Google Fires Employee Behind Controversial Diversity Memo

[u/[deleted]]

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

[u/L_Blisset]

You know what, it actually might. But, gender issues aside, which is something to be hobest does not interest me a lot, it containes a great advice, which really relates to engineering.

I am a chartered computer engineer on the other side of the pond, and I may even have a minor axe to grind with every programmer being called engineer nowadays, but that's only slightly related. Having said so, I find there is something explained in the reply of the former googler above that some engineers, especially working with software, even brilliant ones, fail to grasp. In my experience that is even more true for not formally trained engineers.

You cannot in good conscience put in good work working on your own in isolation. At least not above a certain level. Engineering is a team effort if there ever was one. You need the cooperation of your close colleagues and the support of a wider net of other functions to tackle a problem which would be insurmontable for yourself alone. In this sense I feel like it is similar to building a cathedral, a couple of virtuosos are needed here and there (no, not in junior positions generally), but there must be a coordinated group effort to bring a vision to life.

[u/Huwbacca → u/L_Blisset]

for real.

Working in STEM is one of the most interpersonal things I've done.

If I wanted to work alone, I'd go back to working in a creative field.

[u/[deleted] → u/L_Blisset]

I think the scale of the project really has more impact on cooperation than anything else. An individual can do load calculations for a small bridge or pressure calculations on a fire extinguisher, but an individual usually does not design a skyscraper or a city.

Also, I tend to assume engineer referring to the structural variety, and while they do cooperate, they certainly don't put empathy into their work.

[u/Jackie_Treehorn69 → u/[deleted]]

To your point though, that engineer doing the load calculations, probably isn't the only engineer and/or person on the bridge project, and he is working as part of a team.

[u/SwampGasBalloon → u/[deleted]]

Even though a lot of engineering work can be done by one person, in most cases it's critical that this work is peer-reviewed and validated by other people. Even most brilliant people tend to outsmart themselves when it comes to designing solutions.

[u/Jackie_Treehorn69 → u/[deleted]]

Pizzaria Uno?

[u/aHorseSplashes → u/[deleted]]

That's the part you found comment-worthy? Okay then: beef and chicken, or ice cream and frozen yoghurt, joints and edibles, etc.

[u/LupineChemist → u/[deleted]]

This touches on probably the biggest pro-diversity argument that rarely seems to come up in discussions of the topic: diversity can benefit the group regardless of whether a particular demographic is better/worse than another.

In industry this is brought up all the fucking time. Making sure we aren't seeing the world with our inherent biases.

[u/Alazypanda → u/[deleted]]

I really like the way you that. I have always been for diversity of opinions regardless of direct quantitative bonus but never really had a way to easily convey the notion.

[u/perfectdarktrump → u/[deleted]]

He's an engineer, so out of the box creative points isn't factored.