Jordan Peterson

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https://youtu.be/-5RCmu-HuTg

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Self authoring app? > https://www.selfauthoring.com

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https://youtu.be/Q7GKmznaqsQ?t=1h6m41s

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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wsNzAuYDgy0

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12 Rules For Life in 20 minutes
https://youtu.be/x9QHlEbO4OM

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1. Stand up straight with your shoulders back
2. Treat yourself like you’re someone responsible for helping
3. Make friends with those who want the best for you
4. Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who others are today
5. Don’t let your children do anything that makes you dislike them
6. Put your house in perfect order before you criticise the world
7. Do what is meaningful and not what is expedient
8. Tell the truth, or at least don’t lie
9. Assume that the person you’re listening to knows something you don’t
10. Be precise in your speech
11. Don’t bother children while they’re skateboarding
12. Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street

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I first "discovered" Jordan Peterson when I saw his book on the Best Seller list in the Airport.
I went searching for a review of his book to determine/decide if it was worth reading ...
(the first link shared above is for his lecture on the "How To: Academy" YT channel for his "book tour")

https://youtu.be/-5RCmu-HuTg

But there are much more concise summaries:

https://youtu.be/lHD3oCoPX34

https://youtu.be/0QuowFNdoqw

After watching a few videos featuring Jordan Peterson in the YouTube "infinity pool" of recommendations, it's clear that he is a man of principals and holds a few well-forumlated evidence-based but "strong" views which many people find helpful and some people find offensive.

Sadly, most of the people who are "offended" by Jordan's views only get as far as the headlines or hearsay they do not take the time to do the homework and understand the data/facts he is presenting.

Jordan is a Clinical Psychologist with 25 years of patient experience who has a wealth of knowledge from treating people with issues ranging from depression to emotional/physical abuse and other trauma.

He has published several articles in well-respective peer-reviewed academic journals on the subjects of (dysfunctional) relationships, alcoholism, anxiety, openness and extraversion.
see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Peterson#Notable_journal_articles

His work has been cited by many other academic papers:
https://scholar.google.pt/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=Jordan+B+Peterson
which is an indication that his research and conclusions offer valuable insights in the field.

His two most recent academic papers are:

• Morisano D.; Hirsh J. B.; Peterson J. B.; Pihl R. O.; Shore B. M. (2010). "Setting, elaborating, and reflecting on personal goals improves academic performance". Journal of Applied Psychology. 36 (5): 255–264. doi:10.1037/a0018478. Full PDF
• Hirsh J. B.; Mar R. A.; Peterson J. B. (2012). "Psychological Entropy: A Framework for Understanding Uncertainty-Related Anxiety". Psychological Review. 119 (2): 304–320. doi:10.1037/a0026767. Full PDF

I find both of these topics highly interesting and worthwhile.
(I recommend anyone read the papers though they are a bit "dry" their conclusions are encouraging!)

Book

Jordan's book "12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos" is an International Bestseller
https://www.amazon.com/12-Rules-Life-Antidote-Chaos/dp/0345816021


The most "popular" negative review is:

The person only bought the book so they could leave this 1-star review.
They did not read the book ... they just attempted to take a "dump" on it. i.e. #hater 😞
I have not yet read the book because I've had other priorities, but it's on my list (hence this issue)

By contrast the most "helpful" positive review

---

... it goes on for a bit ... but concludes with:

---

Considering the book is 448 pages I feel that it is impressive that it's lasted this long on the bestseller list.

The book is still at #5 On the Amazon Chart after 54 weeks.
https://www.amazon.com/charts/2019-02-03/mostread/nonfiction/index.html

I cannot help but feel that other academics & authors are insanely jealous of this level of "success".
And there are at least a few who criticise him because they are "haters".

Quora Answers

Jordan has a (good) habit of answering questions on Quora where he recently posted a list
of valuable lessons/rules people should follow. (see how many of them you agree/disagree with...)

What are the most valuable things everyone should know?

https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-valuable-things-everyone-should-know/answer/Jordan-B-Peterson

Do not do things that you hate. is a re-wording of @dwyl dwyl/hq#519

Another that I'm a "fan" of is: "Don't let bullies get away with it."

Talks

I found Jordan's recent Oxford Union Address and Q&A insightful and reasonable:

https://youtu.be/UZMIbo_DxJk

Gender Differences and Pay Gap

https://youtu.be/aMcjxSThD54

As you can tell from the "views" and "votes" ("likes") on this video, the vast majority of people (97%) who have watched the interview, liked it. I think Peterson's views on Gender are well-rehearsed ...

2:17 - young men are starving for this sort of message. they are not being taught that it's important to develop yourself.
3:01 - what sort of partner do you want? do you want an overgrown child or someone who is going to help you, and you can rely on?
3:38 why in the world would you not want a competent partner?
5:42 multivariate analysis of the [gender] pay gap indicates that it doesn't exist.
6:01 if you are a social scientist worth your salt, you never do a univariate analysis.
6:08 break it down by age, break it down by occupation, break it down by interest, by personality.
06:25 I am not saying it doesn't matter, I'm saying there are multiple reasons for it.
06:36 I'm not saying that they should put up with it.
06:38 I'm saying that the claim that the wage gap between men and women is only due to sex is wrong.
07:18 there is a personality trait known as agreeableness.
07:21 Agreeable people are compassionate and polite
07:23 Agreeable people get paid less than less agreeable people for the same job.
07:29 Women are more agreeable than men.
07:32 Some women are less agreeable than men.
07:37 And some women get paid more than men.
07:45 I'm saying that's one component of a multivariate equation.

