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Published on September 7, 2018
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Academic Activists Send a Published Paper
Down the Memory Hole
written by Theodore P. Hill
In the highly controversial area of human intelligence, the 'Greater Male Variability
Hypothesis' (GMVH) asserts that there are more idiots and more geniuses among men
than among women. However, a Freedom of Information request subsequently revealed
that Penn State WIM administrator Diane Henderson ("Professor and Chair of the
Climate and Diversity Committee") and Nate Brown ("Professor and Associate Head for
Diversity and Equity") had secretly co-signed a letter to the NSF that same morning. Unaware of this at the time, and eager to err on the side of
compromise, Sergei and I agreed to remove the acknowledgement as requested. At least,
we thought, the paper was still on track to be published. But, that same day, the Mathematical Intelligencer 's editor-in-chief Marjorie Senechal
notified us that, with "deep regret," she was rescinding her previous acceptance of our
paper.When I eventually received a formal
response in late April, it was a somewhat terse official letter from the vice-provost
informing me that an inquiry had found no evidence of "academic fraud" and that,
consequently, "the charges have been dismissed." But I had made no allegation of
academic fraud. I had alleged "unprofessional, uncollegial, and unethical conduct
damaging to my professional reputation and to the reputation of the University of
Chicago."