Is it my imagination, or is Charles Murray’s new book, Facing Reality: Two Truths about Race in America getting more traction than his previous book? Probably due to the engagement with the “heterodox academy” types.
I wrote about the crime spike for my Substack in late April, and a lot of people told me that I was pretty bold for having done so. Of course, by mid-May our propaganda media did a heel-turn and decided to start talking about the issue in unison. I can’t express how disgusted I am with American media in 2021. They’re no better than they were during the Iraq War II period. Just new masters.
Unless you’ve been asleep, you know there are new hominins discovered galore. I posted a long (free) Substack on it and my perspective. Please share and retweet, etc.
This is apropos of nothing… but I have a lot of friends in academia who think they are “based” and dissent from the regnant orthodoxy. For almost 20 years I’ve been taking fire and absorbing hits because I’ll say what I think (to the point of being physically attacked at scientific conferences). A lot of you appreciate it. But in general, you’re cowards and keep your head down.
Sit down and wonder what you’ll tell your kids in the future about the courage you showed, and how you measured up to the values you claim to hold dear. And ask yourself if perhaps the collapse of the world you valued will have had something to do with your craven behavior. You know the answer. Don’t pretend you’re something you aren’t. My kids are starting to be old enough to know who I am. I’m not ashamed. Would you be? If not, perhaps you should be.
All known archaic groups with ancient DNA evidence interbred. Repeatedly. Seemingly every time they came into contact. Three distinct groups of Denisovans, all known from their ancient interbreeding with modern people. So. Much. Interbreeding. pic.twitter.com/AkZkSjacUF
Thank you to everyone here who subscribed to my Substack. For those of you who subscribe to the paid content, I am hoping you can tell I’m putting a lot of effort into the writing!
The above video is from Eurovision. A bunch of 20-something Italians doing rock music is pretty weird, since rock is dead for all practical purposes in the USA.
Lots of content on my Substack. I assume most readers of this weblog are on the e-list, but who knows? Perhaps of note, twoposts on the Romani. Also check out my interview with J. P. Mallory.
I’ve been corresponding with a reader who is of English Romanichal background, and my supposition that they have less South Asian ancestry than Roma and Iberian Romani seems correct. Closer to 10-15% than 20-30%. A lot of the ancestry (from Ancestry/Family Tree DNA) is assigned as British, so that indicates the dilution may have happened in the United Kingdom.
I periodically guest on The Study of Antiquity YouTube channel. The episodes are not that long. YouTube channels are not my jam, but the view numbers are incredible, and it’s another way to get the “good news” out.
Continuity of Pagan Religious Traditions in Tenth-Century Iraq. So here’s what going on: some of the customs and rites of ancient Mesopotamian religion persisted down to the 900s A.D. The ethnographic reports of the Muslims who observed this indicate that the peasants were forgetting the purpose and intent of the rites, but it is rather clear that what they’re writing about consists of veneration of the Babylonian God Tammuz. Modern scholars have access to cuneiform and so understand the Babylonian religion well enough to validate the Muslim informants’ veracity.
I’m Angry About Palestine. Should You Be? I said this on Twitter: Shadi is a believer in traditional liberal norms of fair play and engagement. This buys him something: my attention.
Update: Since Clubhouse is opening to Android, I should put up a few notices. First, join my club, Razib Khan’s Unsupervised Learning. Second, follow me, @razibkhan. Finally, my “rooms” are usually on Friday evening (PDT). If you join the club you’ll see the event days ahead of time. I also do impromptu rooms now and then, and if you follow me or join my club you will see notifications when you are online.
This Liz Bruenig column, I Became a Mother at 25, and I’m Not Sorry I Didn’t Wait, has elicited unhinged responses. I feel that people invest too much into their various life choices in terms of those choices reflecting on their views and preferences for society as a whole. Americans express a preference for larger families than they end up having. Is that revealed preference? Or is it a cultural and policy environment that doesn’t allow for large families (I think it’s more cultural than policy to be honest, so not sure if it’s soluble)?
In general, people should talk less and just focus on their own life. If you want more kids, have them, figure out how you can have them, etc. If you don’t want to have kids, don’t, but kindly shut up about how awesome your life choice is and how you get to travel (many of us don’t think your life is that awesome and you constantly talking about how awesome it is is weird).
By the way, thanks to everyone who has supported my Substack! It’s been a good experience.
I figured out how to link to my Clubhouse account, Razib Khan. Also, I created a “club” for my Substack, Razib Khan’s Unsupervised Learning. I’ve been doing “Rooms” every Friday since the end of February.
When Covid Hit, China Was Ready to Tell Its Version of the Story. Of course, China is manipulating media. First, the USA does some of this too. Voice of America? Second, I think The New York Times going the way of “moral clarity” really puts it in a worse position to respond and benefit from this expansion of Chinese propaganda. Half the articles in The Times read like biased propaganda as well, and they’re not even clever about it. The shift toward subscription newspapers to becoming “fan-service” for their customers means there’s top-down propaganda (China) and bottom-up propaganda (more and more The New York Times). It’s pretty clear that many of the desks of The New York Times won’t publish things their staffers and subscriber might not like.
Read The Horde: How the Mongols Changed the World. Recommended. The book is really about the Golden Horde, not the whole Mongol world, but it has a pretty international scope. Probably gets a little too much in the weeds about Jochid family internal politics, but that’s my main complaint (going to have a review up in UnHerd soon).
Our Three-Body Problem: China, India and the Rest. A free piece on my Substack. There’s only so much I can put into a piece that’s this “short.” A major problem is that a lot of people don’t know much about multiple society’s histories, so most of the responses that are critical haven’t been too impressive. Lots of people who say there are lots of “howlers” but don’t bother to say what. I assume these are stupid people, but I honestly have no idea since they won’t say what!
Also, another piece on my Substack, The ultimate price of costless gestures: 2020’s 2,000+ excess black lives lost to murder. I don’t think that we’re going back to the 1970’s, but the trendline does not make me happy either. I’ll be fine. Most people who read this will be fine. It’s the people who are the usual targets of violence and murder who won’t be fine. But no one cares.
‘Every Time I’m Calling, Someone Has Died’: The Anguish of India’s Diaspora. I’m being told there’s no problem in the slums. The reason is that the slums were hit on the “first wave.” Obviously a lot of people died in the slums but were never taken to the hospital. Now that it’s hitting the middle class, there’s a huge concern in the Diaspora.
The Shape of Ancient Thought is $1.99 again on Kindle. I have no idea what Amazon is doing, but it’s strange that periodically expensive academic books are put on sale on the Kindle. Always great to see, as academic books tend to be $50-100.
I’ve been lax about the open threads because I’m busy. Remember you can see what I’m up to at razib.com. What’s going on? What are you reading? I’m really behind on a lot of things. But, I can say I’ve read Byzantine State and Society three times front to back.
5,300-word piece up now on Substack: They came, they saw, they left no trace…except for all of Western Civilization. This is focused on Italy from 1000 BC to 1000 AD. I interleave genetics and history. Even if you are not tempted to become a paid subscriber, do consider signing up for free. I’m devoting more and more of my content generation to Substack, and some of it is not paywalled (for example, my recent piece on the Uyghurs).
I’m experimenting with a site called Indie Ocean. It’s basically a physical book storefront. You’ll recognize the list. Here is some information on the project. I’ve been talking to them for months, so this isn’t out of the blue.