Jason Arday #3

[Jelly Bean]

Lived thinking he was extraordinary, exposed as being very ordinary indeed.

I often think if people realised they weren't extraordinary at all they'd be a lot happier and more content. So many Tattle subjects suffer from thinking they're marvellously special and that every mundane insight is unique.

 

[nothanksbabes]

That part where he's asked what it was like being able to speak and write, he hasn't answered the question?!

“It’s a very hard thing to explain because it happened to me.” Why would that make it hard to explain? Surely being the person it happened to is precisely why you are in a position to explain what you experienced?!

Then an utter word salad. Fate, destiny, luck, a "spark", Rocky, a million to one, will versus skill, Muhammed Ali, hop on the luck train.

YOU HAVE SAID LITERALLY NOTHING.

I learned to read and write at the normal time and I could explain in detail, decades later, how I felt learning to read and what a gift I think literacy is in my life. He was an absolute bleeping charlatan as well as being mind-numbingly uncurious. The fact this vacuousness was so well rewarded. I've bleeping had it, honestly. Why are any of us bothering when we could just come out with this embarrassing nonsense.

 

[InkHeart]

Lived thinking he was extraordinary, exposed as being very ordinary indeed.

That's why he killed himself. Narcissists literally can't stand not being special.

People keep saying "He'd be alive if it wasn't for _____." But people with personality disorders are unstable.

 

[Pavlova]

I was just thinking that with his penchant for song lyrics...to the undertakers, he could have used quite a few corkers.
Going underground - The Jam.
Fire - Arthur Brown or Kasabian.
Highway to Hell - ACDC.

If this sounds disrespectful, good. Nothing more than Arday being the same, by taking us all for mugs. And to say he's a fighter. OK slim ...this is the man who delivered a soliloquy worthy of Shakespeare when confronted in the street by attackers and sicc'd the old bill on people who dared to tarnish his halo.

 

[Abominatrix]

I was just thinking that with his penchant for song lyrics...to the undertakers, he could have used quite a few corkers.
Going underground - The Jam.
Fire - Arthur Brown or Kasabian.
Highway to Hell - ACDC.

If this sounds disrespectful, good. Nothing more than Arday being the same, by taking us all for mugs. And to say he's a fighter. OK slim ...this is the man who delivered a soliloquy worthy of Shakespeare when confronted in the street by attackers and sicc'd the old bill on people who dared to tarnish his halo.

He needs only one song to play, and I've got it!

 

[Valiofthedolls]

If only people had told him the truth.

And that’s before all the lies and the plagiarism.

 

[MrsFawlty]

Here’s (some/a good chunk of) the transcript, in chronological order, put into shorter sections. Note the errors within are not transcription errors, this is actually what he said.

On the challenges of not being able to speak/write

Spoiler

What do you remember about those challenges of being unable to speak and write as you were growing up? I can't imagine what that would be like, being around and being aware, but just struggling to communicate.

I guess the first one is you can't, it is perceived that you can't communicate with people. I think there are many ways in which one can communicate through simple touch, through observation. I think there are many ways in which that can happen, and I guess you learn those types of skills because it's kind of enforced upon a person to do so.

So, you know, I think sometimes people have this sense that it must have been very difficult for me, but in some respects or in more respects, many respects, it was beautiful, it was beautiful existence just to observe how human beings interact and to observe life without the absence of words. I think I was very, very fortunate to be in that position because seldom do human beings truly listen to one another. And by being in the position I was in, you're kind of, you're forced to have to hear, to have to listen, to have towas in, you're kind of, you're forced to have to absorb in a way that sometimes the power of speech can conflict that.

So I was very fortunate. And in some respects, it provided dexterity to me, which meant that when I was able to learn to speak and as I got older, it was a skill that I'd probably unconsciously harnessed as a young child, really aided through my amazing mother, Gifty. So that sense of it wasn't as difficult as people think.

The reading and writing thing was a lot more difficult because practically speaking, there's just a lot of things you can't do. There are a lot of things that you are limited to or that become limited if you're not literate. And so that was a lot more challenging.”

“And it also had implications for where I might end up as an adult. because as a young child, it was predicted that I'd end up in assisted living in a home with other adults who have complex learning, disabilities or autism, for et cetera. And part of it was that if you can't read and write, how is it going to be able to function in the real world?

