Ahh I see. Lots of slogans! Glad to see Rocky made it in there
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Jason Arday #3
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Why was he presenting to funeral directors? What does a professor of sociology of education have to say that is relevant to them? Or that they would be remotely interested in?I tried looking for that particular keynote and didn’t find it, but as he just regurgitated the same trite adolescent nonsense and fabulist tales over and over, this recording of a pre-keynote interview from October 2024 came up, which also contains all of the above, but a different title; “You can’t start a fire without a spark”- to funeral directors. #classy.
Aside from all the bull fantasist lies, he is just…staggeringly unintelligible. He just talks utter, utter illegible nonsense and fantasist crap from start to finish (with a ridiculous level of confidence in all his imbecilic pronouncements and hot takes, I’ll give him that).
How that ghostwriter managed to pull together even that complete pap of a book if this is what she was working with, how his students got anything useful from him ever, and, if this late 2024 interview is anything to go by, how the duck he’d already successfully interviewed for those Assistant Professor/Professor/Chair jobs at Durham/Glasgow/Cambridge is just staggering.
This is not by any stretch of the imagination whatsoever a world-class academic scholar, or even someone who can string together intelligible, let alone meaningful sentences for a low-stakes 20 minutes.
He starts at 25 mins in
International Convention and Expo Preview 3 - Keynote Speakers | National Funeral Director's Association
The International Convention and Expo is taking place in New Orleans October 20th to the 23rd. To get ready for the event we have 3 convention preview episodes for you to check out. In this final episode before convention, host, Gabe Schauf, is joined by the 2024 International Convention and...www.nfda.org
Sample (all within the first few minutes!) on being asked about being unable to speak, read, or write:
“in some respects, in more respects, in many respects it was beautiful…to observe life without (sic) the absence of words…you’re forced to have to…listen…and in some ways, the power of speech can conflict (sic) that…and in some respects it provided dexterity (?) to me which meant when I was able to learn to speak… really aided through (sic) my amazing mother Gifty…”
“…there are a lot of things that you are limited to, or that become limited, if you’re not literate…”
“…complex learning difficulties, or autism, for etcetera (sic).”
*And stay tuned for (or skip to if you can’t bear it, though suffering through the whole pile of self-aggrandizing vacuous nonsense is pretty illuminating, especially given that this was late 2024) the 44th of 46ish minutes where in talking about his coming keynote, he uses a truly staggering (analogy-I think it’s meant to be?! something, anyway) about them embalming bodies and “this mortal coil” in response to “what attendees will learn about, or expect to hear about” in his presentation to his audience of funeral directors (which will evidently be all about himself, and himself only).
Because Rocky changed his life.I just can’t take him seriously. Why does he always reference Rocky?
He wasn’t a boxer (don’t sell yourself short, Jase), but saw aspects of himself in this character.
A message of Hope. Because funeral directors give Hope in the form of memories when they embalm dead loved ones who’ve shuffled off “this mortal coil”.
and cos first and foremost he’s a social commentator, presenter and public speaker who’s only currently a Professorial Chair in Sociology of Education, where his ‘youthful’ appointment is what’s relevant?
Jason Arday is a social commentator, presenter and public speaker. He is currently the 2002 Professorial Chair of Education (Sociology of Education) at the University of Cambridge, making him the youngest-ever Black academic to hold a Professorship at Cambridge and one of the youngest academics ever appointed to a Professorial Chair in Oxbridge’s history.
Rocky was functionally illiterate in R1 - maybe Aaaaaadriiiiian taught him to read.
Live like you're in a movie.
Today I'm going to be ...
Live like you're in a movie.
Today I'm going to be ...
Why would we expect somebody with an expert knowledge in Classics or Economics or whatever to be knowledgeable in everything though? Being elite in Academia means nothing for interpersonal skills. If anything these people don’t live in the “real world” of work, mixing with different people etc
Yes that's true. It's not called an ivory tower for nothing I guess. But then I would hope that when people more grounded in the real world such as Jack grove, raised issues, the Cambridge dons would consider them and take them seriously. As opposed to get Carter Ruck and the rozzers on him.
Also, wouldn't these academic elites recognise pure smooth-brained bull? Because other posters have pointed out that his work is not of the requisite academic standard for a professorship at Cambridge. I mean, even I could tell that his spiel to Krishnan Guru-Murphy ("I would like to see planet earth spinning on a golden thread of love") is more suited to a discarded John Lennon B-side than the finest education establishment in the land.
