What Nobel winner Tim Hunt's sexist outburst actually says

[laklak]

Some old fart says an old farty thing and the internet explodes. Shirt rending and wailing ensues. Bans are proposed. Because what the old fart said is OFFENSIVE AND I TAKE OFFENSE!!!!!!!!!

[cronus]

Who gives out the Nobel Prizes that they could get it so wrong though?

[Hermit]

Who gives out the Nobel Prizes that they could get it so wrong though?

Tell me who said they got it wrong. Then we'll both know.

Hunt shared the prize with Hartwell and Nurse. His share of the award was for work he published 33 years ago.

[Mr.Samsa]

Exactly. Hunt was trying to sugarcoat his idiotic view that women should be kept out of labs where men do science with what Laklak alludes to as humour. Trouble is that Hunt was serious. He made that crystal clear in what can only laughingly be described as an apology. If he can't resist the temptation of "emotional entanglements" to the point that they interfere with his work when sharing a workplace with women, it is he who ought not be there.

Laklak, in your eagerness to poopooh political correctness you overlook the fact that unfortunately it is all too often right on the button.

Yeah, I mean if he was trying to make a joke and people were just upset because they found it "offensive" then telling him that's not appropriate and then getting on with our lives seems like a good outcome. But the guy was very seriously saying that women don't belong in science and he wouldn't work with them or hire them in his lab. That's not "offensive", that's just so ridiculously absurd that he deserves to be laughed at for it.

I don't understand why people defending him are getting so outraged at an old sexist being laughed at. They cry about how offended they are that sexists aren't allowed to be sexist, claiming that there is some 'conspiracy' against them, and so on. Personally I've never liked the political correctness police who argue that it's "politically incorrect" to criticise sexists. They should just take a joke and stop being humorless chumps.

It's probably just the problem with stories like these hitting the internet, we have to put up with whiners and cry-babies who hate it when sexists are laughed at.

[laklak]

I'm sure the old fart was serious as all hell. I find him just as amusing as the shrieking internet warriors who are so offended by what the ancient crumbly said. I find the knee-jerk politically correct types hilarious and quite enjoy pissing them off, in the same way I enjoy pissing off religious fundys. Most people take this life business (and themselves) far, far too seriously.

[mistermack]

I think he probably said what he said, confident in the knowledge that nobody gives a shit what he says.

That was his mistake.

I personally don't give a shit what he thinks or says. But there are clearly a lot of people out there with a need to be outraged about something. Anything.

[Strontium Dog]

Can we hear a rebuttal from all those female Nobel winning scientists...

[laklak]

Can you rebutt a woman? I'd assume so, as you can retit one.

[Hermit]

Can we hear a rebuttal from all those female Nobel winning scientists...

Marie Curie's voice is somewhat difficult to discern from her grave. She is the only dual Nobel prize winner in two separate scientific fields.

Also, given the preponderance of attitudes of the Hunt type, which were actually formally enforced at schools and universities, and the general conditioning that was aimed at confining them to bed and kitchen, it is somewhat surprising that some women became prize winners at all.

[Mr.Samsa]

I'm sure the old fart was serious as all hell. I find him just as amusing as the shrieking internet warriors who are so offended by what the ancient crumbly said. I find the knee-jerk politically correct types hilarious and quite enjoy pissing them off, in the same way I enjoy pissing off religious fundys. Most people take this life business (and themselves) far, far too seriously.

I find it hilarious that the only people shrieking are the keyboard warriors trying to defend him. They just need to lighten up and accept that shit happens, no need to get your knickers in a twist because people disagree with your assessment.

[rainbow]

I'm sure the old fart was serious as all hell. I find him just as amusing as the shrieking internet warriors who are so offended by what the ancient crumbly said. I find the knee-jerk politically correct types hilarious and quite enjoy pissing them off, in the same way I enjoy pissing off religious fundys. Most people take this life business (and themselves) far, far too seriously.

I find it hilarious that the only people shrieking are the keyboard warriors trying to defend him. They just need to lighten up and accept that shit happens, no need to get your knickers in a twist because people disagree with your assessment.

If people were not allowed to make stupid statements, the world would be a sadder and less interesting place to be in.

We need more like him.

[DaveDodo007]

Some old fart says an old farty thing and the internet explodes. Shirt rending and wailing ensues. Bans are proposed. Because what the old fart said is OFFENSIVE AND I TAKE OFFENSE!!!!!!!!!

It's getting all 1984, getting sacked for a causal remark. Don't get me wrong as what he said was just stupid but the outrage mongers can fuck off. We need more business like Protein World who stood up to these internet whiners and made a profit doing so.

[pErvinalia]

So you think that employers shouldn't be allowed to fire their employees?? Um, that's the social democracy position, not the faux-freedom-loving conservative bigots that are your people. Have you ever once made a cogent argument in your life?!?

[DaveDodo007]

Can we hear a rebuttal from all those female Nobel winning scientists...

You don't even need female Nobel scientists. As a biologist 50% of the work force is female and in my experience most of what he said is either untrue or no different from other work places. Where he does seem to have a point is women scientists and women in general don't take criticism very well though even this is more of a society problem. Boys in education get admonish eight times more than girls so quickly develop a thicker skin and don't take criticism to heart.

[DaveDodo007]

So you think that employers shouldn't be allowed to fire their employees?? Um, that's the social democracy position, not the faux-freedom-loving conservative bigots that are your people. Have you ever once made a cogent argument in your life?!?

When you can make a reply that doesn't include an ad hominem I might deem it worthy of a response until then I don't need to bother.