Dr. S,

We can of course still be friends, such as distance and lack of access to a proper coffee house creates. And social distancing, of course. I will lift tomorrow’s coffee cup in your general direction in the best of good will.

Please don’t assume I’m either put out or put off. I love a good challenge, and I also value the chance to respond at a high level. Most writers on this platform cannot bear a challenge. As long as it’s well-put, they are most welcomed. I do my best to respond reasonably and responsibly.

We’re fine. There are points we may not necessarily agree on but disagreement not only brings discussion but also understanding when done with respect. I’ve been graced with some very lively interactions with people who are kind enough to offer suggestions and ideas rather than call me an idiot. I am most definitely not an idiot (well, some of the time anyway), and especially just because I have different viewpoints. What tickled me about the article in question, Dr. was that the use of the term mansplaining- which the gentleman himself initiated — brought forth far more input than the point of the article which was about doing at least a modicum of research before making a broad statement of fact which is, in fact, opinion.

A scholarly article — which is far more common in your world than mine — does indeed take lots of research, annotation etc. I am no scholar. I speak every year at a gathering of PhD students, and I am well aware of what constitutes research at that level. Far too many writers and commenters on Medium don’t bother to do even the minimum fact-checking. When called on it (this happened yesterday) they block the questioner, which demonstrates a distressing lack of emotional maturity. Yesterday I offered a compliment for an article, but there was one sentence that was a blatant opinion presented as fact with nothing to prove the premise. I politely asked for clarification. She blocked me immediately. Such is the level of intellectual flexibility we have in this forum.

Questions and challenges push us, Doctor. I think perhaps the way they are asked and presented — particularly across different cultures as well as disciplines-- can create a significant variation on what the questioner intends.

Not to worry. There was no abuse or disrespect that I could infer from your comment. It was a legitimate question. I considered it, thought about it, and hope I responded intelligently. Feel free to do so again.