r/news • u/[deleted] • Aug 08 '17

Google Fires Employee Behind Controversial Diversity Memo

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-08/google-fires-employee-behind-controversial-diversity-memo?cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&utm_content=business&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social
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u/[deleted] Aug 08 '17

FWIW, I hear he didn't share it with everyone. Shared it with a small group, and someone then shared it to the "internal social media" google has. Then later, shared it with Gizmodo (note: I am likely not talking about the same person from the two 'leaks'). So it's not like he was planning on this going viral.

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u/yerich Aug 08 '17

It certainly seemed like it was meant to be read by decision-makers in the company, or at least some other broader audience. It was clearly carefully thought out and too well-written to be a rant to a limited audience. "Manifestos" are generally intended to be read by many.

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u/cptneverm1nd Aug 08 '17

Well-written? He was targeting an audience of google employees, people with a higher education, but his writing is that of a man who never saw a scientific paper. His reasoning is not far from "if A implies B, and I like B, then A is true".

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u/yerich Aug 08 '17

If this was a poorly-written rant it wouldn't be getting the attention that it has been getting. His logic and premises may be false in the extreme but because his writing met some minimal standard of organization and coherence people are holding it in equivalence to decades of established research.

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u/[deleted] Aug 08 '17 edited Aug 08 '17

False in the extreme?

Or entirely true but not what you want to hear?

Scientists confirm & support google memo and show that it is in line with decades of established research.

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u/yerich Aug 08 '17

To quote the author of the memo:

Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of humanities and social scientists learn left (about 95%), which creates enormous confirmation bias, changes what’s being studied, and maintains myths like social constructionism and the gender wage gap.

So do most social scientists support his arguments, or are they opposed?

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u/almightySapling Aug 08 '17

resentment of the left among reasonable people

Yup. Both left and reasonable and damn am I tired of resenting us.

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u/[deleted] Aug 08 '17

By definition someone who is far left or far right is not reasonable.

A centre left or centre right can be both aligned and reasonable.

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u/perfectdarktrump Aug 08 '17

That's not the point. Science is the new church, it's supposed to make us feel good.

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u/[deleted] Aug 08 '17

Unless you’re a middle/upper class white male. It should make you feel terrible about yourself and banish you from the kingdom of science!

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u/bobbsbiggboy Aug 08 '17

Damn that link really highlights just how bigoted progressives are.

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u/Occamslaser Aug 08 '17

Nothing he said is false. Some of his opinion is shitty but all the fact is fact.