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Why do so few people major in computer science? (2017)

danwang.co

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Re: Why do so few people major in computer science? (2017)

#451

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Programmers have a bad reputation with Feminists. Hanging out in any online Feminist space is very illuminating - they have gone on many dates with people who do what we do, and they're contemptuously familiar with "us" as a class. If you're trying to date in a tech city, I think you pretty much have to do this - there are a lot of "tech bro" memes out there for you to step in on the first date. This prejudice seems…

What did the programmers commonly do that these females found revolting? I've never lived in SF so maybe it's different there, but in my experience in the industry the "tech bro" thing is a complete myth. Most software engineers are just quiet nerds/geeks, mostly Asian + Indian, and are the absolute last thing from being "bros" (unless the word "bro" has been redefined and I never got the memo).

I'd say it's definitely very possible to be a quiet nerd who also has not the best attitude towards women so I don't think the bad rep just comes from the "bro" side of things.

As an aside, calling women 'females' is definitely something that can set off alarms cause it resembles the kind of language that certain sexist men use. Not saying that using it makes someone sexist, but that it can make someone sound like other people who are.

Re: Why do so few people major in computer science? (2017)

#452

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What did the programmers commonly do that these females found revolting? I've never lived in SF so maybe it's different there, but in my experience in the industry the "tech bro" thing is a complete myth. Most software engineers are just quiet nerds/geeks, mostly Asian + Indian, and are the absolute last thing from being "bros" (unless the word "bro" has been redefined and I never got the memo).

I'd say it's definitely very possible to be a quiet nerd who also has not the best attitude towards women so I don't think the bad rep just comes from the "bro" side of things. As an aside, calling women 'females' is definitely something that can set off alarms cause it resembles the kind of language that certain sexist men use. Not saying that using it makes someone sexist, but that it can make someone sound like ot…

> it's definitely very possible to be a quiet nerd who also has not the best attitude towards women

Of course, but that doesn't mean that "sexist quiet software engineer nerd" is a common personality type. In my experience the "quiet nerds" tend to be the most kind people.

Also I've found in America that most women seem to prefer dating outgoing men, so I'd guess that most of these women aren't dating these "quiet nerds".

> As an aside, calling women 'females' is definitely something that can set off alarms

Never realized the word had that connotation to some people. Sounds overly sensitive, but I'll use "women" if that's preferred.

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