Google Doesn’t Want Staff Debating Politics at Work Anymore • Hacker News Board

Re: Google Doesn’t Want Staff Debating Politics at Work Anymore

#131

Post by daenz » Fri, Aug 23, 2019, 4:51 PM UTC

Dobbs wrote: post #21

scarface74 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In most professional settings, it’s considered a norm not to talk about sex, politics, and religion unless your business is dealing with one of those areas specifically.

This is wonderful when your very existence isn’t political. So cis het white men. For the rest of us we don’t have this luxury. This is the pinnacle example of white and male privilege.

I know a couple of non-white/cis/het/male developers who are able to behave like mature, goal-oriented adults and do stellar work. It's not a luxury, it's called being professional.

Re: Google Doesn’t Want Staff Debating Politics at Work Anymore

#132

Post by cameronbrown » Fri, Aug 23, 2019, 4:51 PM UTC

webwielder2 wrote: post #59

It's funny how we pigeonhole "things that actually matter" as "politics" and that those things are somehow taboo. I mean, what's MORE worth talking about than human rights, the environment, history, etc.?

It's taboo because it's human nature to have fixed opinions (which only change over extended periods of time) about your worldview, be it politics or religion. Few political arguments have outcomes beyond disagreement.

Re: Google Doesn’t Want Staff Debating Politics at Work Anymore

#133

Post by ashwinaj » Fri, Aug 23, 2019, 4:51 PM UTC

Finally common sense prevails! Get to work on time, eat your free lunch, work, go home.

To those of you who disagree; if you want to "make a difference" take a cue from Gandhi, Mandela, Martin Luther king Jr. etc. Mahama Gandhi didn't work for the East India company while simultaneously fighting for freedom.

If you are serious about it put your money where your mouth is and stop being empty vessels.

Re: Google Doesn’t Want Staff Debating Politics at Work Anymore

#134

Post by izzydata » Fri, Aug 23, 2019, 4:51 PM UTC

Koshkin wrote: post #70

19ylram49 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. I find it quite bizarre when some folks suggest divorcing from politics as if the possibility exists. Everything is political. Even this very conversation is political.

> Everything is political. Math is not political.

You just aren't trying hard enough.

Re: Google Doesn’t Want Staff Debating Politics at Work Anymore

#135

Post by Kalium » Fri, Aug 23, 2019, 4:51 PM UTC

SkyBelow wrote: post #64

>I think they just overestimated the ability of their employees to respect each other when they hold differing world views. I think this can be quite difficult to do just because of the political views involved. For example, how should a gay man respect a colleague who honestly thinks that homosexuality should be punished with death. In such a case, I would say that even asking the first individual to tolerate, much…

Tolerance isn't considered a virtue because it's easy. Tolerance is a virtue because it's difficult. It requires us to put up with people who may adhere to worldviews we find utterly alien or hold views we find abhorrent.

It's easy to come up with an example and find yourself thinking "It's unreasonable to tolerate that!". Instead, consider asking yourself why people a century ago might tolerate views you think of as perfectly reasonable today.

Re: Google Doesn’t Want Staff Debating Politics at Work Anymore

#136

Post by SkyBelow » Fri, Aug 23, 2019, 4:51 PM UTC

Koshkin wrote: post #70

19ylram49 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. I find it quite bizarre when some folks suggest divorcing from politics as if the possibility exists. Everything is political. Even this very conversation is political.

> Everything is political. Math is not political.

Math is probably one of the if not the least political thing out there, but there are still politics involved. For starters, all mathematicians need funding and choosing who to fund is partially political. Deciding awards is partially political. Even the importance of taking or rejecting some axioms and if certain fields still have value for further research is political. There are even different axioms one can use to derive math from, and choosing one over another is partially political (though it is interesting to see how each one deals with Russell's paradox).

Re: Google Doesn’t Want Staff Debating Politics at Work Anymore

#137

Post by tl » Fri, Aug 23, 2019, 4:51 PM UTC

Koshkin wrote: post #70

19ylram49 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. I find it quite bizarre when some folks suggest divorcing from politics as if the possibility exists. Everything is political. Even this very conversation is political.

> Everything is political. Math is not political.

Math is definitely political.

Problem #1: All models are invalid, some are useful. You need to stop ignorant actors who don’t understand that 3 is not a valid approximation of Pi, while simultaneously stopping pedants who want to everything to be accurate in ways that are not compatible with the IEEE standard for float.

Problem #2: There are lies, damned lies and statistics. People who want to push $NOT_YOUR_VIEWPOINT will cite more studies than you have time to evaluate to prove you wrong.

Re: Google Doesn’t Want Staff Debating Politics at Work Anymore

#138

Post by DonHopkins » Fri, Aug 23, 2019, 4:52 PM UTC

Koshkin wrote: post #70

19ylram49 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. I find it quite bizarre when some folks suggest divorcing from politics as if the possibility exists. Everything is political. Even this very conversation is political.

> Everything is political. Math is not political.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIKGV2cTgqA

Re: Google Doesn’t Want Staff Debating Politics at Work Anymore

#139

Post by InTheArena » Fri, Aug 23, 2019, 4:52 PM UTC

arcticbull wrote: post #20

I think they just overestimated the ability of their employees to respect each other when they hold differing world views. That's kinda natural once you reach a certain size and your colleagues may as well be randos on the street. To be fair, that's a learning most businesses stumbled upon decades ago, it's the new generation of "re-invent management" companies that are speedrunning HR policy.

[flagged]

Re: Google Doesn’t Want Staff Debating Politics at Work Anymore

#140

Post by the-pigeon » Fri, Aug 23, 2019, 4:52 PM UTC

wutbrodo wrote: post #103

zarkov99 wrote: post #11

No shit. I guess Google can no longer assume that there is a single correct world view that all good and smart people hold. Who knew.

This is so hilariously wrong that I don't even know where to start. Google's culture was predicated on hiring intelligent, emotionally-continent adults. Free discussion of politics wasn't banned during my time there because everyone was capable of understanding precisely the opposite of what you're describing: that differing views on the world exist and are attributable to more than just whether someone is a good or…

I've worked for a lot of small startups some mid-sized companies in California over the last decade.

I would never ever share any views that are non-liberal because when I've seen anyone else do it it didn't go well for them at all. And I'm not at work to change people's political views so there's no reason to take the risk.

I don't think this is a new shift at all. I think it's typical when you have smart but insecure people which is most software engineers.