You are probably already aware that Scott Aaronson wrote a comment to his blog post about Walter Lewin which got a lot of attention on twitter and the internet in general.
Now we know why his blog is called shtetl-optimized and I think we understand better some of his earlier blog posts about biting vaginas and rape (meanwhile he deleted this blog post #260).
I find his story (which included his wish to be chemically castrated) quite disturbing and the environment he grew up in must have been very unhealthy.
His confessional triggered not only criticism from professional feminists but all kinds of comments, including similar confessionals from other young men and also women; overall the whole debate is among the weirdest ones I have ever seen in our global shtetl.
Wow. Just wow.
4 comments:
Wishing to be chemically castrated is indeed a bit odd, but shyness hardly is - and I doubt that it's proof of growing up in an unhealthy environment.
Well, shyness is very common, but the anxieties he developed are very unusual (at least I thought so until recently).
I stopped reading that thread shortly after Scott's confession. It does reinforce the idea though that the concept of privacy and private thoughts aren't highly valued by a great many people. I think I have outlived the societal norms of the time and place into which I was born.
>> the concept of privacy and private thoughts aren't highly valued
But this comes in two different flavors: governments and companies not respecting privacy of citizens and users but also people not protecting their own privacy and posting incredibly personal stuff (as Scott did).
Both go hand in hand to some extent and I wonder if this is a temporary fad and people will come to their senses after a while - or it is a permanent change, perhaps a return to the openness of tribes and villages - this time as global tribes and villages.
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