Otto FTW

December 20th, 2012 by Robert Farley

This needs to become a meme:

j.ottopohl posted a comment in He’s a Lumberjack, and He’s OK: The Wobbly Scholarship of Erik Loomis, Ph.D. · 18 hours ago

I am not a leftist and I did my PhD in the UK and now work in Africa. But, even so I was wondering if this blog could read and review my dissertation. The title is Shallow Roots: The Exile Experiences of Russian-Germans, Crimean Tatars, and Meskhetian Turks in Comparative Perspective and I completed it at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London in 2004. You can find an abstract to the dissertation at the url below.

Not sure we’re meeting the standards of peer review…

Posted in Robert Farley | 57 comments

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57 comments on this post.

  1. actor212:

    December 20th, 2012 at 9:01 am

    More like a “beer review”

  2. J.W. Hamner:

    December 20th, 2012 at 9:01 am

    Nice. “I want Wayne LaPierre’s head on a stick!” should be the new euphemism for “Would you please read my dissertation?”

  3. spencer:

    December 20th, 2012 at 9:02 am

    I’m not gonna click on TheOtherMcCain because I like my blood pressure where it is, but could Otto have been trying (not very successfully, but still) to make a point – that those idiots are not qualified to offer any substantive critique of academic research?

    Other than that, I got nothin’.

  4. Jeremy:

    December 20th, 2012 at 9:04 am

    The lumberjack headline belongs on a much more positive post of Professor Loomis. I clicked onwards without realizing what cesspool I was venturing into.

  5. rea:

    December 20th, 2012 at 9:09 am

    Otto can be a pain at times, but sometimes he’s a standup guy. That, I think, is the case here–he’s over there poking them with a metaphorical stick.

  6. Cody:

    December 20th, 2012 at 9:10 am

    I’m laughing so hard. You all are going to get me in trouble at work.

    Seriously though – I look forward to seeing the blog’s review of Otto’s dissertation. It should be very informative!

  7. Spokane Moderate:

    December 20th, 2012 at 9:13 am

    I’m pretty sure I’ve never directly interacted with him, but I’ve just gotta say:

    OTTO YOU MAGNIFICENT BASTARD!!

  8. SEK:

    December 20th, 2012 at 9:14 am

    I’m just going to float some balloons … can we call it “pohling”?

  9. matttbastard:

    December 20th, 2012 at 9:14 am

    #slowclap…

  10. SEK:

    December 20th, 2012 at 9:15 am

    (You know, “Like, dude! You read his dissertation? You’ve been ‘rik-pohled!” That way Erik and Otto share the credit.)

  11. mark f:

    December 20th, 2012 at 9:25 am

    OTTO: Well done.

  12. tt:

    December 20th, 2012 at 9:25 am

    The point is that it’s exciting and even flattering for someone to read your dissertation. Preferably someone whose opinion you care about but you take what you can get. And honestly, I haven’t read Loomis’s dissertation so I can’t speak to accuracy but the summary looks fairly comprehensive. I admire the work ethic.

  13. Everett Volk:

    December 20th, 2012 at 9:29 am

    I requested review of my master’s thesis. I think everyone should ask them for some peer review, as well.

  14. blowback:

    December 20th, 2012 at 9:30 am

    He (j.ottopohl) is taking the piss as we Brits say.

  15. mark f:

    December 20th, 2012 at 9:31 am

    The review of Erik’s dissertation is “By ‘Badger Pundit.’” Intentionally apt?

  16. Erik Loomis:

    December 20th, 2012 at 9:31 am

    Have to give Otto the credit here. That is pretty bloody funny.

  17. Dave S.:

    December 20th, 2012 at 9:44 am

    That’s a great idea except that my real name is all over the listing and I’d rather not hand that over.

  18. actor212:

    December 20th, 2012 at 9:48 am

    We on this side of the pond grok taking the mick. :-)

  19. Sherm:

    December 20th, 2012 at 9:54 am

    Not enough gay sex in Otto’s dissertation to merit their review.

