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[–]ThisReality 7 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 0 fun8 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

I don't buy the "James Damore was fired for saying there are biological differences between men and women" argument. He was fired because he put the idea out there, in an internal manifesto for all his coworkers to read, that women and minorities were less suited for STEM work than men. How did he think that was going to go over with his colleagues? I can't think of a place I've ever worked, including conservative companies in conservative areas, where his memo wouldn't have gotten him fired. Even people who agreed with his points would mostly know that you don't say that shit around people you need to work with.

[–]uroborosjohnson 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Yeah there's nothing in anyone's DNA that makes them less or more able to write code. The modern world is so far divorced from whatever conclusions people try to draw from evopsych bullshit. In fact, when female owned companies get beyond the initial funding hurtle, they often do quite well.

Also, someone here pointed out the irony that for all of TiM's talk of having lady-brain, they seem to congregate in fields that stereotypical "lady brains" wouldn't. Exaggerated brain sex ideology is a cover for misogynists, no matter what side it's coming from.

[–]TurkishCoffee 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

So, he was fired for a lot of reasons - frankly good ones. My point was, the backlash of him and his stupidity, made talking about biological differences - which aren't related to ones ability to do tech - in the context of tech impossible. I'm not saying he shouldn't have been fired.

The "wanting to go off about lady-brain makes us incapable" part was exactly what i was referring to. He took the concept of differences, and used it in terrible untrue ways. The backlash, then was to ban all mention of differences.

[–]uroborosjohnson 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I agree with you here but I honestly don't trust society to ever have a conversation about brain differences without using them to reinforce biases against women, which are typically so deeply ingrained people (including scientists) don't realize they have them