Idriss Aberkane
{{Short description|French consultant (born 1986)}}
{{use mdy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Expand French|Idriss Aberkane|date=September 2023|topic=bio}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Idriss Aberkane
| image = Idriss_Aberkane.png
| caption =
| birth_name = Idriss Jamil Aberkane
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1986|5|23}}
| birth_place = Pithiviers, France
| nationality = French
| education = University of Strasbourg
University Paris-Sud
University Paris-Descartes
| occupation = Public speaker, essayist, YouTuber
| boards = Muslim Scouts of France
| website = http://idrissaberkane.org/
}}
Idriss Jamil Aberkane (born May 23, 1986){{cite book|url=http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb16995502p|title=Notice de personne : Aberkane, Idriss J.|access-date=2018-05-13}}{{cite news|url=https://www.lanouvellerepublique.fr/actu/idriss-aberkane-l-accoucheur-des-geeks-de-gatine|title=Idriss Aberkane, l'accoucheur des " geeks " de Gâtine|last1=Beucher|first1=Gil|date=27 April 2017|work=La Nouvelle République|language=fr}} is a French public speaker and essayist. Known for his writings and lectures on personal development, he published a particularly successful essay in 2016, titled Free up your mind!. However, he has been accused of artificially inflating his resume, plagiarizing portions of one of this theses, and of using his three doctoral diplomas (Ph.Ds) to talk about sciences that are not in his areas of expertise, including claiming to be a "doctor of neuroscience" and "teacher-researcher".{{Cite web|title=Qui est Idriss Aberkane, cet essayiste français très controversé qui veut réhabiliter Didier Raoult ?|url=https://www.midilibre.fr/2022/01/19/qui-est-idriss-aberkane-cet-essayiste-francais-tres-controverse-qui-veut-rehabiliter-didier-raoult-10055786.php|access-date=2022-01-20|website=midilibre.fr|language=fr}}{{cite news |last1=Garcia |first1=Victor |last2=L'hospital |first2=Alix |title=Déboires financiers, CV surgonflé, complotisme... Idriss Aberkane, itinéraire d'un mystificateur |url=https://www.lexpress.fr/sciences-sante/sciences/deboires-financiers-cv-surgonfle-complotisme-idriss-aberkane-itineraire-d-un-mystificateur_2182651.html |access-date=8 June 2024 |work=L'Express |date=2 November 2022}} The scientific accuracy of some of his statements and publications was questioned by other researchers. His support for embattled French epidemiologist Didier Raoult, and his questioning of the reliability of COVID-19 vaccines, in particular Pfizer's, has caused him to be classified as an anti-vax conspiracist.
Early life and education
Aberkane's parents taught mathematics at a teachers' college,{{cite news|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/sciences/article/2016/10/24/idriss-aberkane-l-apprenti-sage_5019485_1650684.html|title=Idriss Aberkane, le cerveau qui libère le nôtre|last1=Rahmani|first1=Sabah|date=24 October 2016|work=Le Monde|language=fr|format=Updated 7 November 2016}} and as a boy he participated in the Muslim Scouts of France, of which his father was one of the first leaders; he has cited his participation in the scouts as an inspiration for his life's work.{{cite news|last1=de Gmeline|first1=Vladimir|title=Scouts musulmans : Islam, B.A. et feux de camp|url=https://www.marianne.net/societe/scouts-musulmans-islam-ba-et-feux-de-camp|work=Marianne|date=20 February 2016|language=fr}}
Aberkane has obtained three doctorate degrees: one in management science from Paris Saclay, one in comparative literature from University of Strasbourg, and one in diplomacy from Centre d'Études Diplomatiques et Stratégiques. University officials have since requested revocation of his management science PhD due to extensive plagiarism.{{cite news|title=La thèse d’Idriss Aberkane à Polytechnique? Un cas de plagiat «évident», pour le comité d’éthique de l’école|language=French|date=1 September 2023|url=https://www.letemps.ch/sciences/la-these-d-idriss-aberkane-a-polytechnique-un-cas-de-plagiat-evident-pour-le-comite-d-ethique-de-l-ecole|access-date=8 June 2024}} His degree in diplomacy is not recognized by France. He became known in France for his lectures and essays about neurosciences, social psychology, gamification and their applications in education and business. A profile in the French newspaper Le Monde described his advocacy for these applications as "a bit North American, where science, popularization, morality, personal narrative and advice intertwine".
Criticisms
Aberkane has been criticized for his lack of rigor and fabricating some parts of his resume.{{Cite web|date=November 2, 2016|title=Sciences et recherche: le CV dopé d'Idriss Aberkane|url=https://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/sciences/sciences-et-recherche-le-cv-dope-d-idriss-aberkane_1845580.html|website=LExpress.fr}} He has since published a copy of all his diplomas (including his three doctoral diplomas) on his personal website.{{Cite web|url=https://idrissaberkane.org/cv/|title=CV – Idriss J. Aberkane}}
For social psychology and neurosciences researcher Sebastian Dieguez, Free up your Mind is "an uninterrupted succession of isolated facts, of pointless detours, anecdotes and personal opinions, elementary mistakes, debunked "theories", truisms, hyperboles and aphorisms, which do not make for good science education."{{Cite web|last=Dieguez|first=Sebastian|date=August 18, 2018|title=Bullshittez votre cerveau et libérez votre bullshit : la méthode Aberkane et l'effet gourou inverse|url=http://menace-theoriste.fr/bullshittez-votre-cerveau-et-liberez-votre-bullshit-la-methode-aberkane-et-leffet-gourou-inverse/|url-status=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818194443/http://menace-theoriste.fr/bullshittez-votre-cerveau-et-liberez-votre-bullshit-la-methode-aberkane-et-leffet-gourou-inverse/|archive-date=August 18, 2018|access-date=August 18, 2018|website=La menace théoriste|language=French}}
Aberkane claims to have solved the Collatz conjecture, but mathematicians who have studied his papers strongly disagree, pointing to major mistakes in the works and noting they were published in "predatory journals" by MDPI. Discussing Aberkane's works, Fabien Durand, a professor of mathematics at Université de Picardie Jules-Verne and the president of the French Mathematical Society, considers that he made several mistakes and that "most of the proofs are at the level of a high-school or first-year college student".
Works
- {{cite book|last1=Aberkane|first1=Idriss Jamil|title=Économie de la connaissance|date=2015|publisher=Fondapol, Fondation pour l'innovation politique|isbn=9782364080829|oclc=958458430|language=French}}
- {{cite book|last1=Aberkane|first1=Idriss|title=Libérez votre cerveau ! - traité de neurosagesse pour changer l'école et la société|date=2016|publisher=Robert Laffont Inc|isbn=9782221187586|language=French|oclc=968175754}}
- {{cite book|last1=Aberkane|first1=Idriss|title=Innovation politique 2016|date=2016|publisher=Fondapol, Fondation pour l'innovation politique|isbn=9782130735335|language=French|chapter=Chapter 2: Noopolitics: The Power of Knowledge}}
References
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External links
- {{Official website|http://idrissaberkane.org/}}
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