The Tim Hunt Witch Hunt
Absolutely terrific long (and worthy) read in Commentary by Jonathan Foreman about the disgusting condemnation of Sir Tim Hunt for things he did not actually say, do, or mean:
The coup de grâce came in July with Mensch's release of a short recording from the luncheon. One can clearly hear applause and laughter in the room as Hunt ends his speech. Apparently out of a hundred guests from around the world, most of them women, the only people who were offended by Hunt's remarks were a handful of British and American science writers, all of whom happen to be diversity obsessives.The most generous interpretation of Connie St. Louis's bizarre behavior is that she was too intellectually limited to recognize irony that was somehow obvious to an audience composed mostly of people who spoke English as a second language. A leak of the unedited version of her "Stop Defending Tim Hunt" piece for the Guardian is so garbled and incoherent that this actually seems plausible, though it also makes you wonder how and why she came to be teaching journalism even at a third-rate institution like London's City University.
That's a question that began to be asked quite widely a few weeks after St. Louis sent her tweets and became a celebrity on the back of her denunciations of Hunt. The Daily Mail discovered that St. Louis had lied on the curriculum vitae she had supplied for the City University website. The CV claims that she is "an award-winning freelance broadcaster, journalist, writer, and scientist" who "writes for numerous outlets, including the Independent, Daily Mail, the Guardian, the Sunday Times..." But when the Mail's Guy Adams went through 20 years of digital archives for the Independent, the Sunday Times, and the Mail he could find no articles carrying her byline. Before the current scandal, her work for the Guardian had been limited to a single piece in 2013. Oddly, the BBC and the Guardian have yet to report not only this evidence pertaining to her credibility, but also all the contradictory evidence concerning her claims about Hunt's speech in Seoul.
...For all his naiveté, and despite the support he was beginning to receive, Hunt knew that his professional life was over. "I'm finished," he said in the interview. "I had hoped to do a lot more to help promote science...but I cannot see how than can happen. I have become toxic." Unfortunately, this is indeed the case. Since his comments came to light, Hunt has been disinvited from major scientific and medical conferences. As Dame Athene Donald wrote: "His ability to go and inspire the young has been unnecessarily destroyed."
At the time of this writing, Hunt has not been reinstated as an honorary professor at University College, London. Nor is he likely to be. Provost Michael Arthur, as if keen to demonstrate the cowardice and lack of intellectual integrity he and so many others confuse with political virtue and good public relations, recently told the press that to reinstate Hunt would send out "entirely the wrong signal."
Right -- like that truth and justice matter?
There is still no truth or justice in the case of Bora Zivkovic.
Oh, and via @LouiseMensch, here's another time Deborah Blum's veracity was in question -- a comment from astronomy and cosmology writer Timothy Ferris on an interview with her. The interview was later edited to exclude her remark about him, which seems to have all the truth her claims about Tim Hunt did.
via @DanTGilbert
I agree with the witch hunt part, but a good chunk of the problem is how Tim Hunt dealt with it - he shouldn't have resigned. If he hadn't resigned, I think it likely he'd still have his job. He may not have been fired, and even if he were, he could then have sued for wrongful dismissal for major damages.
Snoopy at August 30, 2015 4:46 AM
He's a sweet older scientist, not a crisis PR expert. This is similar to the firestorm that hit Matt Taylor (of the Rosetta mission) over his shirt. These people, in their lives as scientists, have not been prepared to deal with this sort of thing.
UCL should make this right. It is a black mark on them that they have not.
Amy Alkon at August 30, 2015 5:30 AM
I don't think you need to be a crisis PR expert to realize that:
* if you resign, you might not have a job
* people lie, lie, lie
* if your job is in jeopardy, you should consult with a lawyer before doing anything
I've seen many people in crappy situations with their jobs, and their first instinct is normally to lawyer up, not resign.
Snoopy at August 30, 2015 5:54 AM
He bought in to "I have offended someone and therefore must be a "bad" person.".
He should have made a simple "You have misinterpreted my statement and I am sorry for unintentionally offending you." AND THEN SHUT UP.
Then he should have gotten mad and demanded a review of who were upset (did they even go to the event?), and ask for a verbal copy of the event to go over it w/his superiors.
CASE CLOSED if rational people were involved, however witch hunts occur and the person involved never solves them. Others do so hunker down and hope the cavalry shows up.
He screwed up being too sensitive.
Bob in Texas at August 30, 2015 6:05 AM
he shouldn't have resigned
That's great, Snoopy. Except they also threatened to fire his wife if he didn't resign.
I R A Darth Aggie at August 31, 2015 8:06 AM
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