In the real world, obviously, the world is the world. But I think it's interesting how neurotypical people or neurotypical psychologists, professionals can kind of do what type of phraseology they use and how problematic it is, because it very much relines with the medical model of disability, which is disabling, not abling. And so, yeah, so that was a real practical problem.

And it was something that was going to be difficult. But when I was 18, it's very fortunate that I met my college tutor, Sandro, and he had a huge impact on expediting that learning. And it was, well, I mean, it was very consequential, very consequential, because two years later, we got to university and he was instrumental in that.

What it was like once he was able to speak and write

Spoiler: Rocky, Aliand (more) Sandro

What was that like once you were able to speak and write? What was the journey like for you to go from where you were just learning to write to now you're a professor at a prestigious university? I mean, that's even for people who have that normal abilities from birth, people struggle to get into colleges and advance.

But I mean, you took it to a whole new level. So what was that process for you to advance that learning?

It's a very hard thing to explain to somebody because it happened to me. Yeah. I mean, I'm a big believer in destiny and fate. And I think a close relative to destiny and fate is luck. And I think to maximize or convert any kind, any minimal kind of potential, which is what I had, very, very minimal potential, you need that and you need that all to align at the same time, to kind of create a perfect storm, to create that perfect spark almost.

And I was very fortunate that that happened at various points in my adult life. Notwithstanding that, my favorite film is Rocky. And the tagline in the original Rocky film in 1978 when it came, 1979 when it came out was that, so Rocky was a million to one, but then became one in a million.

I guess part of it is, I never, Sandra kind of mentioned, I never really had any kind of skill. But what I did have was will, and it always comes down to, in my opinion, will versus skill. And I say that because, famously Muhammad Ali said skill is measurable, but will is immeasurable.

That was kind of always our mantra that, you know, where I may not have the natural ability, I can make up for it by just working as hard as I can, and hopefully preparing myself to be able to kind of take a step onto the luck train when it comes. So getting lucky is one thing, but you actually have to be in a prepared state to be able to convert that luck. Having luck is kind of useless if you're not in the state to kind of maximize it or convert its potential.

But at every point when the luck train came, I was ready to hop on because I had prepared myself as much as I possibly could do for that moment. The jump or the leap from the platform was never as big because I'd shorten that leap because of the steps that I and others had taken to get me and put me in that position.

On what inspired him to not be defined by his speech/reading/writing challenges

Spoiler: Djokovic/Nadal/Federer/Tennis

“So what inspired you to do that and say, I'm not going to let this define me, I'm going to take this, take my life as far as I can take it?

That's a great question. I guess I love sport a lot. At the moment, the US Open’s on, I love tennis, second to kind of soccer. I'd say tennis is my favorite sport. And what's really interesting about Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, is between them, they have over 60 Grand Slams. But there is a difference in terms of what they do in clutch moments.

So for example, in the case of Novak Djokovic against Roger Federer in the 2019 Wimbledon final, being three championship points down on Federer's serve. So Federer has the championship on his racket to win his ninth Wimbledon. And Novak Djokovic not only saves three championship points, but he goes on to win that Wimbledon title, which is I think Roger Federer, that's the one that hurt him the most.
And then if you kind of take moments like, you know, when Roger Federer finds himself in clutch moments, how many times has he got himself out with a big first serve or a big second serve?

Someone like Rafael Nadal, they are always looking to be aggressive and to dictate the point and hit for the lines. You know, hit for the lines, obviously lots of topspin over the net, but when they flatten it out, they're looking all out to hit for the lines.And I guess part of it, the one thing the three of them have in common is that they're super aggressive. They always hit for the lines. They never hit the ball in the middle of the court. They always want to try and dictate the point.

Now, as a kind of metaphor for life, like I know which I kind of think, do I want to be the person who's running from side to side in the court, or do I want to be the person who's dictating the point? And I think part of doing that means that you have to be prepared to potentially commit more enforced errors because you're hitting for the lines. And because you're hitting so close to the lines and the margin of error is so small. Yeah.

