Profile of Peter Thiel's "junk science" journal from someone asked to write for it

[beschizza]

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/01/29/report-on-peter-thiels-jun.html

…

[GagHalfrunt]

@beschizza

(Pictured above is, in the lack of Inference having any screenshottable visual character whatsoever, my own devising of what a Boing Boing Journal of Junk Science might look like – perhaps it is time!)

Blade Runner got there first.
Moni by S Woodside, on Flickr

[Boundegar]

I’d rather subscribe to Nom!

But those articles - Past Masters of the Postmodern? In what universe is that science?

[belovedvillain]

A BoingBoing journal of junk science is what the world needs right now.

I’d contribute long winded articles about cryptids that don’t exist in a heartbeat.

[anon41912231]

I really want to read those articles.

[Jamie_Simon]

+1 for real (PDF, not paper, jeez) publication of NOM! I guffawed at the cover, pitch-perfect satire of OMNI.

[ugh]

@beschizza

(Pictured above is, in the lack of Inference having any screenshottable visual character whatsoever, my own devising of what a Boing Boing Journal of Junk Science might look like – perhaps it is time!)

I think it’s already begun (unfortunately, in my opinion):

The Miracle Club: How Thoughts Become Reality

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/01/08/the-miracle-club-how-thoughts.html …

[jhbadger]

I think I kind of understand why Chomsky is on the board based on the essay that he published in it where is is talking about how language with real grammar seems to be universal and unique to humans. While I don’t think that is what he means, this view can be easily spun into “Chomsky doesn’t believe language evolved! Humans must have been created with language ability!”. Besides Thiel, there are some shady crypto-Creationists involved in this journal too.

[mallyboon]

Until recently, I would have said “never assume malice where ignorance/incompetence will do”. In today’s world, it’s getting tougher to take that advice seriously.

[deedub]

@Boundegar

I’d rather subscribe to Nom!

It’s no PCI Audio Card, but I’d read it.

[Beanolini]

@beschizza

Adam Becker was invited to write for Inference, a “quarterly review of the sciences” backed by billionaire Peter Thiel.

I’m pretty sure this is the first line of a J. G. Ballard novel.

[anon21100188]

The article seems to be getting at the notion of postmodernism undermining the notion of objective, shared reality and what that means for science, which coming from an endeavor underwritten by Peter Fucking Thiel seems to be weapons-grade irony.

[beschizza]

@belovedvillain

long winded articles about cryptids that don’t exist

[gracchus]

I wasn’t expecting to see an academic journal for the Dark Enlightenment, but here we are.

[lumbercartel]

@mallyboon

Until recently, I would have said “never assume malice where ignorance/incompetence will do”. In today’s world, it’s getting tougher to take that advice seriously.

No reason you can’t have both – as the current Administration proves so thoroughly.

[lumbercartel]

Connect the dots: Peter Thiel and climate denialism ring any bells?

[bobtato]

As the linked article points out, if you were setting out to legitimise batshit anti-science crank ideologues, an excellent way to do that would be to get them published in a journal that also, or even mostly, publishes respected scientists.

Now that people are more widely aware of the dodgy parts of academic publishing, it’s hard to get away with setting up a fake journal to create convincing-sounding citations for your paper on crystal energy limb regrowth. I guess this journal is intended as the same sort of thing, but with time and money invested in real articles to take the scam a level deeper.

[joed]

Please tell me more about giant fucking space pyramids.

Are they space pyramids that fuck giants?

Are they giant pyramids that fuck in space?

Are they pyramids in a giant space dedicated to fucking?

I need to know.

[Scientist]

That Chomsky article is something. Its main point is pushing a biology-incompatible idea of natural language. But in the middle of the claims of human uniqueness he had this quote: “It is now recognized that the variety of life is very limited.” Which is from an equally out there paper claiming that human abilities are latent throughout the animal kingdom and could be activated. I think that will be my first submission to NOM, a paper about how to activate traits in distant species. Crabs with cat whiskers, dogs with mantis shrimp eyes, and sea slugs with human language

[gracchus]

@Scientist

an equally out there paper claiming that human abilities are latent throughout the animal kingdom and could be activated.

Planet of the Apes, here we come!