly investigated where the concern was better justified. Much of the criticism and abuse that he suffered undoubtedly had more than a whiff of racism about it. It was happening not just because there were concerns about his work, but because he was black. We need to ask ourselves: if he had been a white professor, would there have been 249 articles in a handful of newspapers in 22 days about him? I doubt it. It must surely be possible to both challenge racism and take seriously legitimate questions about anyone’s work.

I am seriously worried that some commentators will use the issues around Arday to take aim at black professors more generally. The very worst recent comment was from the now-discredited researcher who claimed that under a colour-blind merit-based appointment system “the number of black professors would approach zero per cent”. He was wrong then; he is wrong now. I fear that the fallout from this terrible situation will mean that life becomes harder for the range of excellent black academics and professors that there are, doing really important work, across the higher education sector. Some commentators have tried to turn their criticism of Arday into a criticism of black professors more generally, simply because they’re black. We must not let them do so.

Above all, we must not throw the diversity baby out with the problematic bathwater. There’s a reason diversity is an important principle in our universities. It is a clear and simple principle, or at least ought to be: that we must strive always for the widest possible pool of applicants for any university position, as this is the only way in which the very best can emerge from the process. Exactly the same applies to student applications. Diversity must never however become formulaic; any admission or appointment must ultimately rest on merit.

In the impossibly sad aftermath of Arday’s death, we should remind ourselves both that we need to take academic criticisms seriously, where they raise legitimate questions, but also that we must not allow anyone to criticise the mere fact an academic happens to be black.

In his great “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King said that he wanted his children to be judged not by the colour of their skin but by “the content of their character”. Let’s apply that same principle to academia too.

Rt Hon Lord Smith is Chancellor of the University of Cambridge and served as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

[Duncan Parrish @duncanparrish]

The conclusion of the post is:

There’s a reason diversity is an important principle in our universities. It is a clear and simple principle, or at least ought to be: that we must strive always for the widest possible pool of applicants for any university position, as this is the only way in which the very best can emerge from the process. Exactly the same applies to student applications. Diversity must never however become formulaic; any admission or appointment must ultimately rest on merit.

In the impossibly sad aftermath of Arday’s death, we should remind ourselves both that we need to take academic criticisms seriously, where they raise legitimate questions, but also that we must not allow anyone to criticise the mere fact an academic happens to be black.

In his great “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King said that he wanted his children to be judged not by the colour of their skin but by “the content of their character”. Let’s apply that same principle to academia too.

[Duncan Parrish @duncanparrish]

But broadly those themes apply to Right/Left/Centre to Brits ourselves don't they? We're all worried Britain is failing while still liking the real country (I still love everywhere I visit/live in). So the right despises the BBC for being left wing, the left for it being right wing. Which is how you get this: https://t.co/2IlzWN8Que

[Tom Calver @TomHCalver]

But what is clear is that our collective pride in three British institutions has collapsed since 2011: parliament, the monarchy, and the BBC.

Debates over the quality of BBC output aside, it also reveals a deeper fragmentation..

3/6

[Duncan Parrish @duncanparrish]

@ConspiracyBull1 She's literally tweeted about the Muslim Brotherhood before. It's just a performance from her. Of course she knows who they are.

[Duncan Parrish @duncanparrish]

@ThatchEffendi There's also pretty good evidence plague (of various forms) contributed to an EEF demographic decline in Northern Europe (but not, interestingly, Southern Europe). So IE expansion certainly didn't have to be all war-chariots and conquest.

[Duncan Parrish @duncanparrish]

@alexmassie Reform is held back from 40% because it doesn't even pretend to answer the second question (which everyone is asking).

[Duncan Parrish @duncanparrish]

@alexmassie "Why do things not work?" This anti-fun vertical-drinking nonsense from Tory-run Westminster Council is opposed by the Labour mayor and is related to the second NIMBY-related question, where Labour is stronger and Reform is weaker.

