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Woke wars: Edinburgh’s computer scientists banned from using ‘Alice and Bob’ as
                              too ‘Western’

  Staff also urged to avoid ‘master/slave’ terminology as part of
  University of Edinburgh’s latest decolonisation efforts

  [55]By Ewan Somerville 4 September 2021 • 9:00pm

  The names Alice and Bob should not be used, computer science lecturers
  have been told, in the latest decolonisation drive at the University of
  Edinburgh.

  The top-flight Russell Group university’s school of informatics claims
  there are “problematic issues related to computing terminology”.

  Staff should “avoid using predominantly Western names such as
  Alice/Bob, as is common in the computer security literature”, according
  to internal documents seen by The Telegraph.

  In cryptography and digital culture, Alice and Bob are a fictional
  couple widely used as placeholders to illustrate how protocols and
  systems work.

  The terms “master/slave” to represent computing agents are also being
  discouraged in the faculty’s courses, with staff urged to “instead use
  coordinator or workers”.

  It forms part of [56]intensifying decolonisation efforts at the
  institution, which has formed a steering group of academics to identify
  “controversial elements of the university’s past” so that “reparatory
  recommendations” can be made.

  On Saturday night, a former education minister branded the moves
  “preposterous” and a “tyrannical” attempt to police thoughts.

  The faculty, which runs various computer science courses, said it “must
  challenge and rework the current pedagogy (approach to teaching), which
  was rooted in imperial and colonial ideas about knowledge and
  learning”.
  Placeholder image for youtube video: IwnWgp_QIj4

  Lecturers in the faculty have been asked to consider whether there is
  “any terminology used in the course that can be offensive or
  exclusionary”, to spotlight the work of “under-represented pioneers”
  and ensure case studies are “diverse”.

  In a recent review of decolonising actions taken in informatics, course
  leaders said they were “instructing markers to not penalise
  [57]grammar/English issues in the coursework” to increase diversity.

  Senior managers are also carrying out an “inclusivity impact
  assessment” of any new courses before they can be approved to ensure
  “every new course will have to explicitly consider decolonisation”, the
  documents said.

  Sir John Hayes, the chairman of the Common Sense Group of more than 50
  Tory MPs, said: “The distortion of language has been used by tyrants
  through time because when you distort language you begin to control
  thought.

  “I will be writing to Edinburgh University to make clear that no public
  money ought to be spent on this kind of nonsense.

  “The silent majority of people in the United Kingdom regard this as the
  pedantics of those people who spend too much time in a common room and
  not enough in the real world.”

  The latest decolonisation drive comes after the University of Edinburgh
  [58]renamed the David Hume Tower because activists dug out comments the
  Scottish enlightenment philosopher made about race in the 18th century.
  [59]Chopper's Politics Podcast - The war on woke

  And earlier this year an Edinburgh social anthropology lecturer, Dr
  Neil Thin, was subject to a lengthy disciplinary probe – and cleared –
  after students complained about his “problematic” views, notably his
  opposition to the renaming decision.

  The two incidents prompted staff to call for Edinburgh’s principal,
  Prof Peter Mathieson, to step down, alleging an “intolerant and
  illiberal” culture hostile to free speech on campus.

  Academics at Edinburgh have told this newspaper that they feel
  “alienated” by the university’s decolonisation. They claim it is
  “predicated on the bizarre assumption that only white people are
  racist” and riddled with inconsistencies that ignores countries accused
  of modern-day rights abuses, such as China.

  A University of Edinburgh spokesperson said: “As an institution we are
  committed to addressing contemporary and historic inequalities with
  respect to race and our schools are aware of this. In this case the
  school have developed guidance to ensure that materials produced
  reflect the diverse and international nature of our community.”
  Related Topics
    * [60]University of Edinburgh,
    * [61]University education

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  The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on
  topic, constructive and respectful. Please review our [62]commenting
  policy.
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