Full transcript: https://scrapsfromtheloft.com/2018/08/23/jordan-petersons-channel-4-interview-cathy-newman-transcript/

Further reading: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/21/banning-jordan-peterson-causing-offence-cathy-newman-free-speech

Gender Pronouns

The other big point of contention is that offends some people is Jordan's view of the
Canadian Government's 🇨🇦 introduction of legislation (Bill C-16, 2016) to force people
to use gender pronouns ... which he refers to as "compelled speech".
wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Act_to_amend_the_Canadian_Human_Rights_Act_and_the_Criminal_Code

I find the debate interesting and while I understand the viewpoint that having pronouns imposed by law is a against "free speech" and it can mean that anyone can inadvertently break the law simply by not knowing the "correct" pronoun and thus be charged with a "hate crime" just because the person did not know any better ...

As always, I feel that the most vulnerable members of society should be protected.
Just because someone was born with a gender they do not identify with, does not mean they should be discriminated against or persecuted. This seems pretty obvious/logical to me.

The summary of the Act is as follows:

The bill is intended to protect individuals from discrimination within the sphere of federal jurisdiction and from being the targets of hate propaganda, as a consequence of their gender identity or their gender expression. The bill adds "gender identity or expression" to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act and the list of characteristics of identifiable groups protected from hate propaganda in the Criminal Code. It also adds that evidence that an offence was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on a person's gender identity or expression constitutes an aggravating circumstance for a court to consider when imposing a criminal sentence.

Anyone who has not been on the receiving end of discrimination does not understand how it feels,
and therefore should not try to block a law that protects those who have been discriminated.

Jordan's view is that he does not want the government to impose a law which makes using the "wrong" word a crime, nor does he want people to be forced to remember all the many gender identities ...

See: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/cchr/downloads/pdf/publications/GenderID_Card2015.pdf

I personally don't have any issues with referring to people by their preferred identity. (nor should I!)
I would prefer not to be compelled to do so by law and feel that the law will only breed resentment among hard-line right-wing religious conservatives who may use the "appropriate" words in public but continue to harbour their feelings of hate/disrespect/discrimination.

Ultimately, I can see why Peterson is divisive.
He has not incited anyone to "violence" and most people find his content helpful.

I still intend to read his book (later this year) and will update this issue when I do.

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JP on Universities, Education and personal Growth: https://youtu.be/OReAF9qwMkY

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“how to stop wasting your life” https://youtu.be/AVMJNEA6GDY

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Ok, now I really understand why many people hate Jordan Peterson. 😕
“White privilege isn't real”: https://youtu.be/JEESNpAu1EU

His argument is that privilege exists in all societies therefore it’s not unique to People with lighter skin tone.
But this is a red herring https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_herring
Yes, there is both wealth and poverty in countries where the majority of the population has a certain skin tone, but there is systemic racism in many countries where the ruling elite is mostly white. Jordan Peterson needs to travel more and open his eyes. Look no further than the American justice/penal system for evidence of modern slavery benefitting white elite. 😢

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Counter argument: https://youtu.be/pbccGbPKwok 💭

Adette Wellington a Black Woman living in Texas describes how White Privilege Is a Myth disempowers Black people.

Adette makes several valid points however none are based on second or third order thinking. Why is/was there more crime in black neighbourhoods? Is it because black people want to engage in criminal activity, or is it because they cannot get legitimate jobs because they are discriminated against?
The problem with anecdotal opinion based arguments is that they aren’t don’t consider aggregate data.

Watch the video and make up your own mind.

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Jordan Peterson: Alpha males & everyone below them: https://youtu.be/RVVmhnmUj6A

The word/name "Alpha" could have a negative connotation in the age of "Wokeness". 💭

https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/alpha

This is an example of political correctness overriding common sense.
The fact that specific vocal section of the population can malign the term "Alpha",
which is universally positive in nature and vocabulary boggles my mind.
Next we're going to change the word "Alphabet" because it's offensive to someone.

I learned a new word today: "dudebro" https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/dudebro

Apparently, the word "mother" is offensive too ...
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5094791/A-Z-politically-correct-madness.html

I don't call my Mother "birth giver", I call her Mom.

And the expression "land of opportunity" is no longer appropriate either:
https://www.nationalreview.com/2015/06/university-california-microaggresions-janet-napolitano/

Even though statistically moving to Silicon Valley opens up many "opportunities" for people.
Getting a well-paid job you love must no longer be an "opportunity" ... so do we call it now? 🤷‍♂️

The dictionary definition is still:

But I'm sure someone is actively lobbying to change it.

"Management" is out too because it's offensive to everyone, obviously, it starts with "man":
https://www.vice.com/da/article/mvw8vy/words-that-are-going-to-be-un-pc-in-the-future

On this basis, ComedyCentral should definitely #CancelSouthpark 🚫

“When words lose their meaning,
people lose their freedom.” ~ Confucius

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Malcolm Gladwell's 12 Rules for Life: https://youtu.be/-IzesQaEqJo