The screed by the (now ex) Google software engineer is all over the news. While I might have more to say about it soon, I want to point out that his generalizations about the differences between the abilities of men and women are simply a rehashed, recycled and much dumbed down version of the research of people like Simon Baron-Cohen.
And, even if research1 like that of Baron-Cohen’s on the so-called “Essential Difference” is the whole story (about which I have my doubts), Mr. Damore’s problem, as I put it in an unpublished review of Baron-Cohen’s book, which I will post in a few days, is that even if these statistical statements are true: “I am firmly in the camp that feels that people who confuse statistical truths about groups with thinking that the same statements apply to individuals, should stop using up oxygen needlessly.” And while it is true that Damore’s pays lip service to this in his missive, he certainly doesn’t take it to heart!
Or, in other words, companies like Google can and will pick and choose from the very best and, at that level, individual differences will surely dwarf any hypothetical group differences. So my question to Damore is other than your biases and immaturity, what makes you think the “typical” women or African American software engineer at Google isn’t a whole lot smarter than you?
Anyway, Damore was fired by Google which has it’s plus and minuses. And, of course it will be hashed out in the courts and he may or may not have a case–the stories I have read seem to differ on his chances.
But my opinion? Google should not have fired him, instead they should have sent him for some training where he either would or would not learn to understand the effect his words would have on the unbelievably talented female and minority engineers that work at Google and why his screed was just wrong, wrong wrong in so many ways.