[THREAD]

1/ "No native writing system was known among North American Indians at the time of first European contact... a number of writing systems for... Indian languages were developed as a result of the stimulus from European writing."

https://www.britannica.com/topic/North-American-Indian-languages

2/ His second point doesn't explain why the wheel wasn't developed in those parts of North America which *weren't* covered by snow most of the year — in other words, most of North America.

3/ In a later tweet, after helpfully advising me to “read a few books,” he argued that indigenous pictographic drawings on tree bark were written language.

“It depends on how you define writing,” he adds. Personally, I define writing as actual, you know, writing.

4/ Oh, and he's an anthropologist. Surprising, I know.

Quick guide to anthropology:

Europeans bad. Most other cultures good — especially those lacking civilizational impulses in areas like science, technology, and, uhm, writing.

There are 133 Democrats for each Republican among US anthropology faculty, so it's not like you can accuse them any ideological bias.

I've never received as many DMs in rapid succession from so many people as I've received over the past half-hour or so.

Basically they all read like this: "So glad to see someone go after Will."

I'd never even heard of him until today. Apparently he's some kind of legend.