  20. Malaclypse:

    December 20th, 2012 at 9:58 am

    Can you be sure?

  21. Leeds man:

    December 20th, 2012 at 10:01 am

    Nice one, Dr. Pohl.

  22. actor212:

    December 20th, 2012 at 10:01 am

    I’ve got to find a custom chocolate shop to make lollipops of La Pierre and sell them online.

  23. Vance Maverick:

    December 20th, 2012 at 10:04 am

    I thought Otto was perfectly successful in making that point. His naturally…deadpan writing style was just right for this. Kudos (but like you, I won’t be getting out of the boat).

  24. David Hunt:

    December 20th, 2012 at 10:07 am

    Does it have Wayne LaPierre’s head on it?

  25. Cheap Wino:

    December 20th, 2012 at 10:08 am

    Excellent! Judging by the crickets I think it went over most of the people’s heads.

  26. David Hunt:

    December 20th, 2012 at 10:09 am

    I referring to his metaphorical head, of course.

  27. N__B:

    December 20th, 2012 at 10:10 am

    I will gladly review any dissertation for a mere $0.50 per page. The fee is necessary only to keep me in good cheer beer.

  28. spencer:

    December 20th, 2012 at 10:20 am

    I have difficult parsing Otto sometimes, and I think I may be generally too hard on him as a result.

    So yeah, mea culpa on not really getting the joke.

  29. DrDick:

    December 20th, 2012 at 10:22 am

    I think he now has a model for how to get people to read it by following Erik’s lead.

  30. DrDick:

    December 20th, 2012 at 10:25 am

    Oops. Misread the post. Props to J. Otto. I may not agree with him about much, but this is an upstanding act.

  31. DrDick:

    December 20th, 2012 at 10:26 am

    Comic books go over their heads.

  32. JKTHs:

    December 20th, 2012 at 10:28 am

    It’s not shower material

  33. mds:

    December 20th, 2012 at 10:31 am

    … I READ YOUR DISSERTATION!!

  34. catclub:

    December 20th, 2012 at 10:39 am

    Anybody else remember the Stephen Fry book, in which Professor Trefusis is asked to comment on some hideously violent ( possibly with sex, too)
    US movie?

    He has no problem with the movie, except for the violence it does to the English language.

    I am not sure why this topic reminded me of it.
    The next thing it reminds me of is Richard Feynmann being the only person to testify in favor of a topless bar.

  35. mds:

    December 20th, 2012 at 11:07 am

    Only if our aim is off.

    [Metaphorical! Metaphorical!]

  36. Bill Murray:

    December 20th, 2012 at 11:18 am

    I am not sure all my committee members read my dissertation all the way through, but it is ~350 pages long

  37. wjts:

    December 20th, 2012 at 11:25 am

    Harrumph.

  38. peorgietirebiter:

    December 20th, 2012 at 1:06 pm

    Put me down for a case. They’ll make terrific stocking stuffers for my right wing relatives.

  39. Rhino:

    December 20th, 2012 at 3:03 pm

    I am slowly becoming convinced that Otto is some kind of fairly deep piece of what I can only call performance art being developed here in our corner of the net. The strange combination of depth shown here with the irascibly shallow nature of his ongoingStalin schtick just kind of pry at me.

    Also, what he did here goes down as one of the high points of my Internet life, and I was around in the heyday of alt.peeves and alt.tasteless for some of history’s greatest trolling.

    You have my admiration Otto. If that is who (or even what) you are ;)

  40. marijane:

    December 20th, 2012 at 3:35 pm

    well played!

  41. Timb:

    December 20th, 2012 at 4:24 pm

    Why do white nationalist offend you so much?

    Oh, yeah, right. Too bad you didn’t get to the part of the site where McCain defends Emmett Till’s murderers….cause you know what grinds Glen Reynolds gears? Metaphors, but not defense of racist murder

  42. rea:

    December 20th, 2012 at 4:27 pm

    And over the sticks beneath them . . .

