6 ms·

You said it yourself... why does this even matter? Brains are all the same color (well for the most part anyway).

by bmaier 19y ago

curi 19y ago
I think it matters because it's a sign of a problem in black and latino cultures, if they create startups at a much lower rate.
- axod 19y ago
  Is that necessarily a problem? There are more black basketball players than white. Does that mean there is a problem in white cultures? People do what they want to do, and what they're good at.
  - curi 19y ago
    I think startups are a good thing, and cultures which highly value being productive are better. Also, what do you mean about people doing what they're good at? That seems to imply white people are genetically inferior at some sports, and black people genetically inferior at startups?
    - axod 19y ago
      You're saying white people can jump? ;) I was just saying I don't think it's a worthwhile idea to try and make everyone the same. We're not. Why aren't there as many women founders? Why should there necessarily be. Why aren't there as many male midwives as women... is that a problem? Sure if someone is actively preventing someone from doing something based on their race/gender/etc, then of course it should be solved if possible. I think the main thing is for people to grow up with self belief that they can do whatever they want to.
      - curi 19y ago
        There are less woman founders because our culture treats men and women differently. And in particular, it is more repressive of females, and cripples their ability to think more, especially in business and technical areas. This is definitely a big problem, and the lack of woman founders is a good signal to get us to look at the area and wonder what is being done to women to prevent them from being founders.
        axod 19y ago
        That's terribly wrong IMHO. Very wrong. I used to think similar thoughts until I had kids. Girls and boys are just into different things. From a very early age. They have vastly different interests. Their brains work differently. They have different strengths. The key thing is that it's not just due to surroundings/culture. It's due to how they are wired. The fact is, the probability that a male will 'do a startup' is going to be greater than the probability that a female will. Why try to blame that on society? Why try and change that?
        curi 19y ago
        I'm not trying to blame anyone, but I believe the truth of the matter is that it is caused by culture. I believe the truth is that boys are girls are not wired differently, and their brains do not work differently. One reason to question the notion of specialized hardware (brains) for boys and girls is the concept of universality. The easiest, by far, way to be able to do many computations, is to create a computer that can do all computations. Similarly, the easiest way by far to create a system capable of creating a variety of kinds of knowledge, is to create one capable of creating any knowledge. One reason to believe culture would be behind these kinds of differences is we know that our culture transmits vast quantities of knowledge to children. Far more information than is in DNA, just in terms of bits. But also in terms of importance. We also know our culture believes boys and girls are different, and treats people different for many reasons.
        axod 19y ago
        "I believe the truth is that boys are girls are not wired differently, and their brains do not work differently." Do you have children? A girl and a boy? I do. I can tell you categorically that they most definitely without a doubt are 'wired' differently. Regardless of what you do. Treat them absolutely identically. Even before they have outside influences. Before they start nursery/school. Before society/friends influence them. They act very differently indeed. I didn't get that before I had kids. I thought girls liked dolls because people give girls dolls. They don't. It's a reflex. It's how they're built. Just like boys love cars and doing outside stuff. I seriously don't know what else to say here if you think men and womens brains are identical and work the same.
      - jimbokun 19y ago
        "You're saying white people can jump? ;)" When this comes up, I always like to point to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIBA_World_Championship http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIBA_World_Championship Professionals started participating in 1994. Since then, the U.S.A. has won exactly once (in 1994). If you look at team photos of recent medalists, you will see many pigmentally challenged individuals (Spain, Greece, Argentina, Yugoslavia, etc.). Further anecdotes: the last three NBA MVP awards went to a white German guy (one time) and a white Canadian guy (two times).
    - DanielBMarkham 19y ago
      To recap this entire thread: This just in: boys and girls are different. Also -- the human brain naturally forms generic pattern responses based on little information. Almost every time these prejudices are counterproductive in modern social context, but evolution has wired humans this way. Later, we'll have breaking news that people actually have different abilities in different areas, and those abilities can be statistically related to random factors such as toenail size, skin color, or number of nose hairs. Expect massive protests to follow.
  - wumi 19y ago
    It is statements like this that validate my post. People do NOT always do what they want to do, and not necessarily what they're good at -- often times there are limitations and a lack of opportunity for innovation/ entrepreneurship. I've always believed entrepreneurship is possible -- but then again I've been raised in a University town, so a startup would not be extraordinary. But Camden, the poorest city in the US, (which also has the highest Puerto Rican concentration, at 37% of the population) and do you think a minority has the same chance of a startup? I'm not looking for controversy though, just continued (including your comment) intelligent discussion and maybe even potential solutions. YC News seems like a pretty smart crowd -- why not leverage that for thoughts, comments, suggestions and even complaints?
  - Tichy 19y ago
    It seems to indicate at least that something is odd, doesn't it? You would expect statistically the same percentages in sports as in the whole of society. I am just an outsider to this whole problem, not coming from the US. But some things I heard - like maybe for blacks the best shot at being admitted to college is the sports stipend? Just guessing... I seem to remember that there were so many black jazz and blues musicians because it was one of the few professions that was open to blacks (a bit similar to the jews all becoming money lenders, perhaps). So I don't know the actual causes, but if I was an outsider seeing this anomaly, I would at least investigate.
- Kaizyn 19y ago
  Blacks and Latinos percentage wise make up a smaller portion of the US population. What you need to find out is if blacks and latinos who each make up about 13% of the US population are starting up significantly fewer than 13% of the web startups.
mnemonicsloth 19y ago
You've got to be kidding me. It matters because there's more to living a life free of prejudice than just thinking you're too smart to be susceptible to it.
- bmaier 19y ago
  Thanks for the down mod... I wasn't saying I thought I and other entrepreneurs are too smart to be susceptible to it. I was getting at the idea that it shouldn't be used as a crutch.

