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Silicon Valley Isn’t a Meritocracy

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Re: Silicon Valley Isn’t a Meritocracy

#181

Post by jacalata »

xrctl wrote: post #178
freefrancisco wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's an interesting question, is there an institution or subculture in the world that is more meritocratic than Silicon Valley? If there is, then the author's argument has some merit. If there isn't, then the author is wasting time attacking the one institution that comes the closest to embodying the meritocracy ideal. To what end?

I would submit that mind sports are the most meritocratic subculture; performance is statistically ranked and sometimes measured directly. And........ we find that there are no women at the top. There is 1 woman in the top 100 at speedcubing [1]. There is 1 woman in the top 100 at chess. There are only a few women in the top 100 at scrabble [2]. There is only one woman in the top 100 at Go (EGF). [1] http://rcm-paper…

Here's one story of why a girl quit playing competitive chess as a teenager: http://fanoudraws.tumblr.com/post/68091072768/sorry-this-pos...

Re: Silicon Valley Isn’t a Meritocracy

#182

Post by waps »

hacker789 wrote: post #161
Crito wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure if you are making an intentional reference to this or not, but it does make an interesting counter-point to the assertion that mathematics is a meritocracy: http://arxiv.org/abs/1110.1556 "This is a special collection of problems that were given to select applicants during oral entrance exams to the math department of Moscow State University. These problems were designed to prevent Jews and other undesir…

I don't think that's a counter point; it's a long discontinued practice of deliberately discriminating against people of a given race because other people of that race were too successful. It's not something I support, by the way, in case the sarcasm in my above comment wasn't apparent.

Isn't that the definition of "positive discrimination" and "affirmative action" ? Both of which are most certainly in wide use today.

Re: Silicon Valley Isn’t a Meritocracy

#183

Post by hacker789 »

mtrimpe wrote: post #94
SilasX wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"SV thinks it's extremely meritocratic. It's only very meritocratic. This is a big problem."

And what if it's only moderately meritocratic? Or even below average? I'd love for PG to run an analysis once of what words occur most frequently in flagged posts and their comments. I don't think you could get a better representation of this community's unspoken biases than that. I'm also pretty sure you'd find that words like feminism, female, sexism e.a. would feature quite high on the list.

This community, like most others, has an unspoken bias against third-wave feminist bullies.

Look what happened to the "Atheism Plus" communities. They have been completely taken over by bigoted "social justice warriors" and their activism.

Completely.

Atheism is almost never discussed. And when it is, it is always discussed in the context of third-wave post-modern feminism. Think I'm lying? Take a look at any Atheism Plus community. Any!

Once a community accepts the tenants of post-modern discourse, it's over.

Re: Silicon Valley Isn’t a Meritocracy

#184

Post by beat »

ars_technician wrote: post #167
beat wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nonsense.

Intelligent response. Perhaps you should learn more about the labor theory of value. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_theory_of_value

"Labor is not the source of all wealth." -Karl Marx (from your link)

It would appear that Marx rejected the Labor Theory of Value. So do I, for that matter. It does not account for the quality of labor, scarcity, or demand. Labor is a factor in value, but it's not the only factor, or even the primary one in many cases.

Leaving behind the 19th century anarchists who were still wrapping their heads around an economy that didn't even exist yet, modern practitioners of the labor theory of value are classic examples of theorists in denial of reality. If the theory and reality are at odds, then clearly reality must be wrong, correct? But they're also pretty irrelevant outside their little ivory towers. Power is collected by realists.

Personally, I think it's much more interesting to consider where capitalism fails at measuring value - basically, the idea that all value can be measured in terms of fungible currency, and anything that cannot be measured in currency therefore has no value. This problem sticks out like a sore thumb at awareness of externalized costs (or the lack of awareness, in the case of the hordes of neoliberal "conservative" fools who have no idea what a real free market looks like). But so much of value can't be measured in dollars.

