That video is also incredibly revealing. Obviously nothing has changed at all in her atrocious time management and organisational skills. She's still making a show of complaining that she has so much to do and not enough time, after wasting an hour on making a pointless timetable.
But she says she reads Sparknotes synopses for the books she's assigned before reading the actual book, then shows herself copying almost all of the Sparknotes information into Notion (while complaining that she struggles to remember the characters before even reading the book). Not only is this an insanely baffling, backwards way to learn anything, it's incredibly telling of how she "reads": She doesn't. Even academically, she cheats, the same way she does with the books she pretends to read for personal enjoyment. She reads a synopsis, skims through bits of the actual text to highlight quotes and cobbles together her thoughts based on a Frankensteined list of material she found online.
I reckon Ruby will only have 1 more year of Youtube left because I can’t see her being relatable after uni. She’ll probably keep her Instagram for aesthetic posts, probably reaching new followers there from time to time.
She will one day have to get a job.
oh ffs Roobee. Oranges etc. is NOT a memoir. If it was, Winterson probably wouldn’t have seen a need to write Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal.
Also, she has a book of 500 unique words, which are just really nice words which epitomise something that you couldn’t otherwise describe. Such as ’ruminate’ and ’seminal’. Also ’badinage’ (pronounced baddie-nidge). I’m going to have to put washi tape over my eyeballs for the remainder of the video to prevent them from falling right out of my head from all the eye-rolling.
”In the Kitchen” was still in with the classics.
She also has a book by No Am Komsky, must look this person up, seems interesting
I don't understand why professors have never corrected her on her pronunciation. For all the money her family spends on her education, why is she so stupid?
If anything, the video made it blatantly clear (as if it hadn’t been already) that she mainly values books for the ”aesthetic”, and likes the idea of having read them more than she likes the actual reading of them, apart from children’s books.
Everyone's likely to look disgusting at some point while eating. It's why almost every rational human being elects not to make a show of aggressively chewing gross foods inches from other people's faces. Ruby instead decides to make the video equivalent of that, in videos ostensibly about studying.
She absolutely deserves to be called out for it. It's disgusting from a behaviour and a visual standpoint. She should be in a zoo, or trying to steal The One Ring from Frodo Baggins, not making videos for impressionable kids.
I also don't really know what to say to that. "Empty heads, blind praise, can't lose" really sums up Ruby fans well though, I think. I will say that I recognize this youtube handle. They have on more than one occasion chastised me for being "problematic" and mean to Ruby, for daring to point out her own very problematic behavior and inconsistencies. If I bring up the ED and triggering food related content, I am told that it isn't okay to comment on other people's bodies, and that she . If I point out that Ruby's commentary about Austen makes it really obvious that she has never actually read any of her novels, I am again told to leave the precious study queen alone, because it's okay for Ruby to not like Austen. (Of course it is, but that opinion would only be valid if she actually read the novels). If I point out that if you are writing 1,000's of words over the word limit on a paper, it means you don't know how to effectively synthesize your ideas, I am criticized for being too mean yet again. This person clearly is one of the many Ruby fans who do not accept anything but blind praise directed towards her. It's damaging and gross, but what can you do?
"slow living" (side-note can someone explain the concept of slow living to me, I've only heard it from Ruby and I just don't understand what it's about) bubble, and then there's the lying but even then.. idk, maybe it's all the twirling around in fields or something??
I'm honestly not 100% sure what it means either. I think it just means the opposite of "hustle culture" where you're being told you should spend all your time working, making profit and essentially being stressed out. Slow living I think means that you enjoy all aspects of life consciously, even when they're not productive. Typical things to do to "live slowly" are for example growing your own food, then making a dish out of them while enjoying the whole process and relaxing instead of just ordering takeout so that you have more time to work. That's what I imagine slow living should be like. I don't see it in Ruby. The scenes of her twirling in fields and "enjoying nature" seem much live slow living, but if you just do that to tick it off your to-do-list I guess that misses the point.
I'll try to spoiler my novel - sorry, I write a lot; it's just how I communicate (add to that COVID/summer isolation). Feel free to skip my thoughts on literature, academia, and identity if you wish! I left part unhidden by the spoiler, as that part might be less of a digression than the rest.
