The internet, being, yet, another public space, is certainly full of all kinds of contributors ranging from the villain to the benevolent. The choice of scale according to which the intentions of a contributor may be measured is, for certain, a traditional one, dichotomous, and most probably idiosyncratic: good vs evil. The idiosyncratic part is the one of concern in here, since it prevents the public from reaching a general consensus.
Therefore, to avoid any political turmoil in this space (a mission impossible kind of thing), I choose as the internet heroes the collection of all individuals and entities working hard to enrich the internet with all kinds of valuable literary and scientific content, and turning literature and science into some simplified and entertaining material for the general public to consume. This comes with no exceptions, and is not limited to the number of examples mentioned below.
Language Science Press
The commercial value of a product plays a crucial role in perceiving the quality of which, such that an expensive product might be considered to be of a higher value as opposed to a comparable, cheaper alternative. But is it?
Language Science Press offers a wide variety of books for the curious reader to download free of charge. The publisher concerns itself with the study of linguistics exclusively. The authors and the curators are well decorated scholars from various universities. Moreover, some of the books are part of the curriculum at Leiden University.
Surprisingly, however, and contrary to popular trends, the library encompasses some subjects that may not necessarily attract the general public, since many books cover some phenomena that are found in understudied languages, next to the ones found in well known languages for certain. For instance, many books cover the grammars of some African languages. Besides, the library offers many books related to the study of Indo-European languages. Moreover, a number of Austronesian languages are also covered in some books.
The content of the library may give the impression as if the publisher is targeting linguists in particular. Nevertheless, the library is still accessible to the curious reader eager to expand their knowledge in the field of linguistics. Therefore, the library is a good starting point for the uncertain mind that may hesitate to acquire a linguistics books due to high price tags.
Kurzgesagt
Kurzgesagt is a digital content producer, offering cartoonish video episodes that focus on some important scientific questions. Unlike Language Science Press, the target audience of the channel is the general public. As in the case of Language Science Press, however, the content is not commercial in nature.
The studio releases its episodes in a variety of languages, and has a remarkable reach on social media. This comes with a high price certainly, since the studio is responsible for spreading any misinformation online, which is not the intention of the operators of the studio. Generally spoken, as in the case of any scientific material, all facts must be taken with extreme caution. Luckily, the YouTube video comments section contains always some positive feedback that may further expand the knowledge of the audience.
If you wish to support the studio,1 you may visit their online shop and buy some of their products. It should be noted that although the designs may look highly appealing and unique, the quality of the prints may be disappointing to the highly trained eye.
Sabine
Dr. Hossenfelder is one unusual YouTuber that produces entertaining videos explaining some scientific concepts. The range of topics includes, among others, math and physics. Dr. Hossenfelder’s sense of humour transcends all cultural and social boundaries, leaving the viewer no choice but to put a smile on their face.
Roughly, the work of Dr. Hossenfelder may be divided into 3 categories:
- science news, where Dr. Hossenfelder shares important news related to scientific trends;
- scientific videos, where some scientific concepts are explained in a simplified, entertaining manner; and
- music videos, where D.r Hossenfelder exhibits some kind of musical talent!
The Anarchist Library
This literary content provider might sound as a combo breaker, which is indeed the case given the aforementioned scientific content producers, and it says something about my personality to be honest. I had to adjust my blog post’s title slightly to include this vaste, multilingual library of anarchist literature. Unfortunately, though, anarchist literature is nothing compared to communist literature, and this may be the reason why I am stuck with communist literature up until now.
The reader may wonder how does this library fit in this blog post, given the aforementioned scientific content producers. The answers lies in the manner by which the reader approaches the subject. Remember that anarchy is, yet, another political school of thought, and political sciences are sciences after all. Moreover, the library is full of analyses related to some political tensions around the globe, and these analyses are worth reading, especially since these analyses may provide a neutral perspective. In case the reader considers an anarchist opinion to be biased, the analyses provide some insight into the anarchist mindset.
More importantly, some of the major works of some well renowned anarchists and anarchist scholars may be downloaded free of charge.2 The reader may, for instance, download Chomsky’s On Anarchism.3 The reader is strongly advised to avoid all works by Bakunin, since the supposed anarchist is notoriously known for making some controversial statements.4 Unfortunately, the original texts from Bao Jingyan are not available in the library. These are the earliest known (photo-)anarchist texts dealing with the anarchist question of freedom.5 Luckily, though, the library addresses anarchy as a global phenomenon, and, therefore, various publications from all continents are easily accessible to the curious reader.
Notes
- Which I did many times. ↩︎
- However, I am still questioning the ethical part of this free of charge availability. ↩︎
- I acquired a hardcopy of which to avoid the ethical question. ↩︎
- I lived in the Middle East for a long time, and I am expected to share the same views as Bakunin’s. However, I still find the statements made by Bakunin extremely controversial. ↩︎
- For the anarchists out there, I have a French translation of the remnants in a hardcopy. ↩︎
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