You said it yourself... why does this even matter? Brains are all the same color (well for the most part anyway).

by bmaier 19y ago

You said it yourself... why does this even matter? Brains are all the same color (well for the most part anyway).

curi 19y ago

I think it matters because it's a sign of a problem in black and latino cultures, if they create startups at a much lower rate.

axod 19y ago
Is that necessarily a problem? There are more black basketball players than white. Does that mean there is a problem in white cultures? People do what they want to do, and what they're good at.
- curi 19y ago
  I think startups are a good thing, and cultures which highly value being productive are better. Also, what do you mean about people doing what they're good at? That seems to imply white people are genetically inferior at some sports, and black people genetically inferior at startups?
  - axod 19y ago
    You're saying white people can jump? ;) I was just saying I don't think it's a worthwhile idea to try and make everyone the same. We're not. Why aren't there as many women founders? Why should there necessarily be. Why aren't there as many male midwives as women... is that a problem? Sure if someone is actively preventing someone from doing something based on their race/gender/etc, then of course it should be solved if possible. I think the main thing is for people to grow up with self belief that they can do whatever they want to.
    - curi 19y ago
      There are less woman founders because our culture treats men and women differently. And in particular, it is more repressive of females, and cripples their ability to think more, especially in business and technical areas. This is definitely a big problem, and the lack of woman founders is a good signal to get us to look at the area and wonder what is being done to women to prevent them from being founders.
      - axod 19y ago
        That's terribly wrong IMHO. Very wrong. I used to think similar thoughts until I had kids. Girls and boys are just into different things. From a very early age. They have vastly different interests. Their brains work differently. They have different strengths. The key thing is that it's not just due to surroundings/culture. It's due to how they are wired. The fact is, the probability that a male will 'do a startup' is going to be greater than the probability that a female will. Why try to blame that on society? Why try and change that?
        curi 19y ago
        I'm not trying to blame anyone, but I believe the truth of the matter is that it is caused by culture. I believe the truth is that boys are girls are not wired differently, and their brains do not work differently. One reason to question the notion of specialized hardware (brains) for boys and girls is the concept of universality. The easiest, by far, way to be able to do many computations, is to create a computer that can do all computations. Similarly, the easiest way by far to create a system capable of creating a variety of kinds of knowledge, is to create one capable of creating any knowledge. One reason to believe culture would be behind these kinds of differences is we know that our culture transmits vast quantities of knowledge to children. Far more information than is in DNA, just in terms of bits. But also in terms of importance. We also know our culture believes boys and girls are different, and treats people different for many reasons.
        axod 19y ago
