About Antidotes to Math Supremacy

Antidotes to Math Supremacy is a space …

… where Prof.Katrin shares some of their work in progress — and invites a collective conversation (including further authors and co-conspirators) — on analyzing math supremacy, identifying antidotes, and building the collective power to enact them!

… guided by the EBMC Agreements for Multicultural Interactions and Principles for Handling Tension. So you are invited to

• participate fully — by reading and sharing comments —

  • if you find yourself reading a lot, try sharing some thoughts, questions, etc,

  • if you find yourself commenting a lot, try also reading others’ comments with full attention to learning from them — rather than planning your response;

• inquire and speak about your own experiences —

  • avoid speaking for a whole group,

  • avoid expressing assumptions about the experience of others;

• try on new ideas or ways of doing things — e.g.

  • before rejecting an idea, try asking for clarification,

  • allow yourself and support others with applying the trial&error method;

• aim for constructive feedback and solidarity —

  • constructive criticism is welcome, just don’t blame or shame self & others,

  • before judging something as harmful, reflect back how you interpret it,

  • aim to close discussions by finding shared goals towards which we can act with collective power;

• differentiate between intent, impact, trauma, and structural issues —

  • don’t excuse negative impacts with potentially well meaning intent,

  • not every negative impact is the sole result of the event that triggered it — get curious about the role of prior trauma and larger structural issues;

• tolerate discomfort but not intolerance —

  • lean into discomfort if it might be a growth opportunity,

  • correct intolerance immediately, but don’t try to reason with unreasonable;

• share the learnings widely — but don’t identify people outside of this space unless they have asked to be cited.

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Confidentiality regarding Actions of Authorities

This space follows some of the advice for Survival under an Authoritarian Regime:

1. Don’t stay indifferent. It WILL concern you eventually. It will concern your family, your friends. Voice your objection IMMEDIATELY. Show them you care. RESIST.

2. They thrive on FEAR & IGNORANCE. Expose their scaremongering, show flaws in their arguments. Raise awareness, EDUCATE people around you. They will try to distort FACTS, rewrite history. DON’T LET THEM.

Thus Prof.Katrin will — and invites others to — share records of actions of authorities when they serve a purpose such as raising awareness, education, or clarifying facts … while avoiding harm to already marginalized individuals or communities.

In particular, Prof.Katrin may share information that they received at UC Berkeley. Legally, they will do so under the California Public Records Act, which guarantees access within 10 days by informal request by any person to “every conceivable kind of record that is involved in the governmental process”, where “only purely personal information unrelated to 'the conduct of the public's business' could be considered exempt”. Practically, they will remove identifying information that doesn’t serve the educational purpose — while acknowledging that individuals in leadership roles will likely be identifiable from the context. Ethically, the release of information about the professional actions of under-marginalized individuals in leadership roles is weighed against the harm and potential harm done by these actions and the potential benefit of shining a light on these actions.