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by Amorymeltzer
534 days ago
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“People are complex” is true but complexity is not ignoring a person’s totality. Complexity is holding multiple, sometimes contradictory, things in one’s mind at once. Mullis can be intolerable but still responsible for something meaningful. I can enjoy his book and believe PCR to be a top-5 invention of the past century, but not want the guy over for dinner. That’s what intolerable means, and that’s what the piece is doing. “This guy did an astounding thing but oof.” |
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Yes!
> Mullis can be intolerable but still responsible for something meaningful.
Sort of! Agree with the spirit of the sentence, but "intolerable" is a blanket statement. Intolerable to whom?
OK, so you don't want to have him over to dinner. That's fine; I get it. But do we just start calling people "intolerable" if a large number of people don't like them? Should UC Berkeley Alumni magazine publish a puff piece on "The Intolerable Joe Biden"?
I won't be holding my breath.