I've posted a bit in previous threads about Ruby and her interest in literature, and my thoughts are somewhat scattered, so I won't quote individuals at this time. For reference, though, I'm an advanced PhD candidate in a related field. This isn't said as a boast (a couple of the smartest people I know either dropped out of college or barely made it through their programs), but as background/reference. My path to the end of my degree has been significantly delayed for a few reasons, but the biggest is that I had invaluable job opportunities in my field before finishing, and the payoff of those paid experiences (including research/published output) was too good to turn down. One could say I've been employed as a postdoc without the doctorate. It's not something that makes me proud; I really need to be done with my dissertation to get a more permanent position in my field, and I see the mental toll this has taken on me & those around me. I have also struggled a lot (mostly secretly, aside from what could not be hidden as a child) with some other issues. I don't really want to discuss me, so I'm being deliberately vague here.
All this preamble is to say that I do see a bit of my younger self in Ruby, and I hope that she can learn a few things quickly - these have to do with self and identity. The romanticization of studying literature is something that is fundamentally rooted in history. Some of the great scholars of the past were true superstars, and some - sadly - were partially charlatans, borne up by money, privilege, and their white maleness (no inherent offense to white men meant - it's just a fact that educated women and educated PoC were largely exceptions in European history). But the romanticization and appearance of being "learned" was partially performative for a certain group of people. The performative aspect of being "learned" as it relates to modern social media is interesting. Someone could probably write a nice dissertation or monograph exploring the ways in which elite philisophical "schools" (often not institutional but conceptual or "underground") and literature groups interacted throughout history (including ancient schools of thought through more modern groups like the Vienna Circle and Oulipo). These interactions could be compared to how "elites" and experts situate themselves in postmodern contemporary society. How is belonging established? How does one gain a reputation as "learned"?
I can say from my position as perhaps "waiter/janitor to the learned" (this is what students are, and often junior scholars too) that the standards seem impossibly high these days. There are times I read an article and marvel at how intelligent it is. The people I have met seem like celebrities at times. But everyone is, underneath it all, human. The gossip is the same. The petty grievances are the same. Universities have tolerated sexism and racism and harassment/assault/emotional abuse as "quirks" or "eccentricities" for far too long. No amount of intelligence or expertise can make up for damaging (emotionally or physically) another person, no matter the age, gender identity, or perceived intelligence of the victim.
But performance of intelligence is still done at all levels. The "secret genius" of films is a great lie. You must put yourself out there and establish a persona that others trust or like, or you will not succeed. In this, Ruby has probably done well for herself. She has created the persona and comes across as responsible even when there is not much content. That's nothing outstanding but also better than withdrawing entirely. Her contact with professors and tutors is creating a delicate web of connections; that web will be there for her if something bad happens, but it can never be completely neglected, nor can it remain delicate.
As a younger student, I wanted to have a lot of books around me and I read many if not all of them. I also wanted them to be a part of my identity, even though I didn't know very much yet (who can, at 18-22?). I see how the formation of identity took place while I was still working out what I was interested in, what questions were important to me, and how I envisioned myself relating to others, past and present. I guess this is to say that Ruby is on this kind of journey, and to expect her to have it all figured out is unrealistic. Literature and history often are "slow-burning" fields: perhaps one may show an early talent for writing or interpretation, but both fields require experience and LOTS of reading for perspective. Ruby's doing that reading now, I hope.
The issue is perhaps how she performs for us. It would be a nice turn to see her put out more content about the issues and topics that interest her - content that asks questions or discusses rather than presenting it as a finished thought (often without sources backing it up). Engaging with contemporary scholarship can only help, because older scholarship is often written in a dogmatic way. There are still dogmatic scholars, but you'll find many more who acknowledge the complexity of the issues and history they discuss, and act humble in light of them. This humility, again, can be expressed easily in the form of questions or musings. It doesn't mean saying, "Oh, I'm so ignorant." It means framing your work as an exploration vs. fact-finding mission or lecture.
If Ruby were a cisman, more of her posturing would be tolerated or it would be better masked by certain stereotypical "male genius" characteristics. Eccentric cismen are perceived as geniuses and their quirks forgiven. Eccentric women and those who do not conform to gender stereotypes are perceived as "weird" or mentally ill. Being a high-functioning autistic cisman in academia is no problem. Being a high-functioning autistic woman or NB/trans individual is often not tolerated or shameful. Even in universities, ciswomen are supposed to be organized, diligent, self-sacrificing, caring, nice, pretty, neatly dressed but not flamboyant, and not too authoritative or bossy. There are exceptions, but very few compared to the bizarre or mentally ill cismen that are celebrated without a second thought. And let's not even discuss how many abusers, racists, sexists, Nazis, and fascists are still lauded as great scholars and people.