Finally. Even if we do accept that Cambridge dons are so remote that they never bump into a real person apart from a fleeting glance at their cleaner, Arday would've passed by the desks of the presumably more grounded admin staff - HR, finance, payroll, PR etc etc etc. Someone, somewhere, must have known he was full of it.
Even pre- internet we had fee paying students who could apparently write coursework to a standard which was utterly mismatched with their ability to speak on the same subject. Or at all.
Tragic - I posted that without seeing it spelt out like that.
It's very sad & worrying to see so bluntly that the line between make believe and reality is so blurred. There was also an article suggesting a high number of his extraordinary life experiences were similar to plot lines in Neighbours & Home & Away.
It not isolated, and I just wonder why those with MH knowledge witnessing this didn't do more.
It's very sad & worrying to see so bluntly that the line between make believe and reality is so blurred. There was also an article suggesting a high number of his extraordinary life experiences were similar to plot lines in Neighbours & Home & Away.
It not isolated, and I just wonder why those with MH knowledge witnessing this didn't do more.
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Well maybe not. Maybe the ones who did were silenced. Good luck getting someone in HR with only a Masters to point out to the Academics that he seems to be full of tit, when HR speaks nobody listens! If indeed, they’d even met him.
Jessica Taylor PhD only had so much trouble because she was among actual Psychologists, and the Uni still awarded her PhD.
For clarification: was not being facetious/making this up. This is actually what he says the funeral directors will take away from his keynote.
Now, didn't someone post something earlier in the thread about how a number of the most significant moments in JA's life were uncannily similar to plot-lines from his favourite TV shows & films?
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
What it was like once he was able to speak and write
On what inspired him to not be defined by his speech/reading/writing challenges
More bits
From A Brush with Death Podcast: International Convention and Expo Preview 3 - Keynote Speakers, Sep 24, 2024
Edit to add/what’s left out:
On the challenges of not being able to speak/write
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.
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 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.
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.
“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…
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…
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.
…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.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
Edit to add/what’s left out:
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
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That speech is pretty much identical to the one the doodly note taker went to. And very similar to the St Mary’s honorary degree acceptance speech So his keynotes essentially recycled the same trite homilies over and over again and he was paid handsomely for it.
The Irish department of education apparently paid him nearly £3000 for a speech (plus expenses and travel on top I assume). Private organisations would have paid more.
The Irish department of education apparently paid him nearly £3000 for a speech (plus expenses and travel on top I assume). Private organisations would have paid more.
This is such utter utter horseshit. What a baffling "pick me" lie to tell.
I can't even finish him waffling about how beautiful it is being unable to speak, read or write.
Firstly, we are all observing countless cues that are not verbal or written all the time. This is not unique to people who cannot or do not speak or who cannot read or write. He's acting as if nobody else has ever considered body language, gesture, expression etc. are communication.
Secondly, anyone who has ever been abroad or spent five minutes among people who do not speak your language will know how incredibly bleeping limiting it is. It's not completely impossible, and many of the ways humans interact with each other transcend language, but the very basics of life require being able to understand other human beings. To frame a life-limiting vulnerability as some beautiful and unique experience has made me want to boil my own head.
At least he half acknowledges that not being able to read or write is a life-altering difficulty, but even then, it's not about "where you'll end up". There are many functionally illiterate people who don't need to be cared for, but life is incredibly difficult for them. Like everything, he talks like someone imagining what something might be like rather than having lived it. Utter bleeping drivel.
Firstly, we are all observing countless cues that are not verbal or written all the time. This is not unique to people who cannot or do not speak or who cannot read or write. He's acting as if nobody else has ever considered body language, gesture, expression etc. are communication.
Secondly, anyone who has ever been abroad or spent five minutes among people who do not speak your language will know how incredibly bleeping limiting it is. It's not completely impossible, and many of the ways humans interact with each other transcend language, but the very basics of life require being able to understand other human beings. To frame a life-limiting vulnerability as some beautiful and unique experience has made me want to boil my own head.
At least he half acknowledges that not being able to read or write is a life-altering difficulty, but even then, it's not about "where you'll end up". There are many functionally illiterate people who don't need to be cared for, but life is incredibly difficult for them. Like everything, he talks like someone imagining what something might be like rather than having lived it. Utter bleeping drivel.
