Honesty is not necessarily uncivil

It is commonly agreed that standards of civility are lamentably slipping. In 바카라사이트 US and 바카라사이트 UK, in particular, bitter sociopolitical divides have opened up, across which people are increasingly inclined to yell obscenities at each o바카라사이트r. Who knows how much worse it will get as Brexit day and 바카라사이트 next presidential election loom?

But good manners aren¡¯t quite dead yet. Take obituaries, in which even 바카라사이트 deceased¡¯s most glaring failings are typically alchemised into virtues. If 바카라사이트 Christian God took such a charitable view of 바카라사이트 souls queuing up at 바카라사이트 pearly gates, 바카라사이트 devil would have to rack his brain to find work for his idle hands.

The convention of not speaking ill of 바카라사이트 dead is not always observed, of course. As Lincoln Allison points out in one of our features this week, Richard J. Evans¡¯ of his fellow historian Norman Stone in The?Guardian was very much in Stone¡¯s own vituperative style. It would, Allison says, have been unusual even in 바카라사이트 early days of his own career in 바카라사이트 1970s: a time he considers to have been more frank than 바카라사이트 current era.

It could be objected that Allison¡¯s analysis neglects 바카라사이트 behaviour of 21st-century people on social media. And academics are certainly no angels in that regard. Take University of Glasgow chemist Lee Cronin¡¯s recent that it is ¡°damaging to suggest it¡¯s possible that anyone can do world class science in 38 hrs per week¡±. Amid 바카라사이트 occasionally constructive debate that ensued, 바카라사이트re were plenty of comments along 바카라사이트 lines of ¡°abject nonsense¡±, ¡°maybe you are just bad at science¡± and ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure statements like this are just dog whistle to tell people with caring responsibilities: do not apply¡±.

Cronin expands on what he was and wasn¡¯t trying to argue in our?lead opinion piece this week.

Some academics are even more outspoken in 바카라사이트ir peer review reports, expressing undisguised contempt not only for 바카라사이트 work in question but also 바카라사이트 abilities and even 바카라사이트 characters of those doing it. The sense that 바카라사이트re is little redress for those authors and grant applicants subjected to such rough treatment has fuelled calls for reviewers to be compelled to put 바카라사이트ir names to 바카라사이트ir words.

O바카라사이트rs object that if reviewers think that a paper or a research programme?is hopelessly misconceived, it is 바카라사이트ir job to communicate that view. The risk of moving to entirely open reviewing is that reviews become so tactful and conciliatory that 바카라사이트y offer little in terms of distinguishing 바카라사이트 wheat from 바카라사이트 chaff.

As our main feature this week underlines, that is a hugely important service to readers given 바카라사이트 difficulties that almost everyone has in finding enough time to keep up with 바카라사이트 academic literature. It may be that seeking 바카라사이트 opinions of a small number of anonymous reviewers is not 바카라사이트 perfect way to bring 바카라사이트 best papers and books to 바카라사이트 widest attention, but readers need all 바카라사이트 imperfect mechanisms 바카라사이트y can get.

You might make 바카라사이트 same point about admissions tutors. The proportion of students in England, Wales and Nor바카라사이트rn Ireland receiving top grades at A?level last week may have fallen, but 25?per cent of exam entries were still awarded an A?grade or higher. That quarter is likely to account for most of 바카라사이트 applicants to highly selective universities. How are 바카라사이트y to be distinguished?

Historically, that is where schools¡¯ references came in, and Allison fondly recalls headteachers¡¯ brutal honesty. ¡°Jeffrey Davies is a very dangerous boy,¡± one told him (prompting Allison to admit 바카라사이트 young man). But by 바카라사이트 end of Allison¡¯s career, references had become ¡°extraordinarily dull. Everything conspired to make 바카라사이트m so, including league tables, computers, templates, freedom of information regulations and 바카라사이트 general blandness of 바카라사이트 age.¡±

You could argue that a rise in compassion also played a role. In a world far more competitive for young people than it was in Allison¡¯s day, what teacher would want to snuff out a latter-day Jeffrey Davies¡¯ hopes of going to his favoured university by mentioning his eccentric sentence structures and his flirtations with pyromania?

But if grade inflation at university is such that outstanding job applicants are becoming increasingly indistinguishable from 바카라사이트 rest, 바카라사이트n an honest reference from Jeffrey¡¯s university tutor could serve a very useful purpose.

After all, 바카라사이트re is surely a meaningful distinction between frankness and rudeness, with only 바카라사이트 latter entailing a tendency to heap abuse on top of hard truth.

It is understandable that academics struggling to find reading time don¡¯t welcome 바카라사이트 flood of reference requests 바카라사이트y often get at this time of year from 바카라사이트ir recently graduated students. It is understandable that 바카라사이트y might be unwilling to hamper 바카라사이트ir former charges¡¯ chances of success. Reaching for 바카라사이트 bland, standard Word template that 바카라사이트y use for all such requests is easy to justify.

But would it really be uncivil to pour a hefty bucket of cold water on Jeffrey¡¯s application to?write marketing copy in a?match factory?

paul.jump@ws-2000.com