It means that you have to be more accurate. And for me, as I got older, I got more and more fixated with becoming more and more accurate because I wanted to be more and more aggressive. And it's important to define that aggression should never come at other people's expense.

So you don't do it by stepping on other people or exploiting people or whatever. It's something that you should manage within yourself. So in other words, you bring people with you and you're responsible for those people…

More bits

Spoiler: Impostor Syndrome/Karate Kid/street fighter

So for example, you know, one of the most common questions I get asked is, do you believe in imposter syndrome? And I said, no, I've never really entertained that idea. My belief is people are where they're supposed to be.”…


…You walk into a room and you know who you are. And I guess I always kind of believe like if the root is strong, then you'll never lose track of who you are. I mean, it sounds like karate kid stuff.

But I think it's important. I remember Mr. Miyagi saying to Daniel-san like with the bonsai tree, if the root is strong, it will never lose traction or it was words that affect, or it will always be strong. And I think that's really important.

But I think that comes from the people you're around, upbringing, what you're exposed to from a young age, what you're exposed to in adolescence, young adulthood, and then kind of adulthood generally speaking. And I think that kind of mentality just to keep going for it, to keep being aggressive. I think it's quite an important thing in life. I really think it is.

And part of that, I guess, is because at my core, I'm a street fighter. I would love to say I could get somebody out of the ring with, you know, a one hit acquitter in two or three rounds. But the truth is, I'm a 12 round fighter that's punch drunk, that's probably taken way too many punches to the head. And I'm always going to be a slugger. And it's important to know what you are.

You know, I don't look at people who can get people out with a one hit acquitter with envy, I admire it. And do I wish I could do that sometimes? Yeah, because the truth is, you know, you take too many punches to the head, you do end up punch drunk.

And that's probably where I am now. But I think a big part of it as well is that they were, all of those encounters were like fights to the death, metaphorically speaking. And I always was fortunate to come out on the other end when it really mattered.

“And it's really funny because you always kind of think like, oh, if I can just come out this one time. But I think it's amazing sometimes how God works. And the times when you think you really need it to go your way, it's kind of immaterial.

Spoiler: The All Blacks 🏉

And you know, I always have this belief. Well, it's not my belief. It's a Maori belief.

I think the greatest sporting franchise in the world are the New Zealand All Blacks. So they play rugby. Okay.

Which I guess the American equivalent is American football. And the Maori, generally speaking, they're Pacific Islanders. They're indigenous people.

And they have a belief with the All Blacks jersey, which is the All Blacks jersey. It doesn't belong to you. You're a custodian and your job is to leave it in a better condition than you found it.

And I always try to apply that principle to everything that I do in my life. Like I've been fortunate to inherit one or two jerseys at different points in my life. And it's really about how can I leave that jersey in a better condition than I found it.

Spoiler: What funeral directors attendees will take away

“It's called You Can't Start a Fire Without a Spark. What will attendees learn about or what would they expect to hear about in your presentation?

Well, I mean, any excuse to use a music reference. So music was one of the ways my mum got me to learn language as a child. So a Springsteen reference seems apt.

But I think one of the things I would hope people would take from it is maybe a story of hope and how important that is. I guess in some ways, given the profession in terms of what the people there will be doing, a lot of what they do is provide hope after life, which is a very unique situation to be in.

And one that is slightly different because it requires somebody to preserve a memory and a likeliness to somebody who was of this mortal coil, embalming, that would be an example of someone trying to preserve somebody and to provide some replication of what that person, what they may look like in stillness and what they look like in life.

I think there's a harmony and there's a beauty between that. And I guess part of it is really talking about how we make the most of life, and how we make the most of opportunities, and so I think hopefully, it's about kind of presenting this idea of what hope looks like, not necessarily through the vehicle of my story, but generally speaking, and really leaving people with something to be able to take home and apply to their own quite exceptional lives. So that's hopefully the plan, and hopefully people will come with open ears and open hearts.

If people want to learn more about you, what's the best way to connect and hear more of your story and your message?”

“I don't have any social media, I never did. There's lots of stuff online, I guess. There's lots of interviews in the mirror with CBS, and Good Morning America, and stuff like that.