Yeah, and it’s not even the speech itself! It’s the interview about the speech before the speech.
The story that’s been “popularized around the world”.
Well, I guess the easiest thing is to break it down into four numbers because that's what's been popularized around the world. So it's 3, 11, 18, and 37.
Jason, nice to meet you. Thanks for coming on.
Oh, Gabe, it's such a privilege to be here. Thank you so much and really nice to meet you as well.
I know you're going to be sharing your story in greater detail at convention, but I wanted to get a little background into your growing up and what that experience is like. You really have an incredible story that you're going to share.
Oh, thank you, Gabe. Well, I guess the easiest thing is to break it down into four numbers because that's what's been popularized around the world. So it's 3, 11, 18, and 37.
So just a short version because I guess it will be expected that I speak more about it at the keynote, at the conference. But I was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. So in old money, Kanner’s Syndrome and Asperger's Syndrome before the age of 3.
So that was 1988. And I was also diagnosed with Global Development Delay, which is a cognitive processing delay, which means that where there's delays cognitively in one's brain, it means you don't reach particular milestones at the expected ages in inverted commas that you should.
And so consequently, the two most salient things that impacted me with regards to that cognitive delay was that I learned to speak when I was just before I turned 12, and I learned to read and write when I was 18. So that delay kind of impaired aspects of that kind of cognitive learning or mobility.
Oh, Gabe, it's such a privilege to be here. Thank you so much and really nice to meet you as well.
I know you're going to be sharing your story in greater detail at convention, but I wanted to get a little background into your growing up and what that experience is like. You really have an incredible story that you're going to share.
Oh, thank you, Gabe. Well, I guess the easiest thing is to break it down into four numbers because that's what's been popularized around the world. So it's 3, 11, 18, and 37.
So just a short version because I guess it will be expected that I speak more about it at the keynote, at the conference. But I was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. So in old money, Kanner’s Syndrome and Asperger's Syndrome before the age of 3.
So that was 1988. And I was also diagnosed with Global Development Delay, which is a cognitive processing delay, which means that where there's delays cognitively in one's brain, it means you don't reach particular milestones at the expected ages in inverted commas that you should.
And so consequently, the two most salient things that impacted me with regards to that cognitive delay was that I learned to speak when I was just before I turned 12, and I learned to read and write when I was 18. So that delay kind of impaired aspects of that kind of cognitive learning or mobility.
(He doesn’t address the teaching and writing part of the question)
You now teach and write, and you do an incredible amount of fundraising. What inspired you to take that path?
So you could have become anything. And now, again, you're doing all of these different, incredible things around the world. What caught your eye and drove you to do those things?
That's a good question. I think the thing that caught my eye and drove me to do that, well, it was the most important thing that happened to me in my life, probably. I met someone when I was 18, who was homeless, and they were a man of standing.
You know, they'd achieved great things in their life. And the point, what they said to me is that, to look at me, you wouldn't think that, you wouldn't know that. He told me this story about how his life and what had happened and how he ended up in that situation.
And he said, we're all three months from being destitute. That can happen to any one of us. Never look at somebody and make a judgment on that individual.
Everybody is human. Everybody's life is of worth and has meaning. Now, I didn't necessarily need him to tell me that because I'd been brought up like that.
But him emphasizing that had a huge impact on me in terms of what I then decided I wanted to do with my life. Bearing in mind at this point, it's not like- I couldn’t read or write, so I didn't know what I wanted to do. But I did realize that fundraising didn't necessarily require me to read and write.
But I remember coming back that evening and saying to my mom that I'm going to dedicate my life towards helping as many people as possible. I don't know what shape or form that will take, but I'm going to try my best to raise as much money as I can for charity. And then I found myself in a very fortunate position where I did a couple of fundraising activities, and they'd raised a couple of thousand pounds, which was great.
And then I had an opportunity to do a series of ultramarathons over a five year period, which earned just over five million pounds for charity. So my target was to raise a million pounds for charity before I turned 40. But by the time I'd got to 30, I'd raised over three million.
And at the moment, it's 5.5 million and counting.
Wow. Yeah.
And those events, like it's funny because you kind of, when I look at pictures or I kind of remember back to doing it, you feel superhuman then. But I couldn't imagine doing it now. And the events where I ran 30 marathons in 35 days, 300 miles in three days and 600 miles in six days.
