• Skullgrid@lemmy.world
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    14 days ago

    Without independent wealth and deep personal connections it’s incredibly difficult to succeed in academia, regardless of the quality of your research.

    Always has been, why do you think he’s called SIR Isaac Newton?

    EDIT : Turns out his knighthood was afterwards, but he did have connections. There are several examples of science being the domain of already rich people.

    • baltakatei@sopuli.xyz
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      14 days ago
      • Neils Bohr, from a Jewish/Danish banking family.
      • James Clark Maxwell inherited land and wealth in Scotland.
      • Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz… look at the size of the wig on the man!
      • Skullgrid@lemmy.world
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        14 days ago

        Neils Bohr, from a Jewish/Danish banking family.

        come on man, don’t start with something distasteful even if it’s true.

          • Clent@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            13 days ago

            The idea that mentioning someone’s Judaism is antisemitic, feeds antisemitism.

            “To learn who (secretly) rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize describe.”

          • Skullgrid@lemmy.world
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            14 days ago

            Jewish banking and etc are tied to many (false) conspiracy theories. Me mentioning science has been part of the elites and immediately tying someone who happened to have a family that had bankers that were jewish ties into that in a distasteful/false/etc way.

            I’m sure it’s not intentional, but I don’t like giving these idiots more fuel for their fire

            • lmmarsano@lemmynsfw.com
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              14 days ago

              Jewish banking is a legacy of antisemitic Christian doctrine in Medieval Europe that restricted the Hebrew people only to professions proscribed (as usury) to Christians such as financial services. Their prevalence in those professions is a historic consequence of discrimination of no fault to the Hebrew people, and acknowledging that reality isn’t necessarily distasteful or false.

            • Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world
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              14 days ago

              Highlighting Jewish banking is anti-semitic. You are correct to challenge this.

              But it’s mainly one particular family tied to the conspiracy theories (many attribute to a pamphlet printed by Georges Dairnvaell). Ethnicity should not be a shield against scrutiny and criticism.

    • Yeather@lemmy.ca
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      14 days ago

      Also, Newton was not born with the connection, he made them in Grantham. He had a very strained relationship with his mother and step father and was raised by his grandmother.

      • Skullgrid@lemmy.world
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        14 days ago

        I was talking about his uncle that gave him an in for University

        His uncle the Reverend William Ayscough, who had studied at Cambridge, recommended him to the university.

        But I just read that shit off wikipedia so, I’m no scholar. 🤷

        • Yeather@lemmy.ca
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          13 days ago

          Oh, yes I suppose that could be. The way I see it Newton would not have been admitted if he could not keep up.