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Original poster

Dawkins describes trans ID as a meme

247 replies

nythbran2 · 02/10/2024 07:36

Very surprised he didn't say this year's earlier (or did I miss it?). Still an unpleasant man though. www.thetimes.com/article/3f4adf27-3fb8-463a-9c1c-3a90ba605b2f?shareToken=0f280c08e52b86d1cd6b0cd7a3a7b3ba

OP posts:
borntobequiet · 02/10/2024 09:19

Unpleasant or otherwise, I’ve always admired his thinking and his writing. He’s a standout creative intellectual.

Any relationship he’s in is his own business, and nobody else’s.

DadJoke · 02/10/2024 09:15

Like many specialists he cannot be trusted outside his specialism. Gender identity isn’t a meme any more than sexuality or handedness.

Beowulfa · 02/10/2024 09:11

He's always worth listening to on the subject of biology.

He can be dogmatic, gleefully confrontational and downright rude on the subject of religion which obviously upsets a lot of people.

lifeturnsonadime · 02/10/2024 09:10

Why does it matter if you find him likeable or not?

it makes no difference to the fact that he’s right.

Bannedontherun · 02/10/2024 09:09

“I bet he’s a wild craic at a party” 😂

He is a vociferous atheist, so he thinks all religious belief's are fanaticisms at a guess.

StainlessSteelMouse · 02/10/2024 09:08

I suppose transvestism would count as a successful meme, since it's survived and adapted for pretty much all of human history.

It would be interesting if it had mutated from a successful meme into an evolutionary dead end.

popeydokey · 02/10/2024 09:07

Kneidlach · 02/10/2024 08:20

On a pedantic note it annoys me when people post a picture with a caption that has been seen by very few people and will have zero impact and call it a meme.

It’s not a meme. It’s a not particularly funny picture, not a cultural phenomenon that has been replicated across the world.

The fact that pictures in a certain format are now called memes is a genuine meme in itself Grin

Abhannmor · 02/10/2024 09:02

If he is right then the trans 'meme' will be subject to evolutionary pressure. It will mutate and evolve in some way. Perhaps it will survive or maybe some competing idea will destroy it?
Dawkins is a very rigid thinker , which i suppose is what's needed in these very specialised subjects.
He genuinely can't see any difference between a C of E vicar and an Al Qaeda terrorist. I bet he's wild craic at a party.

Bannedontherun · 02/10/2024 08:49

Well i have read most of what he has written, and admire his work. I also like the way he speaks, in a matter of fact way.

He is also well educated, well read and culturally knowledgeable.

I do not care a jot that his partner is 38 she is more than old enough to make her own decisions.

Kneidlach · 02/10/2024 08:20

On a pedantic note it annoys me when people post a picture with a caption that has been seen by very few people and will have zero impact and call it a meme.

It’s not a meme. It’s a not particularly funny picture, not a cultural phenomenon that has been replicated across the world.

Igneococcus · 02/10/2024 08:11

I never quite understand the strong anti-Dawkins feelings. He's just a scientist who likes a good debate.

soupfiend · 02/10/2024 08:09

Unpleasant in what way?

In any case, does everyone have to be pleasant?

Lovelylilylane · 02/10/2024 08:07

CoteDAzur · 02/10/2024 07:46

Do you know him personally? How many times have you actually sat down and talked to him?

If not, how do you know he is unpleasant?

Have you been living under a rock?

terryleather · 02/10/2024 08:06

He's 83 and has a 38 year old girlfriend...jeezus!

Original poster
nythbran2 · 02/10/2024 08:02

I do know him, from about 30 years ago though. Haven't heard anything on the grapevine to change my views of his personality.

OP posts:
CompletelyLost24 · 02/10/2024 08:01

Have you read Susan Blackmore’s the meme machine?

I’ll be honest that I read the book whilst at university in the early 00’s, and not since BUT, from what I remember about it, it’s always struck me that the trans ideology fits in with her ideas (and Dawkins) around memes.

BanksysSprayCan · 02/10/2024 07:59

He’s a sound scientist, and his early work was genuinely groundbreaking, but he has a way of delivering his ideas that upset some people.

popeydokey · 02/10/2024 07:51

That's interesting he used it in the context of 'a school craze'.

For those who don't know, Dawkins came up with the idea of the 'meme' in the 70s meaning a cultural idea or phenomenon that spreads, as part of his studies on evolutionary biology.

Freydo · 02/10/2024 07:47

I saw him speak once and he does have a rather brusque manner (and resting bitch face as my daughter who was with me observed).

CoteDAzur · 02/10/2024 07:46

Do you know him personally? How many times have you actually sat down and talked to him?

If not, how do you know he is unpleasant?

Original poster
nythbran2 · 02/10/2024 07:44

Just unpleasant generally. He's right that trans is a meme.

OP posts:
Freydo · 02/10/2024 07:41

He did say it earlier. He had an award withdrawn in the USA back in 2021 for comparing identifying as trans to a white person identifying as black.

Is it unpleasant to speak the truth or do you think he’s unpleasant generally.