But I couldn't imagine doing that now, but I did do those things. And yeah, there's a sense of pride because it was always about, it was always, always centred around what I could do to help the greater good. And I'm glad that in some very, very small way, I left, I hope that maybe those people that I've been fortunate to work with, I've left some sort of footprint which somebody else can step into and improve and make a lot better.
You now teach and write, and you do an incredible amount of fundraising. What inspired you to take that path?
So you could have become anything. And now, again, you're doing all of these different, incredible things around the world. What caught your eye and drove you to do those things?
That's a good question. I think the thing that caught my eye and drove me to do that, well, it was the most important thing that happened to me in my life, probably. I met someone when I was 18, who was homeless, and they were a man of standing.
You know, they'd achieved great things in their life. And the point, what they said to me is that, to look at me, you wouldn't think that, you wouldn't know that. He told me this story about how his life and what had happened and how he ended up in that situation.
And he said, we're all three months from being destitute. That can happen to any one of us. Never look at somebody and make a judgment on that individual.
Everybody is human. Everybody's life is of worth and has meaning. Now, I didn't necessarily need him to tell me that because I'd been brought up like that.
But him emphasizing that had a huge impact on me in terms of what I then decided I wanted to do with my life. Bearing in mind at this point, it's not like- I couldn’t read or write, so I didn't know what I wanted to do. But I did realize that fundraising didn't necessarily require me to read and write.
But I remember coming back that evening and saying to my mom that I'm going to dedicate my life towards helping as many people as possible. I don't know what shape or form that will take, but I'm going to try my best to raise as much money as I can for charity. And then I found myself in a very fortunate position where I did a couple of fundraising activities, and they'd raised a couple of thousand pounds, which was great.
And then I had an opportunity to do a series of ultramarathons over a five year period, which earned just over five million pounds for charity. So my target was to raise a million pounds for charity before I turned 40. But by the time I'd got to 30, I'd raised over three million.
And at the moment, it's 5.5 million and counting.
Wow. Yeah.
And those events, like it's funny because you kind of, when I look at pictures or I kind of remember back to doing it, you feel superhuman then. But I couldn't imagine doing it now. And the events where I ran 30 marathons in 35 days, 300 miles in three days and 600 miles in six days.
But I couldn't imagine doing that now, but I did do those things. And yeah, there's a sense of pride because it was always about, it was always, always centred around what I could do to help the greater good. And I'm glad that in some very, very small way, I left, I hope that maybe those people that I've been fortunate to work with, I've left some sort of footprint which somebody else can step into and improve and make a lot better.
And in some small way, I hope that maybe I've shown people what is possible with a bit of humility, love, hope and faith that anything is possible. And also that if nothing else, I definitely do not have the natural ability that a lot of people have in academia, if any. But maybe, like, I guess everyone loves an underdog.
And maybe it's a great advert for someone just giving it everything they've got and just trying as hard as they could. Yeah. And it's, I guess it's surreal.
Like I said at the very beginning, it happened to me and it's very hard to explain to someone how all of this stuff happened. But what I do know is that I was very, very fortunate to receive God's favour and I was very, very fortunate to come across some amazing people who have permeated my life in the most positive way one could imagine. So I've been very fortunate, very, very, very fortunate.
And I was very fortunate that my mother was who she was. I'm very fortunate to have the dad I did, the family I have, the friends that I've come across, Sandro in particular. So all of those things create this perfect storm.
And I guess it's brought me to your good self today, Gabe.”
And maybe it's a great advert for someone just giving it everything they've got and just trying as hard as they could. Yeah. And it's, I guess it's surreal.
Like I said at the very beginning, it happened to me and it's very hard to explain to someone how all of this stuff happened. But what I do know is that I was very, very fortunate to receive God's favour and I was very, very fortunate to come across some amazing people who have permeated my life in the most positive way one could imagine. So I've been very fortunate, very, very, very fortunate.
And I was very fortunate that my mother was who she was. I'm very fortunate to have the dad I did, the family I have, the friends that I've come across, Sandro in particular. So all of those things create this perfect storm.
And I guess it's brought me to your good self today, Gabe.”
The end.)There is nothing of substance here or to him at all. In 2024. Over a year into that Cambridge Chair position.
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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.
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.
Lived thinking he was extraordinary, exposed as being very ordinary indeed.
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