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The Black Technologist Who Invented the First Internet Search Engine

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Re: The Black Technologist Who Invented the First Internet Search Engine

#111

Post by intopieces »

theoreticalCS wrote: post #67
intopieces wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If your question is honest, I'll give you an honest answer: When you're a member of a minority that is commonly portrayed in the media as being an 'other' / 'not good enough' / 'not likely to succeed', this kind of identification is heartening. It shows you that people like you can succeed, people like you have succeeded, and people like you matter . I'm going to go ahead and assume you're not a part of a group that…

Do you say this as someone from a member of a minority? Because I am a "minority" and I certainly don't care about going out of my way to find this kind of identification.

As with anything, there are no universals. Happy you don't need affirmation that "someone like you" can succeed, has succeeded, and matters. I don't want to use my own (potential, theoretical) "minority status" to boost my own argument. That's cheap. Sufficed to say, the demand exists as evidenced by the supply: If no one cared, there'd be no clicks, no Black History Month, and no ongoing discussion about the topic :)

Re: The Black Technologist Who Invented the First Internet Search Engine

#112

Post by Kinnard »

tomp wrote: post #17

I don't understand why one would point out a person's race (unless it's relevant to the situaiton), but since the title did... I cannot fanthom how anyone could call this person "black". If anything, his complexion is similar to what US people call "hispanic" (although to me that's just southern European, not a distinct race).

Are you american? The term isn't used to describe skin color per se, but to classify someone as a member of a certain group with attendant right/privileges and cultural traits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-drop_rule

Recently 'blacks' weren't allowed in certain venues/institutions and were required to take a generally subservient stance vis a vis 'whites'. White also receive(d) preference for admittance to the country and citizenship.

The non-denotative nature of the language is well-discussed: http://forward.com/opinion/318667/im-a-mizrahi-jew-do-i-coun...

Re: The Black Technologist Who Invented the First Internet Search Engine

#113

Post by dragonwriter »

tomp wrote: post #17

I don't understand why one would point out a person's race (unless it's relevant to the situaiton), but since the title did... I cannot fanthom how anyone could call this person "black". If anything, his complexion is similar to what US people call "hispanic" (although to me that's just southern European, not a distinct race).

> I don't understand why one would point out a person's race (unless it's relevant to the situaiton)

If you read the first paragraph of the article, you'd know that his race is the reason the article was published:

At a time when “googling” has become the generic term for conducting an internet search, it can be hard to remember that search had a long history before Google came along. But it’s worth revisiting that past during Black History Month, because the pre-Google era saw one of the most momentous black contributions to the development of the internet: the invention of internet search itself, by Alan Emtage.

Re: The Black Technologist Who Invented the First Internet Search Engine

#114

Post by daysforbeef »

bglazer wrote: post #92
gragas wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then why is it strictly forbidden to write an article with a title that caters specifically to young white children?

I don't think I'll be able to do satisfactorily answer that question in a couple sentences, but I'll try. White people are a majority in technology, so it's assumed to be obvious to white children that they too can be a technologist. There's not a significant gap in perceived identity between themselves and Mark Zuckerberg, for example. So, that begs the question, why focus on encouraging specifically white children?…

> White people are a majority in technology

BS, have you seen us brown folks? we are literally the IT race. You could say white blokes are at a disadvantage. Point being, I feel kids should be taught their code and their core values are important, and should be also taught the art of not giving a shit about stuff that clearly doesn't matter. No black folks in tech? all the more reason to become a God

Re: The Black Technologist Who Invented the First Internet Search Engine

#115

Post by Kinnard »

erikbye wrote: post #103

Reading "black technologist" my first thoughts goes to some malicious figure in a science-fantasy novel, not the color of ones skin. What is next, "the yellow programmer"? I'm so glad I don't define who I am based on my skin color. Is the color of your skin of any importance when we are talking about your achievements? If he was white, would making the first search engine be less remarkable?

I think it's pretty important if the descendant of someone who was kidnapped and enslaved to provide for a legally enforced illiterate underclass is able to not only read and write but read and write code and make significant contributions to the field of software engineering. Like if someone who lost a foot won the 100 meter in the olympics, not the paralympics . . .

Re: The Black Technologist Who Invented the First Internet Search Engine

#116

Post by Nomentatus »

noobermin wrote: post #95

Was just thinking this earlier this week, can anything, at this point, hold a candle to Google in terms of search? Or possibly compete well with it such that people could switch? Recently heard about the news Google is discontinuing enterprise site search, not that that is such a huge problem, but it's just another example of the issues that arise from having a monopoly control everything with no alternatives. They c…

The cost of entry in the search market just went way, way up due to Google implementing neural nets extensively in its search algorithms (Deep Mind whatever.) No question about that. Someone else might find a way to do that better, however; if so they could now take the market away. (But that doesn't mean I think that's likely.)

Re: The Black Technologist Who Invented the First Internet Search Engine

#118

Post by 08-15 »

pizza wrote: post #60
tomp wrote: post #17

I don't understand why one would point out a person's race (unless it's relevant to the situaiton), but since the title did... I cannot fanthom how anyone could call this person "black". If anything, his complexion is similar to what US people call "hispanic" (although to me that's just southern European, not a distinct race).

> Researchers also offer alternatives to the color-blindness discourse. Reason and Evans call for people to become "racially cognizant", that is they need to acknowledge the role that race plays in their everyday lives. Being racially cognizant also demands a continuous examination and reinterpretation of race and how it affects our lives. It is also important to balance looking at a person as an individual and ackno…

> reinterpretation of race

In other words "making up shit". It's time to stop listening to this bullshit.

Re: The Black Technologist Who Invented the First Internet Search Engine

#119

Post by Nomentatus »

danbruc wrote: post #56

This escalated quickly. But I would actually somewhat side with the commenters saying that it is odd to explicitly mention the race in the article. I get that it is Black History Month in the US and in that context it seems appropriate but I would question whether having a Black History Month is a good idea in the first place. It is not obvious to me that explicitly pointing out a distinction is the best way to get r…

Why mention his race 'cause there's no such thing as unconscious bias and Valley funding and hires are as diverse as society is and... ah... oops, no, wait...

Re: The Black Technologist Who Invented the First Internet Search Engine

#120

Post by ikeyany »

gragas wrote: post #50
bglazer wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can tell you why it's important to note the race of an underrepresented minority who made a notable contribution. I teach programming to a group of black young adults. Self image is very important to most young folks. Just seeing other black people who are successful computer programmers helps them imagine themselves as computer programmers. Identity matters to young people who are trying to shape their own self im…

Then why is it strictly forbidden to write an article with a title that caters specifically to young white children?

Young white children can see and relate to a large chunk of tech workers. Black people do not have that privilege. Have you noticed that young people generally achieve more when they can model themselves after those who are like them?
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