For this reason, I personally would give Ruby a chance before writing her off as incompetent. But I understand her social media presence for what it is: a typical young adult struggling with building an outward-facing identity and conception of self. Academic MySpace or Deadjournal. It may be cringe or naive at times. Maybe a good analogy is to see this growth as learning to paint? (disclaimer: I'm not good at art, but I'll try this analogy nonetheless) When you put paint on a canvas for the first few times, it might be a disaster: globby, childish, unsophisticated. You might not know how to thin paints, how to mix colors, how to use white and black to create muted or lighter hues, how to blend things together or use perspective. How to create shadow and light. You may not even know the basic methods of brushwork, let alone your signature brushwork (that will come later). You have to play around and see how colors interact with each other. Then you start to understand the environment of the canvas and the tools you are using. And you can improve.
Ruby is learning how to read. How to actually read. She needs to challenge herself or someone else needs to. Scholars are not mushrooms grown in the dark. They need external input. It's better for her if she finds the right tutor/professor early in her career. This person will help her frame ideas better and focus less on "seeming" bookish. In the end, in academia, everyone is either bookish or good at faking it (unless they have amazing talent for teaching/administration). Liking to read and having a lot of books - these traits are not enough. But regardless, reading is the path to something else, maybe something she wants to be. I guess we'll find out eventually. I'd like personally to see her enjoy writing more, and to see her write more elegantly. There are methods for developing oneself as a writer, but you have to want to improve.
She could be good at encouraging young children to read and developing interactive history lessons for certain books. Maybe that's a volunteer thing for her to explore, and maybe she'd like to do a degree in education. That's not my passion but it strikes me that she could make her regression /obsession with childhood pay off if she marketed to homeschooling parents or literature clubs for young kids.
Jesus christ did she drag that trunk out of a landfill site?
What is the point in even having that thing if you can’t even put anything inside it because it’s in such poor condition? Bet it’s fucking stinking as well
I get people love Ruby and look up to her but some comments are concerning. Like I saw one person saying "this makes me feel like I don't deserve uni"
I don't know if they mean they are already at uni and feel like a failure because they don't take Ruby's over the top advice, or if they mean they have hopes of going to Uni and think "wow, if this is what everyone does there's no way I'd survive"
Watching her video and reading the comments I felt the urge to make one of those reaction videos where an expert debunks everything in the original video lmao
It's terrible advice for freshmen at uni or anyone. You don't need anything on that list to succeed.
I am watching Ruby's bookshelf tour and at the risk of sounding overly critical of her, I found it so interesting how she skimmed really quickly over her copy of Lady Chatterley. As an English student, surely it is pertinent to say how truly revolutionary DH Lawrence's work was in the lives of women in 1920s. Lawrence was one of the first published authors to explore female pleasure, gaze, expectations and to show that women are entitled to break free from convention if they are brave enough to do so. Lawrence also describes nature, our connection to it and the link between the female body and life itself through natural metaphors. If Ruby is brave enough to read it properly and not be scared off by the sex, she'll realise how absolutely vital Lawrence's work is to revealing the internal life of womanhood. The fact that he was a man and able to see us in all our facets and quirks and to write a character as alive and vibrant as Constance Chatterley is a testament to his skill and humanity as a writer.
aaaand she's given The Song of Achilles 5 stars on Goodreads. No written review as of yet, presumably because she has no genuine thoughts about it... hasn't actually read it.
(Catching up so sorry for the probable incoming double post as I'm still only on p 26 lol)
What is super frustrating is how EASILY Ruby COULD have made the title (or even basis) of that dissertation into a viable, Literature-centred piece of work. Christmas was undoubtedly a huge phenomenon within the Nineteenth Century and 19th C lit- 'Twas the Night Before Christmas was published in 1823, after all.
She could focus on:
How Christmas traditions were established through popular fiction or poetry in 19th Century Anglo-American Lit
The Victorian Christmas ghost story tradition
Victorian Children's poetry and Christmas
Christmas-themed periodicals and how they promoted various ideas between the classes
Like this is such a short and rushed list because I'm tired and it's a bad MH day but C'MON RUBY IT WOULD BE SO EASY ARAOIJFAOFASOIFDJASFO
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