[ccp4bb] e: [ccp4bb] Words to avoid

Remco Sprangers Sun, 16 Mar 2025 08:11:58 -0700

Dear all,

this development is really worrying and sad.....But, before banning wholewords, one should maybe start by banning some letters. In this context Isuggest we all stop using (the letter) X and alike.

Best, Remco

p.s. As an NMR person I create a lot of Mx (magnetization), does this makeme suspicious as of now (also outside this mailing list)?


On Sun, 16 Mar 2025, Navdeep Sidhu wrote:

Dear Colleagues,


What can one say beyond "Shameless sexism, racism and ableism"? Perhaps this:
"To omit or to minimize [the] voices of resistance is to create the idea thatpower only rests with those who have the guns, who possess the wealth, whoown the newspapers and the television stations. I want to point out thatpeople who seem to have no power, whether working people, people of color, orwomen—once they organize and protest and create movements—have a voice nogovernment can suppress.”-- Howard Zinn, from the Introduction to "Voices of a People’s History ofthe United States"<https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/voices-of-a-peoples-history-of-the-united-states/>
And this:

"Don't mourn. Organize."
 -- Wobbly songwriter Joe Hill
By the way, George Orwell's own introduction to "1984" was successfullysuppressed for decades because in it he'd lamented self-censorship inBritain. The Kommissar lives within us too.
But there are cultures in which this wasn't so, including aboriginal culturesin North America, who understood the idea of "freedom" better. It's thoughtthey were likely behind the ideas of the European Enlightenment.
Diversely, with best wishes,
Navdeep
Germany


---
On 13.03.25 19:24, David J. Schuller wrote:
https://gizmodo.com/we-are-witnessing-a-new-brain-drain-as-scientists-flee-america-for-france-2000575654<https://gizmodo.com/we-are-witnessing-a-new-brain-drain-as-scientists-flee-america-for-france-2000575654>
*‘We Are Witnessing a New Brain Drain’ as Scientists Flee America forFrance*
=======================================================================
  All Things Serve the Beam
  =======================================================================
                                  David J. Schuller
                                  modern man in a post-modern world
                                  MacCHESS, Cornell University
                                  schul...@cornell.edu
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From:* CCP4 bulletin board <CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK> on behalf of V.Nagarajan <tato...@gmail.com>
*Sent:* Thursday, March 13, 2025 09:43
*To:* CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK <CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK>
*Subject:* Re: [ccp4bb] Words to avoid
Here’s an article from ProPublica, explaining how they used AI to searchthrough some 3,400 research grants called “woke” by Texas senator Ted Cruz:
GettyImages-1097249104.jpg
link.propublica.net<https://link.propublica.net/view/652e85710205761260069218n7d7l.31ll/c6f60ac7>
<https://link.propublica.net/view/652e85710205761260069218n7d7l.31ll/c6f60ac7>
From the article: ‘Among them: a $470,000 grant to study the evolution ofmint plants and how they spread across continents. As best Philip and Songcould tell, the project was flagged because of two specific words used inits application to the NSF: “diversify,” referring to the biodiversity ofplants, and “female,” where the application noted how the project wouldsupport a young female scientist on the research team.
Another involved developing a device that could treat severe bleeding. Itincluded the words “victims” — as in gunshot victims — and “trauma.”‘
V. Nagarajan
On Mar 13, 2025, at 5:13 AM, ΕΜΜΑΝΟΥΗΛ ΣΑΡΕΙΔΑΚΗΣ<000100730073ca33-dmarc-requ...@jiscmail.ac.uk> wrote:
The problem is not to ensure confidentiality of what one writes. It is toensure that one can write publicly (within some limits, see below) withoutfear.
To go back to the original conversation, I think we have here an exampleof a “pendulum effect”. The onslaught on what cannot be said started onthe “progressist”, “woke”, “politically correct” side, as explained in thearticle forwarded yesterday on this thread by Bryan Lepore. These peoplewere well-meant, on a high moral ground and earnestly dedicated torectifying earlier iniquities. Nevertheless, as often happens withwell-meant actions, these initiatives quickly degenerated, in this caseinto rather indiscriminate censorship, nonsensical grammar (ungrammaticalpronouns and the like) and sometimes worse.
Then, the pendulum swung, and the “progressist” bigots were replaced bythe real ones, who are not on a moral high ground, but are feeding on themistrust and outrage generated by the previous status quo. The real bigotsare of course many times worse than the ones that became so by excessiveenthusiasm, and this is what we are seeing now (mostly in the US for themoment, but it’s spreading).
So, I think the questions to ask are: is any form of censorship acceptableand, if yes, to what extent? My answer to the first question is yes: anybigot Right and Left should not be allowed to go around spreading lies andvictimising people. The US has been in many cases an example of too littlecensorship: it is one of the most tolerant places in the West for thosewho are openly Neonazi for example. The answer to the second question mustbe: censorship should be tolerated to the least possible extent, it mustbe well-vetted, well-justified and liable to questioning, challenge andrational revision at all times. Ideally, it should also have some rapportwith a somewhat objective notion of truth. Given the strained relationshipof the present US Government with all the above concepts, I have littlehope.
Emmanuel

Dr. Emmanuel Saridakis
Institute of Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
National Centre for Scientific Research "DEMOKRITOS"
Athens 15341, Greece.

