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Is This the Office of the Future or a $5B Waste of Space?

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Re: Is This the Office of the Future or a $5B Waste of Space?

#71
post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're absolutely right, it's not the goal of business to enact social reform. That's why it's the pervue of government to enact legislation to require it. Just as it's not the goal of business to avoid polluting our air or our water "as long as it doesn't affect the bottom line!" Just as it's not the goal of business to have its employees wash their hands after using the restroom before returning to cooking food. Ne…

Right, but you are still avoiding the issue of proving (or explaining) how diversity is something that should be sought after. You think it matters and I do not. I can see how we ought to have government mandated equal access. Ie someone should not have worse chance of being hired in SV because they are black or Mexican. But if the numbers of qualified candidates vary by a factor of 100 (how many black vs white or as…

> But if the numbers of qualified candidates vary by a factor of 100 (how many black vs white or asian CS PhDs are coming out of the pipeline) - why is the lack of diversity a problem of the industry?

Where one of the driving factors beyond product development in the industry is "scratch your own itch and scale it out", lack of diversity of background (of which sex and race/ethnicity are components, but not the only important components) means lost potential markets, so its in the interests of those who want to invest in the new markets for the industry (e.g., most of the big players in the industry, and most of the investors in big and small players in the industry) to invest in broadening the funnel. It is, if not a problem of the industry, a problem for the industry.

(It also could be a symptom of a problem of the industry in which the industry itself takes action, without realizing the effect, which narrows its funnel, reduces the supply of talent attracted to the industry, and drives up costs.)

Re: Is This the Office of the Future or a $5B Waste of Space?

#72
post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, but you are still avoiding the issue of proving (or explaining) how diversity is something that should be sought after. You think it matters and I do not. I can see how we ought to have government mandated equal access. Ie someone should not have worse chance of being hired in SV because they are black or Mexican. But if the numbers of qualified candidates vary by a factor of 100 (how many black vs white or as…

> But if the numbers of qualified candidates vary by a factor of 100 (how many black vs white or asian CS PhDs are coming out of the pipeline) - why is the lack of diversity a problem of the industry? Where one of the driving factors beyond product development in the industry is "scratch your own itch and scale it out", lack of diversity of background (of which sex and race/ethnicity are components, but not the only…

Ok - sure. That is a reasonable explanation (at least that I can not fault with being self-serving for a particular group).

But is there any proof for it that makes it more than a hypothesis? Is there any example of a company staffed by minorities that is more successful at serving those minorities?

Because all we really have are counterfactuals - I can't think of a single SV company that did well because it made a point of hiring from the underrepresented groups.

Re: Is This the Office of the Future or a $5B Waste of Space?

#73
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> playgrounds for kids are becoming more like jails The solution to this problem is to revolt. Stop taking your kids to the playground. Get them helmets and a kickbike and go to the local skateboard park. Go out hiking with them, even if it's just 300 yards in a park. Run on the beach. Let them eat the sand. Give them proper rain clothing and boots so they can jump in puddles for hours on end. Teach them that there i…

Without a tablet, how are they going to read the schematics to meaningfully help with projects?

It's never too early to teach your kids about the numerous advantages of schematics printed on dead trees.
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