  43. Timb:

    December 20th, 2012 at 4:28 pm

    If you mean “is that guy really a badger?” I think the answer is no. No self-respecting badger hangs around with the KKK brigade

  44. Timb:

    December 20th, 2012 at 4:29 pm

    It’s cause he led with “not a leftist.” All they are a simpleton, white racists and they need that litmus test “right/left” before they can hate.

  45. Timb:

    December 20th, 2012 at 4:30 pm

    This offer will soon be rescinded

  46. Marek:

    December 20th, 2012 at 6:39 pm

    Harrumph harrumph!

  47. melior:

    December 20th, 2012 at 7:58 pm

    Little known introductory verse which further supports your point:

    Oh, I’ve got two legs from my hips to the ground
    And when I move’m they walk a-round
    When I lift’em they climb the stairs
    And when I shave’m they ain’t got hairs.

    (chorus)

  48. drstankus:

    December 20th, 2012 at 8:01 pm

    heh, actually, I’d love to read some academic papers.

    I’ve got a BA in Econ, so I’m probably worthless, but at least someone would read the thing. :)

  49. J. Otto Pohl:

    December 20th, 2012 at 10:00 pm

    Wow, thanks for the comments. I actually never expected anybody to notice the comment and just put it out there on a lark. Sometimes you get lucky. For the record most of my life is pretty transparent and easy to find on places like my blog and the International Committee for Crimea site which I linked to in the comment on McCain’s site. Although neither the comment on McCain’s site or this post have generated any traffic for my blog.

  50. e julius drivingstorm:

    December 21st, 2012 at 4:05 am

    Bump, Dr. J. Otto Pohl.

    Congratulations. You’ve been googled and bookmarked. Kudos for acknowledging over there your union’s role in landing you back pay.

  51. Anonymous:

    December 21st, 2012 at 5:59 am

    Actually, if you are working on the topic of the Crimean tatars and immigration, I think the case of Crimean tatar minority in Finland would provide a very interesting comparison point.

    The group in question was, when it formed in the late 19th century, the only islamic community in Finland, representing a completely alien phenomenon. However, it has not only avoided assimilation to the main-stream Finnish population, but also remained closed to all non-Tatar muslims. Currently, the Finnish Tatar community numbers around 1,000, and consists mainly of middle-class professionals and businessmen. (In practice, their position in the society mirrors the position of the Finnish Jewish community very closely.) There is some quite interesting scholarship on the topic.

  52. J. Otto Pohl:

    December 21st, 2012 at 6:08 am

    I have not done much on Crimean Tatars recently. I had a short piece published in Turkish translation I wrote in 2010. But, that was the last thing I did regarding the group. The English version of the article is available at the url below under the title, “The False Charges of Treason Against the Crimean Tatars.”

    http://www.iccrimea.org.scholarly/falsecharges.html

    I was not aware of the Crimean Tatars in Finland. I know they have a diaspora going back to the 19th century in various Balkan countries such as Romania and Bulgaria, but I did not know about Finland. I have not done any research on Crimean Tatars other than in the USSR in part because I lack the research languages. I know Russian, but not Crimean Tatar or Turkish.

  53. J. Otto Pohl:

    December 21st, 2012 at 6:11 am

    OOps the link failed.

    http://www.iccrimea.org/scholarly/falsecharges.html

  54. Origami Isopod:

    December 21st, 2012 at 9:46 am

    So Otto’s dissertation isn’t what you’d call a towering work?

  55. CJ:

    December 21st, 2012 at 2:29 pm

    You can give to your local Republican Senators, Representatives, etc. with the message “Here, go suck on Wayne LaPierre”.

  56. xaaronx:

    December 27th, 2012 at 2:20 pm

    Late to the party because I’ve been traveling a lot lately, but bravo Otto!

  57. Marcus O. Fazomi:

    January 4th, 2013 at 2:03 am

    People often do not grasp the specificity original research requires. Dissertations are not greatly expanded high school papers.

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