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I'm really grateful for academics who take the time, particularly online, to make knowledge accessible and smash common misconceptions. I came to formal study late, and I know exactly how much crap is out there being sold to casual enthusiasts.
Now that I have access to journals and libraries once beyond my wildest autodidactic dreams, I'm going to try and keep in mind exactly how little quality material I was able to read before university.
Casual enthusiasts get the crumbs from the academic table, so I'd devour anything I could get my hands on and had little guidance about what was dubious or outdated. And I get it, academics are busy with students who they're paid to teach.
And I get that 'pop history' has a bad rep. It's less prestigious. It's often written by people with dubious training, not that audiences will ever know that. So extra props to academics who choose to reach those wider audiences. They are doing good work.
Those who take the time to point out why #badancient is bad are laudable. It would be easy just to roll their eyes and scroll on. But it's easy for us to forget how many enthusiasts have never had the benefit of formal training with amazing teachers.
So calling out #badancient is important and valuable. I hope more academics get in the habit.
