James pokes some holes in the assertion that "Polls show that one-in-five Americans believe the core tenets of Qanon."
Over at Althouse the fourth comment under the post about Feminist Science also points out the obvious. Yes, it is possible that bringing in people who look different or come from different groups might provide new ideas or perspectives. Yet that is in no way guaranteed. If a man enters a women's Bible study there is a chance, on certain subtopics, that he will be able to offer an important perspective. But most of the time they are going to find every acorn on their own. Sometimes a particular man may be able to offer insight after insight and be useful. But another woman would be as likely to be that good an addition. We might say the same about Koreans, or cowboys, or cooks. Sometimes their perspective as a member of those categories will add something to the group knowledge. Usually it will be neutral - and making neutral things a priority as if they are central wastes energy. Just adding in colors or groups doesn't necessarily improve the broth, and might consistently worsen it.
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A psychology professor (Jungian) warned a management class I was in: "You will be tempted to hire people who are like you. Resist this temptation; otherwise, you will all have the same blind spots and you will all happily walk off the cliff together." By "like you", he meant, specifically, in terms of your personality type.'
If you want people with different personality types and outlooks, there are a lot of things that matter beyond the obsessive focus with race, gender, and preferred sexual partners. Hire a 'diverse' group of Ivy League MBAs with 2-4 years experience at major consulting firms, then...no matter what he mix of black, white, Asian, men, women, etc, what you get will be...a group of Ivy League MBAs with 2-4 years experience at major consulting firms, with the kind of thinking process that such people usually have.
One in five Americans believe in anything.
@ Ganzir - I laughed at that. Solid point
Assistant Village Idiot: Sometimes their perspective as a member of those categories will add something to the group knowledge.
As business continues to globalize, diversity will become more and more important. This will no longer be competitive.
As David Foster pointed out, if you hire a group of 30-40 year olds who grew up and were educated in America and have an MBA, it doesn't matter what their combinations of melanin content or genitals are, you have hired a group of 30-40 year old Americans with MBAs, not a globally diverse group, or even a diverse group of Americans.
Christopher B: As David Foster pointed out, if you hire a group of 30-40 year olds who grew up and were educated in America and have an MBA, it doesn't matter what their combinations of melanin content or genitals are, you have hired a group of 30-40 year old Americans with MBAs, not a globally diverse group, or even a diverse group of Americans.
That is not correct. While they may share many traits and can be subject to blindness to things outside that shared experience, cultural diversity that accompanies differences in race and sex can inform business decisions. See link in previous comment. And here:
Shirley.
Zach...so to what extent do you think human behavior is a function of genetic inheritance controlled by their race and sex? Is the Diversity you seek by emphasizing these differences a function of inheritance, or of culture, in your view?
David Foster: so to what extent do you think human behavior is a function of genetic inheritance controlled by their race and sex?
In terms of human behavior, there is an interplay between inheritance and environment. However, we were referring to cultural experience. Christopher B was claiming that there is no difference of importance to business between the cultural experience of a white man and a black woman (much less an old white man and a young black woman). That wasn't true in 1970, and certainly isn't true now, regardless of their shared college experience.
As markets become more diverse, businesses have to become more diverse. Being proactive allows a business to position itself for the future.
Z, who has more in common in terms of 'cultural experience'...the white daughter of Clinton and the white daughter of a laid-off factory worker in the Midwest, or the white daughter of Clinton and the black daughter of Obama?
There are more things in heaven and on earth than fit conveniently into your classification scheme, Horatio.
David Foster: who has more in common in terms of 'cultural experience'...the white daughter of Clinton and the white daughter of a laid-off factory worker in the Midwest, or the white daughter of Clinton and the black daughter of Obama?
The white and black daughters share much in terms of privilege, but only Obama's daughter and her mother were subjected to continued racist abuse. Both mothers, and sometimes their daughters, were also subjected to misogynistic attacks. In other words, they share much, but also differ much.
Again, while a racially and sexually diverse group may share many traits and can be subject to blindness to things outside that shared experience, cultural diversity that accompanies differences in race and sexually are not insignificant. Diversity in race and sex are necessary but not sufficient to create a diverse workforce.
Seriously. Do you really think these people are the best at knowing how to market to women?
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/the-only-woman-photo-book-katharine-graham-snap/index.html
Zachriel:
In terms of human behavior, there is an interplay between inheritance and environment. However, we were referring to cultural experience. Christopher B was claiming that there is no difference of importance to business between the cultural experience of a white man and a black woman (much less an old white man and a young black woman). That wasn't true in 1970, and certainly isn't true now, regardless of their shared college experience.
To attempt to generalize the point that I think David and Christopher were trying to make: If you are trying to hire to maximize diversity of behavior and/or thought in your workers, it might be best to select individuals for the specific diverse characteristics you seek, rather than select individuals for group memberships that at best might be mushy derivatives of those specific diverse characteristics -- e.g., if you want gardeners, hire gardeners, rather than hiring Elbonians because you think Elbonians are likely to be gardeners.
Another reason to hate surveys. The organization sort of back-forms a Qanon identity by conflating answers on disconnected questions to their definition of what QAnon believes.
PRRI says, While followers of the QAnon movement claim a variety of different beliefs, the main threads of QAnon’s core theory are that a network of Satan-worshipping pedophiles control the government and media, and that a coming “storm” will sweep them out of power.
And then PRRI is at pains to link those three "beliefs" to media consumption (the more mainstream your media consumption is, the less likely you are to be dubbed a Qanon), religion, racial characteristics, location, etc.
But this is made up from their original declaration that Qanon has core beliefs. And at least one of the "core beliefs" is the whole Satan-worshipping pedophile thing (SWP for short), which is so strange a question to get on a questionnaire, I would be tempted to answer yes. (I have a quirky sense of humor.)
Then I found this article: https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/01/22/the-time-i-got-coffee-with-hollywood-satanists/
And I do wonder, do the folks at PRRI know any satanists? Or know anyone who knows a satanist? Or do they think that to believe there are satanists and SWPs is like believing in the tooth fairy?
There really should be the option to ask survey authors, do you mean literally satanists, metaphorically satanists, or people who call themselves satanists in an ironic fashion? And if a respondent believes they're pedophiles, but not satanists, do they mark mostly agree?
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