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    *From: *David <dgwater...@gmail.com>
    *To: *CCP4BB <CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK>
    *Date: *Thursday, 13 March 2025 12:10 PM EET
    *Subject: *Re: [ccp4bb] Words to avoid

    I guess I should remind subscribers that the CCP4BB has a public
    archive, at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=ccp4bb
    <https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=ccp4bb>.
    On a personal note, I always appreciate the courage of those who
    call out the bullshit in the world, and I've enjoyed the eloquent
    messages in this thread (though the content is depressing).
    Best wishes,
    David

    On Wed, 12 Mar 2025, 21:04 Katherine Sippel,
    <katherine.sip...@gmail.com <mailto:katherine.sip...@gmail.com>>
    wrote:

        My response was more of a suggestion to make sure these
        types of conversations are held via a personal email where
        "The Man" would require sufficient probable cause for a judge
        to issue a warrant rather than an institutional email that
        does not have such a barrier. That being said, I have had more
        than one work email recently where I asked myself "would you
        want to have to defend this in front of a McCarthy-esque
        congressional inquest" and made a phone call instead. So,
        you're completely right. Thank you for the gut check.
        Cheers,
        Kat

        On Wed, Mar 12, 2025 at 2:31 PM Artem Evdokimov
        <artem.evdoki...@gmail.com <mailto:artem.evdoki...@gmail.com>>
        wrote:

            The first thing that happens as freedom of speech dies is
            that diligent self censorship becomes the norm. People
            acquire a Komissar inside their heads.

            When I was a kid, my parents had to remind me daily not to
            share with school kids the jokes told at home because
            'mommy does not want to go to Gulag'.

            Word to the wise.

            Artem


            On Wed, Mar 12, 2025, 15:21 Katherine Sippel
            <katherine.sip...@gmail.com
            <mailto:katherine.sip...@gmail.com>> wrote:

                I love this conversation. It is an important one right
                now that addresses the intersection between the
                precise language needed to communicate science and the
                greater zeitgeist around politicization of vocabulary.
                It will be interesting to see how the etymology of
                scientific language migrates in response to this
                selective pressure.
                However, if you will allow me to put on my tinfoil hat
                for a moment, I feel compelled to remind the faculty
                from publicly funded universities in the US that your
                institutional emails may be subject to Freedom of
                Information Act requests. I was at the University of
                Florida when the Organic Consumers Association decided
                to go after Kevin Folta via US Right to Know, and it
                was nasty. I would not put it past the administration
                to weaponize FOIA requests in the future to root out
                dissent among US academics. Just something to consider
                when engaging in these types of conversations.
                Cheers,
                Kat Sippel, PhD, ELS

                On Wed, Mar 12, 2025 at 1:41 PM Harry Powell
                <0000193323b1e616-dmarc-requ...@jiscmail.ac.uk
<mailto:0000193323b1e616-dmarc-requ...@jiscmail.ac.uk>>wrote:
                    "_golf_ of America” particularly apt with current
                    POTUS…

                    Harry

                    > On 12 Mar 2025, at 17:49, Oganesyan, Vaheh
                    <vaheh.oganes...@astrazeneca.com
                    <mailto:vaheh.oganes...@astrazeneca.com>> wrote:
                    >
                    > You never know what is on their minds
                    (Musk&Don). Would you guess anything related to
                    Greenland before hearing it, or golf of America?
                    >
                    > Vaheh
                    >
                    > From: CCP4 bulletin board <CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK
                    <mailto:CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK>> On Behalf Of Harry
                    Powell
                    > Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2025 1:30 PM
                    > To: CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK
                    <mailto:CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK>
                    > Subject: Re: [ccp4bb] Words to avoid
                    >
                    > I don’t thnk that’s why it’s been banned...
                    >
                    > > On 12 Mar 2025, at 17:09, Ian Tickle
                    <ianj...@gmail.com <mailto:ianj...@gmail.com>> wrote:
                    > >
                    > >
                    > > --------- Forwarded message ---------
                    > > From: Ian Tickle <ianj...@gmail.com
                    <mailto:ianj...@gmail.com>>
                    > > Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2025, 14:08
                    > > Subject: Re: [ccp4bb] Words to avoid
                    > > To: Herbert J. Bernstein <yaya...@gmail.com
                    <mailto:yaya...@gmail.com>>
                    > >
                    > > I spell it 'polarisation' anyway (from Late
                    Latin 'Stella Polaris' = 'Pole Star').
                    > >
                    > > Cheers
                    > >
                    > > -- Ian
                    > >
                    > >
                    > > On Tue, 11 Mar 2025, 20:00 Herbert J.
                    Bernstein, <yaya...@gmail.com
                    <mailto:yaya...@gmail.com>> wrote:
                    > > Dear Colleagues,
                    > > When I got home today, Frances presented me
                    with an article from the
                    > > NY Times which contained the attached list of
                    words and the explanation,
                    > > "As President Trump seeks to purge the federal
                    government of "woke" initiatives, agencies have
                    flagged hundreds of words to limit or avoid,
                    > > according to a compilation of government
                    documents."
                    > > For this audience in particular, please note
                    that "Mx", "polarization", "orientation",
                    "status", "systemic". "discrimination",
                    "equality", "expression", "barriers", and "bias"
                    are among the words to avoid. Care should be
                    > > taken in writing proposals and reports since
                    AIs may be used for screening
                    > > and they are' likely to miss explanatory context.
                    > > Regard,
                    > > Herbert
                    > >
                    > >
                    > > To unsubscribe from the CCP4BB list, click the
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                    >
                    >
                    
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[ccp4bb] e: [ccp4bb] Words to avoid

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