Don’t forget, Woke used to just be stupid Lit stuff. Now it is biting deep. Into medicine, for example:
A few clicks away from the homepage of Harvard’s prestigious medical school, one finds among their “anti-racism initiatives” the following: “We will develop new classes for master’s and PhD students to acknowledge the ways in which racism is embedded in science.” What in the world does it even mean to say that racism is “embedded” in science? It has been pursued, certainly, by flawed people—but science is the pursuit of universal truth. It cannot itself be racist. At best, such classes will simply be a waste of time. At worst, as the language above suggests, they will attempt to indoctrinate students by teaching them that they, and the medicine they practice, are inherently racist.
Christopher Sanfilippo, “Is Harvard Sacrificing Science for Wokeness?” at RealClearScience (June 30, 2021)
Sadly, cancer isn’t racist. Nor is Alzheimer syndrome. They can’t be fought by rallies or civil disobedience, which we could all just do. Not just anyone who cares can be a science researcher. A war on math, for example, as “white supremacy” will simply prevent progress.
Anyway, just to be clear, it is a war on numeracy as well as literacy.
Prediction: Science will pass into the hands of people where illiteracy and innumeracy are not happening. Try China.