Wednesday News: Bezos on free speech, math’s male gaze, reading long books, and hilarious Dan Brown parody

JanetPublishing NewsDan Brown / defamation / Free Speech / gender stereotypes / Jeff Bezos / male gaze / mathematics / parody / reading strategies4 Comments

Jeff Bezos: Gawker’s Plight Proves “Ugly Speech” Needs Protection – The Gawker lawsuit has raised many questions about how much and what kind of protection public figures should have against media coverage. As much as I think Nick Denton is obnoxiously gross, he’s correct that gossip has historically been outside polite discourse, and is therefore more vulnerable. At the same time, gossip is more likely to be defamatory than, say, core political speech, and defamation is a definite limit on free speech. I’m glad to see that Bezos has come out strongly for “ugly” but lawful speech, although I’m not certain Amazon’s own policies always protect said speech.

The question also prompted Bezos, who bought the Washington D.C. paper in 2013 for $250 million, to speak about his views on the First Amendment. “This country has the best free speech protections in the world because of the constitution but also because of our cultural norms,” he said. “Beautiful speech doesn’t need protection. It’s ugly speech that needs protection, so of course that’s where the rubber is going to meet the road.

“We have these cultural norms that allow people to say really ugly things,” he continued. “We don’t have to like it and we don’t have to invite those people to our dinner parties, but you should let them say it.” – Hollywood Reporter

The Male Gaze in a Math Book – A great little piece on the systemic patterns of sexism and the way that even small examples reinforce negative stereotypes, instructing well beyond academic subject matter. I was editing a speech at work recently – someone else has written it – and I tripped over a stunningly bold and unnecessary sexist stereotype in the middle of it. At first I was shocked that the writers had not seen it themselves, but it also reminded me that we are all subject to these blind spots, even when we think we’ve been educated out of them. Which is why we need to stay vigilant.

I can’t recommend this book to anyone for their daughters, sons, or non-binary children. How could I recommend that a young woman read a math book that reminds her on page 2 that she will constantly be judged based on her appearance, even when she is in a lecture hall trying to learn something? How could I tell a young man to look at his peers that way? . . .

It’s easy to think, “If you can’t handle one less-than-perfect sentence in a book, you’re too delicate to be here” or “Why are you so worried about this when there are people who have it so much worse than you?” But it really is relentless. One bumbling sentence is small on its own, but it’s part of a sea of messages women and men receive starting when they are infants: women are looked at, men look.  – Scientific American

5 Ways to Read a 33 Hour Book – I think the Economist blogger who thinks that long books are better should read this post, which begins this way:

I don’t like long books. They take too long to read.

The opportunity cost of one long book, in terms of books not read, is high.

I like concise books. A short book forces the author and the editor to consider each word. – Inside Higher Ed

Look out, kids! It’s the return of renowned Dan Brown – Thanks to Kaetrin for the link to this absolutely heelarious parody of the YA “Da Vinci Code:”

Janet

isn't sure if she's an average Romance reader, or even an average reader, but a reader she is, enjoying everything from literary fiction to philosophy to history to poetry. Historical Romance was her first love within the genre, but she's fickle and easily seduced by the promise of a good read. She approaches every book with the same hope: that she will be filled from the inside out with something awesome that she didnʼt know, didnʼt think about, or didnʼt feel until that moment. And she's always looking for the next mind-blowing read, so feel free to share any suggestions!

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