        "I believe the truth is that boys are girls are not wired differently, and their brains do not work differently." Do you have children? A girl and a boy? I do. I can tell you categorically that they most definitely without a doubt are 'wired' differently. Regardless of what you do. Treat them absolutely identically. Even before they have outside influences. Before they start nursery/school. Before society/friends influence them. They act very differently indeed. I didn't get that before I had kids. I thought girls liked dolls because people give girls dolls. They don't. It's a reflex. It's how they're built. Just like boys love cars and doing outside stuff. I seriously don't know what else to say here if you think men and womens brains are identical and work the same.
    - jimbokun 19y ago
      "You're saying white people can jump? ;)" When this comes up, I always like to point to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIBA_World_Championship http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIBA_World_Championship Professionals started participating in 1994. Since then, the U.S.A. has won exactly once (in 1994). If you look at team photos of recent medalists, you will see many pigmentally challenged individuals (Spain, Greece, Argentina, Yugoslavia, etc.). Further anecdotes: the last three NBA MVP awards went to a white German guy (one time) and a white Canadian guy (two times).
  - DanielBMarkham 19y ago
    To recap this entire thread: This just in: boys and girls are different. Also -- the human brain naturally forms generic pattern responses based on little information. Almost every time these prejudices are counterproductive in modern social context, but evolution has wired humans this way. Later, we'll have breaking news that people actually have different abilities in different areas, and those abilities can be statistically related to random factors such as toenail size, skin color, or number of nose hairs. Expect massive protests to follow.
- wumi 19y ago
  It is statements like this that validate my post. People do NOT always do what they want to do, and not necessarily what they're good at -- often times there are limitations and a lack of opportunity for innovation/ entrepreneurship. I've always believed entrepreneurship is possible -- but then again I've been raised in a University town, so a startup would not be extraordinary. But Camden, the poorest city in the US, (which also has the highest Puerto Rican concentration, at 37% of the population) and do you think a minority has the same chance of a startup? I'm not looking for controversy though, just continued (including your comment) intelligent discussion and maybe even potential solutions. YC News seems like a pretty smart crowd -- why not leverage that for thoughts, comments, suggestions and even complaints?
- Tichy 19y ago
  It seems to indicate at least that something is odd, doesn't it? You would expect statistically the same percentages in sports as in the whole of society. I am just an outsider to this whole problem, not coming from the US. But some things I heard - like maybe for blacks the best shot at being admitted to college is the sports stipend? Just guessing... I seem to remember that there were so many black jazz and blues musicians because it was one of the few professions that was open to blacks (a bit similar to the jews all becoming money lenders, perhaps). So I don't know the actual causes, but if I was an outsider seeing this anomaly, I would at least investigate.
Kaizyn 19y ago
Blacks and Latinos percentage wise make up a smaller portion of the US population. What you need to find out is if blacks and latinos who each make up about 13% of the US population are starting up significantly fewer than 13% of the web startups.

mnemonicsloth 19y ago

You've got to be kidding me. It matters because there's more to living a life free of prejudice than just thinking you're too smart to be susceptible to it.

bmaier 19y ago
Thanks for the down mod... I wasn't saying I thought I and other entrepreneurs are too smart to be susceptible to it. I was getting at the idea that it shouldn't be used as a crutch.