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If you dig a little deeper you might find your brain does make that kind of connection subconsciously. This article gives a nice introduction into the work of

If you dig a little deeper you might find your brain does make that kind of connection subconsciously. This article gives a nice introduction into the work of cognitive linguists George Lakoff and Mark Johnson. https://theconversation.com/how-did-white-become-a-metaphor-for-all-things-good-140674 https://theconversation.com/how-did-white-become-a-metaphor-.... The language constructs we use embed positive and negative associations with the words used to describe black or white things, low or high concepts. But I have to admit my bewilderment with the default branch name change too. I've seen older uses of the word master to mean original source of truth or master of students -- or padawan. I believe it's better to live in a time where we think more seriously about the words we choose to use than in one we don't. Language is fluid and always changing anyway.

macspoofing 6y ago
>If you dig a little deeper you might find your brain does make that kind of connection subconsciously. I'm sure the brain makes all kinds of connections subconsciously. The specific claim though is that your brain makes racist connections (where 'racist' is broadly defined by certain kinds of social 'scientists', where the academic field of 'social science' in general is sloppy and non-rigorous), with the corollary being that you then perform racist actions. Those propositions are wholly unproven and on the surface strike me as pseudo-science. I have also yet to see any evidence that that cultural connotations behind the colors 'white' and 'black' (like 'white is pure' and 'black is evil') actually even maps to people or racist behaviour. Do people see 'dark eyes' or 'black hair' as evil? First I hear of that. And I'm not even sure if the white/black connotations are cultural at all. I suspect that they come from something deeper, namely, nighttime was/is dangerous for our species. As I child, I was afraid of the dark and I can guarantee it had nothing to do with race or anything from culture. Where did I learn that?
dvdgsng 6y ago
> your brain does make that kind of connection subconsciously This should work both ways then. So loving black tea, black humor, Black Mirror, Black Swan and the color black in general would make me like "black people" more because my brain does the wiring subconsciously when it reads the term "black"? Nope. Don't think so. But maybe making everything about race is, well, racist?

macspoofing 6y ago

>If you dig a little deeper you might find your brain does make that kind of connection subconsciously. I'm sure the brain makes all kinds of connections subconsciously. The specific claim though is that your brain makes racist connections (where 'racist' is broadly defined by certain kinds of social 'scientists', where the academic field of 'social science' in general is sloppy and non-rigorous), with the corollary being that you then perform racist actions. Those propositions are wholly unproven and on the surface strike me as pseudo-science. I have also yet to see any evidence that that cultural connotations behind the colors 'white' and 'black' (like 'white is pure' and 'black is evil') actually even maps to people or racist behaviour. Do people see 'dark eyes' or 'black hair' as evil? First I hear of that. And I'm not even sure if the white/black connotations are cultural at all. I suspect that they come from something deeper, namely, nighttime was/is dangerous for our species. As I child, I was afraid of the dark and I can guarantee it had nothing to do with race or anything from culture. Where did I learn that?

dvdgsng 6y ago

> your brain does make that kind of connection subconsciously This should work both ways then. So loving black tea, black humor, Black Mirror, Black Swan and the color black in general would make me like "black people" more because my brain does the wiring subconsciously when it reads the term "black"? Nope. Don't think so. But maybe making everything about race is, well, racist?