Re: Silicon Valley Isn’t a Meritocracy

#185

Post by xrctl »

jacalata wrote: post #181
xrctl wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would submit that mind sports are the most meritocratic subculture; performance is statistically ranked and sometimes measured directly. And........ we find that there are no women at the top. There is 1 woman in the top 100 at speedcubing [1]. There is 1 woman in the top 100 at chess. There are only a few women in the top 100 at scrabble [2]. There is only one woman in the top 100 at Go (EGF). [1] http://rcm-paper…

Here's one story of why a girl quit playing competitive chess as a teenager: http://fanoudraws.tumblr.com/post/68091072768/sorry-this-pos...

Indeed. But I find her story substantially delusional and just another example of where someone takes the fact that someone once did something rude to them and masturbates it into some grand sociological theory.

Her claim that women's under performance is due to experiences with other chess players does not line with what else we know. For example, after controlling for initial ability, women are no more likely to quit playing chess than men and have identical career progression [1]. Meaning 100% of why women are underrepresented occurs before they get involved in chess. And, mind sports that are female dominated (scrabble, 53% female) still show much greater male performance.

[1] http://www.chabris.com/Chabris2006b.pdf

Re: Silicon Valley Isn’t a Meritocracy

#186

Post by williamcotton »

girvo wrote: post #175
SilasX wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is "different genes have different impact on different mental tasks" anything like a phrenological explanation?

Because it makes it easy to keep his faux-outrage going.

Don't project your misery on to me my friend, it is wasted breathe! I've got the fire of life on my tongue and your motivations are but wisps of faint discontent. In the raging flames of passion all you can see are your own fallacies.

(get it, the play on "faux outrage"? faux/fallacies, outrage/raging flames? sorry to ruin the poem for you, but you know, part of the problem here is that too few people on this forum have ever learned how to read/listen/see...)

Re: Silicon Valley Isn’t a Meritocracy

#187

Post by williamcotton »

Crito wrote: post #174
wonderzombie wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am seriously trying to figure out if you are trolling or not. I mean, there's something to what you're saying here. Just that you've picked the weirdest-ass venue for it. You're not supposed to give a shit about your fellow human being if he or she is (imputatively) genetically incapable of or unwilling to perform the same feats of achievement as you.

> " I dare you to find me a great song or a great poem where the messages of eternal and unending love for our brothers and sisters are not at the root of their creation!" I am guessing he is not sincere, unless he has something against instrumental pieces...

I am completely sincere and I was referring to all manner of artistic creation.

Are you familiar with the concept of poetic license or has your digital life completely beaten out any sense of art from your world?

The main problem here is the age old dichotomy of Dionysus and Apollo... er, I'm sorry if I resort to stories, shall I instead delve in to the labyrinthine machination of modern philosophical thought? But then don't you see the amount of wasted effort that poets have to go through to "convince"? Again, the burden of proof shouldn't be on me to convince you that "seeing is not believing". I can't ever prove that to you, or to anyone. I'm not choosing the life of a missionary, rather a story teller.

If this doesn't make sense, I'm sorry, but I guess I need to enter your maze...

I think the main issue in Silicon Valley is the emphasis on rationalism. There is no art or love. There is rampant irreligious sentiment. There is rampant disbelief in the magical nature of our reality. You can say it isn't magical and it is completely rational, but the truth of the matter is you can't ever prove that. You can only theorize. The problem arrises when you start to put your misplaced faith in to science and technology. That's the fucking problem here!

Misplaced faith, faith in the creations of men, and not faith in fellow men, is the fucking problem.

Faith in Seasteading, Transhumanism... faith that men will become transcendent, hero worship... it is all signs that people have turned away from humanity!

Put your faith in to your fellow men directly, not through the lens of something else.

Stop building fucking mazes for your desires to get lost in to! Online dating sites? Social networks?

Re: Silicon Valley Isn’t a Meritocracy

#188

Post by girvo »

williamcotton wrote: post #186
girvo wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it makes it easy to keep his faux-outrage going.

Don't project your misery on to me my friend, it is wasted breathe! I've got the fire of life on my tongue and your motivations are but wisps of faint discontent. In the raging flames of passion all you can see are your own fallacies. (get it, the play on "faux outrage"? faux/fallacies, outrage/raging flames? sorry to ruin the poem for you, but you know, part of the problem here is that too few people on this forum h…

I did get it, and it was very well done :)
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