There's loads of stuff online, so I guess people can find out more stuff there. Yeah, I think it's probably not difficult for people to come across information where I'm concerned, but I don't actually have a kind of a locus point where all that information is. It's just if you type in autistic professor, that will come up.

All right. Very good. Well, Jason, thank you so much for the time.

From A Brush with Death Podcast: International Convention and Expo Preview 3 - Keynote Speakers, Sep 24, 2024

Edit to add/what’s left out:

Spoiler

the biggest chunk I left out was his lies about his millions in fundraising (£3 million by the age of 30 £5.5 mil by this time) and thousands of miles run, cos those claims are all over multiple sources, but let me know if you want to read what he specifically says about it here and I’ll post

I guess the first one is you can't, it is perceived that you can't communicate with people. I think there are many ways in which one can communicate through simple touch, through observation. I think there are many ways in which that can happen, and I guess you learn those types of skills because it's kind of enforced upon a person to do so.

I have so many questions: I've observed speech and language therapists working with brain-injured patients: he never defines whether he was unable to some degree to perceive and process verbal communication OR if he was mute and unable to articulate words. Surely if it was the former he would have had such a significant learning disability that special needs school would be the ONLY option for him, regardless of what his mother insisted on?
If he was non-verbal but capable of understanding what was said to him he would have been given communication tools, like a board to point to what his mood/needs/etc were, these days maybe an electronic device. Or taught Makaton or sign language surely? Is he really expecting people to believe that nothing was offered to him and he did dramatic miming to communicate up to the age of 11?
Actually, having thought this through it's obviously a load of old crap. I can remember learning to read by progressing though the Ladybird reading scheme and being proud of the level I was at when I was 5. That was 53 years ago - and he can't even properly describe how he learned to read 15-20 years after the event.

 

[TrashleenMoron]

He should have played Professor Lockhart in the new Harry Potter.

He's basically him!

 

[hereforthechaos]

If it's so bleeping wonderful being non verbal and unable to express yourself why do non verbal children, adults, those with tbi or dementia lash out at their caregivers? (Family and professional) It's not so naive, beautiful, different existence for them.

 

[hereforthechaos]

I guess the first one is you can't, it is perceived that you can't communicate with people. I think there are many ways in which one can communicate through simple touch, through observation. I think there are many ways in which that can happen, and I guess you learn those types of skills because it's kind of enforced upon a person to do so.

I have so many questions: I've observed speech and language therapists working with brain-injured patients: he never defines whether he was unable to some degree to perceive and process verbal communication OR if he was mute and unable to articulate words. Surely if it was the former he would have had such a significant learning disability that special needs school would be the ONLY option for him, regardless of what his mother insisted on?
If he was non-verbal but capable of understanding what was said to him he would have been given communication tools, like a board to point to what his mood/needs/etc were, these days maybe an electronic device. Or taught Makaton or sign language surely? Is he really expecting people to believe that nothing was offered to him and he did dramatic miming to communicate up to the age of 11?
Actually, having thought this through it's obviously a load of old crap. I can remember learning to read by progressing though the Ladybird reading scheme and being proud of the level I was at when I was 5. That was 53 years ago - and he can't even properly describe how he learned to read 15-20 years after the event.

Makaton was in use by then, PECS ( picture exchange cards ) used in the us but not so much here but I'm sure home made types would have been used

 

[Old Harold]

I just can’t take him seriously. Why does he always reference Rocky?

Because of the absolute poverty of his education. No reading, no engagement with mainstream Western philosophy or culture or history. Just half-digested chunks of critical race theory, banal popular culture and an ocean of solipsism.

 

[HotesTilaire]

It's actually unreadable. Just tried again and it made me so angry.

Somebody who cannot verbally communicate pain, abuse, hunger, fear, consent, preference, illness, or what happened to them isn't experiencing something "beautiful", they are in fact incredibly vulnerable.

If only everyone else had Jason's amazing will though, they too could overcome their disabilities and see them for how beautiful they were.

I can't comprehend being as so bleeping fatuous and being celebrated for it.

I can’t comprehend how very humble he is, acknowledging he doesn't have any natural ability for academia, if any. And yet “hounding” over plagiarism and lack of ability has led us here.

