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comment by user-inactivated
user-inactivated  ·  2424 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: About this Googler's manifesto

I've read the document. Then I went and saw what the media wrote and said about the document. I'm not sure that any reporter or journalist actually sat down and read the damn thing.

https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3914586/Googles-Ideological-Echo-Chamber.pdf

IMO worth a read. Some of it is on point some of it comes off as a reddit MRA post. But the guy writes that there is a culture of fear for people with different ideas then gets fired for having.... different ideas,





kleinbl00  ·  2423 days ago  ·  link  ·  

It's an archetypal Libertarian screed: "I acknowledge that there is a problem, I acknowledge that there is a solution, but as the problem doesn't impact me at all while the solution inconveniences me a little, it is my right as a Maker to demonstrate the inferiority of the Takers by arguing using tortured logic that if they were at all fit they would already be calling the shots therefore make way for my Free Market Economy."

He's getting all the shit he deserves.

    We always ask why we don't see women in top leadership positions, but we never ask why we

    see so many men in these jobs.

this man has literally never read any of the most basic literature on the subject. It's entirely about "men prioritize this because SOCIETY, women prioritize this because SOCIETY, therefore equality involves changing that society."

Kaius  ·  2422 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Not sure its that straight forward. There seems to be a strong desire to paint it black, describe him as a villain and then move on.

Take a look at this video:

Peterson is a Clinical psychologist lecturing at University of Toronto and has researched the points raised in the Manifesto prior to it being written. There is supporting research for Petersons claims but they are not politically correct message, hence the reaction. It would be my guess that the author took a lot of ideas from Peterson when writing the document but may have strayed in places.

There is a huge amount of anger over all of this and that is not helping the dialogue at all.

kleinbl00  ·  2422 days ago  ·  link  ·  

...why the fuck would you link me a 50 minute youtube video to refute a 1-paragraph assertion? He's not a villain, he's an archetypal alt-right spoilboy that lacks empathy for anyone not within his immediate socioeconomic class. The reaction is due to a dude with no stake in the game deciding to throw himself into the middle of the discussion by throwing everyone else under the bus.

I'm related to clinical psychologists. They have about as much relevance in the discussion of workplace fairness as process chemists do. "I'm not a doctor but I play one on TV" doesn't make you any more authoritative on aspirin as the next guy.

Kaius  ·  2422 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Sometimes it takes a little time to unpack an assertion (or a number of assertions) and show why it may be inaccurate. It seems like a snap judgement to call him a "archetypal alt-right spoilboy that lacks empathy" without at least examining what he is saying first to see if it is correct in anyway. What did he say that led you to the conclusion that he is wrong?

Clinical psychologists in general may not be an authority on this topic except perhaps ones who carried out funded research on this very topic. Do we just dismiss that? Also I didn't get the sense that he is alt-right but it is VERY easy to label him as such based on the content and just dismiss it.

It seems like most people looked at this, thought "well that doesn't match my ideology" and promptly started screaming and hand wringing.

kleinbl00  ·  2422 days ago  ·  link  ·  

It does not take a fucking hour to unpack archetypal gamergate bullshit. I read the fuckin' manifesto. The dude's a tool. The dude's statements are toolish. Bjorn Lomborg has done "research" that disproves global warming; that his "research" flies in the face of the rest of the world is a factor in most thinking people dismissing his bullshit out-of-hand.

    What did he say that led you to the conclusion that he is wrong?

Dude, I quoted him in the comment you responded to. He flagrantly misrepresents research on equality without so much as a cursory overview. And then he proceeds to do it for another ten pages. Rather than address the conditions on the ground, he addresses the conditions in his head and then expects a billion dollar company to thoughtfully stroke their chins.

    Also I didn't get the sense that he is alt-right but it is VERY easy to label him as such based on the content and just dismiss it.

This shit needs to be dismissed. Completely. With prejudice. Discussions of workplace diversity and equality do not begin with some brocoder deciding he knows more about gender dynamics and equality than everybody else. It would never occur to me that I have any standing to argue for Ruby over Python; yet for some reason some coders figure their opinions about fuckin' transgender issues are important and insightful.

Kaius  ·  2421 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I don't think its some brocoder deciding he know more than everyone else, I think its a case of a smart person taking the time to lay out what years of research shows over and over again; there are biological differences between men and women that over a large population average out to a statistically significant preference for occupations.

Look at all this shit and also take heed of the fact that rather than Google explaining why he was wrong based on evidence they simply fired his ass. You can be certain that was a carefully calculated PR move.

Now the danger is that alt-right scumbags will use this as a tool to defend their shitty ideas but thats an outcome of how facts are used, the fact is still true...

The biggest mistake this guy made was to put forward a reasonable assertion backed by science and expect a reasoned discussion, that was never going to happen and his own naivety has pretty much screwed him. He should have seen it coming but that doesn't mean he deserved to be fired.

Also its pretty interesting that there is a huge desire for biological diversity under the premise that companies will benefit from new ideas, but then when an actual new idea is put forward they immediately hit they throw you out of the room.

user-inactivated  ·  2423 days ago  ·  link  ·  

The guy went on Stefan Molyneux's podcast which puts him in the An/Cap fuckwit bucket. So, you are correct.

kleinbl00  ·  2423 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Kevin Drum yesterday

    In other words, he was trying to get fired so he could portray himself as a lonely martyr to Silicon Valley’s intolerance for conservative views. Maybe he could even go to court, funded by some nice right-wing think tank.

James Damore today

    Damore, who could not be reached for comment on Tuesday, said in an email to Reuters on Monday that he was exploring a possible legal challenge to his dismissal.
goobster  ·  2423 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    ...then gets fired for having.... different ideas...

No, he got fired for breach of the Code of Conduct he signed. That was made clear in the CEO's post on the subject.

"To suggest a group of our colleagues have traits that make them less biologically suited to that work is offensive and not OK. It is contrary to our basic values and our Code of Conduct, which expects “each Googler to do their utmost to create a workplace culture that is free of harassment, intimidation, bias and unlawful discrimination.”

The CEO whom, incidentally, supports many of the things that the putz said in his screed.

Gem  ·  2423 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I think it's more that he got fired for being a low-level grunt who assumed his value was higher than that of a lot of other co-workers and was bad mannered enough to say so. His saying that just sounded like someone pre-emptively trying to discredit challengers in a weasel way I really detest.

Speaking of weaselling, I really, REALLY detest the way he stated that despite general trends, traits are largely overlapping then immediately set out to treat populations according to those general trends.

I assumed everyone was overreacting, so I read the original. I really don't think they were. One or two valid points doesn't stop the overall document from being garbage.

(Also, I thought it was badly written, but that's probably just me being a snob).

oyster  ·  2424 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I think the author of this article put it well when he said

    You talked about a need for discussion about ideas; you need to learn the difference between “I think we should adopt Go as our primary language” and “I think one-third of my colleagues are either biologically unsuited to do their jobs, or if not are exceptions and should be suspected of such until they can prove otherwise to each and every person’s satisfaction.”