[Duncan Parrish @duncanparrish]

@CptHastings1916 Surely it's about accent though? When you're in north Derbyshire, it sounds Northern (opinions vary but cmon). The "trap-bath" split doesn't quite capture it but is the initial starting point. West Midlands accents are clearly not Northern so you need other accent markers too

[Duncan Parrish @duncanparrish]

@jaddeyekabir @ThatchEffendi https://t.co/1F2Kaz3UCw

[Kupür Haber @HaberKupur]

Fatih Altaylı, Üsküdar Belediyesi’ne düzenlenen operasyonu köşesine taşıdı:

“2025 yılının Mart ayından yani İBB’ye yönelik ilk operasyon yapılıp Ekrem İmamoğlu tutuklandığı günden bu yana, Üsküdar Belediyesi Operasyonu ha bugün ha yarın diye bekleniyordu.

Sinem Dedetaş’ın Ekrem İmamoğlu tarafından Şehir Hatları Genel Müdürlüğü’ne getirilip, sonra da Üsküdar Belediye Başkan adayı yapılmış olması, Dedetaş’ın İmamoğlu’na yakın bir isim olduğu inancını pekiştirmişti.

Ama asıl olarak AK Parti, Üsküdar gibi “kale” olarak gördüğü ve yıllardır zaman zaman zorlansa da kimseye kaptırmadığı bir belediyeyi CHP’ye kaptırmış olmaktan çok rahatsızdı.

Üsküdar’ı kaptırmak Esenler’i, Bağcılar’ı kaptırmak kadar acı vericiydi.

Tüm bunlar üst üste koyulunca Üsküdar’a bir operasyon kaçınılmaz bir son olarak görülüyordu ve o yüzden de bir yıldır bekleniyordu.

Hatta o kadar ki, Üsküdar Belediye Başkanı bir operasyona maruz kalmadığı ve hatta görevden alınmadığı için “Acaba AK Parti ile pazarlık mı yapıyor, acaba AK Parti’ye mi geçecek?” yorumları yapılıyordu bir süredir.

Sonunda beklenen oldu. Üsküdar Belediye Başkanı Sinem Dedetaş da aylar önce tutuklanan ekibinin ardından gözaltına alındı.

Muhalefet açısından bu iş Çin işkencesine dönüşmüş durumda.

Şimdi sırada muhtemelen Eyüpsultan Belediyesi var. Çünkü Eyüpsultan’ın kaybının da iktidar partisi tarafından sindirilemediğini tahmin etmek zor değil.

Oranın da önündeki iki seçenek belli.

Muhalefet partilerine mensup tek bir belediye başkanının geceleri rahat uyuyamadığını, her sabah yatakta kapı zili beklediğini tahmin etmek zor değil.

Merak ettiğim ise şu; bütün belediye başkanları hep beraber AK Parti’ye geçerlerse ne olur? Çok eğlenmez miyiz?”

[Duncan Parrish @duncanparrish]

@jaddeyekabir @ThatchEffendi Arrested by one of the chief prosecutors in Istanbul for "alleged bribery and abuse of office linked to construction and occupancy permits". She is an opposition (CHP) mayor of a central Istanbul district and sounds like she has been clashing with some government-linked orgs.

[Duncan Parrish @duncanparrish]

@northernpicts This site? https://t.co/GSLfQamduU

[Northern Picts @northernpicts]

Free UK shipping this weekend at the NPixts merch store (9am today-midnight Sunday). https://t.co/tvQaGytSBp
All proceeds go to supporting the Northern Picts research initiatives. Get yourself some high quality Pictish clothing and goodies!

[Duncan Parrish @duncanparrish]

@ThatchEffendi I also love the constant whiff of Ottoman features everywhere, the layers of 20th century Greece, Galerius arch and rotunda, the little bars. It's all great.

[Duncan Parrish @duncanparrish]

@ThatchEffendi So they were going to excavate and move them, but instead they dropped the whole central part of the line, and now display the actual ancient streets in situ, in the most enormous and extravagant display. Genuinely jaw-dropping and impressive, must visit: https://t.co/Uba0NYGuAg

[Duncan Parrish @duncanparrish]

@OlgaWojtas @aberdeenuni Happy Anniversary! Great pictures!

[Duncan Parrish @duncanparrish]

@ArmandDAngour @sk0okum That's a lovely answer, thank you, and you're right: Greek is too easily presented as springing from an unknowable source. Better to think of it as (even if tentatively) a great meeting of Indo-European with an already thriving Eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age.