 

[HotesTilaire]

I often think if people realised they weren't extraordinary at all they'd be a lot happier and more content. So many Tattle subjects suffer from thinking they're marvellously special and that every mundane insight is unique.

It’s not that for me. People can think themselves special, unique, brilliant etc. the issue with tattlelife subjects is that they think we all want to hear about it, and their every brain fart.

 

[nothanksbabes]

It’s not that for me. People can think themselves special, unique, brilliant etc. the issue with tattlelife subjects is that they think we all want to hear about it, and their every brain fart.

If a tree falls in the woods, etc.

If you're super special and nobody else gets to experience it...

 

[Catsexyfeline]

That podcast interview is so ducking banal. How can anyone have believed this cr*p? I was destined dor assisted living but rose to the youngest black professor through luck? Honestly.

 

[Old Harold]

Like other posters here, I just get angrier the more I dig into it. My own experience is a big part of it. I didn't have Arday's exotic array of disabilities and disadvantages (real and imaginary) but came from a manual working class background with parents who left school at fifteen. I got into a prestigious university through luck (being born at the time I was and the opportunity being there), but also exam results achieved through hard work and yeah, academic ability. It was a shock socially, but I could do the work. No-one had to dumb anything down for me or make the coursework more accessible. I had as much right to "the canon" as anyone else. I'm livid at the thought that my equivalent today could've ended up being taught by a fraud and a spoofer like Arday in the name of inclusion. Genuinely raging.

 

[minimaz]

https://archive.ph/XopY4

Of course they're going ahead with publication. Thought the quote from the family was very interesting.

"Mr Arday’s family said in a statement via Simon & Schuster: “To the very end, Jason was clear that he wanted his memoir to be published and it is only right that we honour his wishes.

“There has been so much that has been written and said about our beloved brother, son, father, partner and uncle, mostly by people who don’t know the truth of what he experienced, and we experienced as a family, or what an extraordinary person he was.

“We are happy to allow the book to speak for itself and won’t comment further on its content. The family is still in shock and we are grieving. We call upon the media to give the family the space it needs to come to terms with this terrible loss.”"

 

[Serene Serena]

https://archive.ph/XopY4

Of course they're going ahead with publication. Thought the quote from the family was very interesting.

"Mr Arday’s family said in a statement via Simon & Schuster: “To the very end, Jason was clear that he wanted his memoir to be published and it is only right that we honour his wishes.

“There has been so much that has been written and said about our beloved brother, son, father, partner and uncle, mostly by people who don’t know the truth of what he experienced, and we experienced as a family, or what an extraordinary person he was.

“We are happy to allow the book to speak for itself and won’t comment further on its content. The family is still in shock and we are grieving. We call upon the media to give the family the space it needs to come to terms with this terrible loss.”"

Can’t they see that he’s going to be even more of a laughing stock when people actually read the heap of tit that is his memoir?

 

[IngressUK]

I was in Oxford on Sunday and found myself rolling my eyes on a couple of occasions.

- The Jason Arday shrine outside the Bodleian Library.

- The posters someone had fly postered around various parts of the city centre. The posters were advertising usual far-left nonsense. In this case, an upcoming discussion on Jason Arday, the 'racism' he suffered and general 'racism' in academia.

(The last time I checked, academia was highly inclusive for everyone.)

At the end of the day, Jason Arday was an academic fraud, liar, bullshiter, and cheated his way into a position at Cambridge University.

No amount of shouting 'racism' will change those facts.

When supposed 'educated' people continue to bang the drum of 'racism' in regards to Arday, just goes to show how utterly stupid these people really are. They cannot see beyond someone's skin colour and use this as some kind of mitigation in their actions - and believe those of ethnic background can do no wrong.

Jason Arday was responsible for his own downfall. Those who Lie, cheat and BS eventually get found out - as Arday found out.

 

[VeniVidiVicki]

Can’t they see that he’s going to be even more of a laughing stock when people actually read the heap of tit that is his memoir?

I wonder if he’ll get any reviews? It’s the sort of book that would normally be panned by critics but I’d imagine they’re going to be a bit wary now.

The family are going to rake it in - it’ll sell loads more now he’s died.

It says in that article @minimaz linked to that he’s survived by his wife and two children. Did he and Debs not get divorced?