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New Zealand’s Royal Society grudgingly lets off two scientists who critiqued “Indigenous ways of knowing” as conventional science

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No one was saying they shouldn’t be taught; the is due was treating them as a form of science, as generally understood today. Darwinian evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne has been following the story:

Finally, last week the RSNZ came up with its decision: the two members of the Society who signed the letter were fully exculpated. The “confidential” summary of the investigation is below, but I got permission to publish it. That’s no longer necessary since much of it is now public.

But that didn’t stop the RSNZ from pulling a slimy move to get in one last lick against its two miscreant members. The RSNZ issued two statements, the second leaving out out a single sentence from the first. Here’s the original version, but in the final version, now published online, the sentence I put in bold has been omitted: …

As I said, the controversy over the hegemony of MM [Indigenous ways of knowing taught as science] in science continues, and if I know anything about New Zealand educational politics, MM will worm its way into science class. All the new RSNZ statement does is exculpate two scientists unfairly accused of misbehavior and harm for saying that MM, while worthy of being taught, is not coequal with modern science.

The Royal Society of New Zealand has acted despicably during this whole episode, abrogating the free speech of its members. If anything undergirds science, it’s the concept of saying what you think; and criticizing an indigenous “way of knowing” as “not compatible with modern science” is certainly within the purview of acceptable speech.

Except in New Zealand.

Jerry Coyne, “New Zealand’s Royal Society exculpates two members accused of criticizing indigenous “ways of knowing” as coequal with science” at Why Evolution Is True (March 13, 2022)

As Coyne acknowledges, New Zealand is ultra-Woke.

Why does anyone think that the Woke, in general, care about science or math? If they did, they’d call off the war on science and the war on math.

You may also wish to read:

Jerry Coyne on the war on math, science, in New Zealand – and falling scores

and

Maori creationism is okay In New Zealand schools; Objectors could be booted from NZ’s Royal Society.

Comments
I may write an article on this, but, honestly, I think Jerry Coyne is his own problem. You see, Jerry has espoused the "science is the only way to know things" dogma. With this dogma, for every possible way of knowing has to be force-fit into science. If you tell people "science is the only way to know stuff", but they know stuff some other way, then they will invariably call their mode of knowledge "science". If Jerry (and similar commentators) simply made the obvious allowance that there are, indeed, other legitimate ways of obtaining knowledge than science, and science may even be wrong compared to other ways of knowing, then it would be much easier to remove "other ways of knowing" from science. But when you say, "I am the whole game and the only game in town", don't be surprised when other people take you seriously. johnnyb
Indigenous beliefs make INFINITELY INFINITELY INFINITELY more sense than the grotesque NAZI superstitions of official scientists. Indigenous legends are a serious attempt to explain observed reality. Science is based on schizoid demonic psychopathic hyperdelusions. polistra

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