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Wingnut Translator

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One of the difficulties any rational person has with Gregg Easterbrook’s review of Jared Diamond is that he is simply speaking a different, wingnuttier dialect of the English language. Once you understand the idiosyncratic definitions of certain key terms, things become much clearer. You’ll also find these new definitions are used quite commonly.

post·mod·ern (adj.) Any claim, irrespective of its theoretical, methodological, or empirical underpinnings, that contradicts reactionary received wisdom. Eg., “The skepticism of scientists toward ‘intelligent design’ creationism is quintessentially postmodern.” “The claim that serious accusations of wrongdoing require evidence is quintessentially postmodern.” “The claim that George Bush cannot be given credit for the policies of previous presidents that Bush vociferously opposes is quintessentially postmodern.”

pol·it·call·ly cor·rect (adj.) (archaic) A label applied to another’s contention in order to pre-empt an argument when your counter-argument is utterly indefensible on the merits. Eg., “The argument that civilizational advances result from anything but the innate ingenuity of men and the individualistic culture that will develop in another century or two is politically correct.” “The argument that Jews are not collectively responsible for any movie that one doesn’t like is politically correct.” “The claim that women should be assumed not to consent to sexual intercourse merely because they say so is politically correct.”

Hopefully that will help you read similar texts in the future!

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