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But there are plenty of things that we only know anecdotally -- that one restaurant has bad service, or that line cooks smoke more than usual -- that no one get
by michael_fine 11y ago
But there are plenty of things that we only know anecdotally -- that one restaurant has bad service, or that line cooks smoke more than usual -- that no one gets up in arms about when we generalize in those cases. Formal studies are great when they exist, but in the absence of them it's only practical to extrapolate from incomplete data.
- icebraining 11y agoDoes being practical preclude it being racist as well? Also, is generalizing about whole continents ever "practical"?
- michael_fine 11y agoI was more addressing the implication that because it's racist, we shouldn't do it. And as to generalizing about entire continents, if your goal is to avoid getting mugged on a late night, and you know that on average black people commit more muggings than anyone else, is it not practical to walk to the other side of the street if you see a black man (and that's your only information?)