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Can you explain your last paragraph further? Obviously saying you agree with something you never read is a bad idea. Since you haven't read it, you don't know h

Can you explain your last paragraph further? Obviously saying you agree with something you never read is a bad idea. Since you haven't read it, you don't know how bad it is, right? For all you know it could be Mein Kampf. Or it could just say your boss is an idiot, or that working at your company is a waste of time, etc. Especially as a knowledge worker, ideas you espouse at work could affect your employability, so you should know what they are before espousing them. We aren't a bunch of robots - our productivity is influenced by what our colleagues say.

angersock 9y ago
> We aren't a bunch of robots - our productivity is influenced by what our colleagues say. Indeed! That's why it's so concerning to some of us that our colleagues are apparently children who blindly parrot misinterpretations of source material and call for blood over their own fabricated outrage.
- xocyabencl 9y ago
  I think we're on the same page here - you shouldn't claim to know the content of something you never read.
conanbatt 9y ago
Godwin's law came fast on this one! A part of me is uninterested in reading it because I find other topics way more interesting. But a part of me also feels I can't read it. Because if I read it and I agree with it, I will have to balance honesty and integrity with oppression. All my life I held all my controversial opinions quite openly, but this was the first time I actually fear being controversial. I'm with Voltaire on this one: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.". A coworker can say something I disagree terribly with, that even could impact my life personally, and would consider it just the way people relate to each other, sometimes its not nice and thats it. "Moral outrage" on twitter is a ridiculous measure for progress or improvement over people's lifes. It does terrible damage in so many levels. And companies listening to that are just succumbing to their PR and legal department, not striving to an idealistic work environment. Google can be sued for not firing Damore!
- xocyabencl 9y ago
  Godwin's law exists because "something we both agree is wrong" is a useful north star in an argument. Edit: If someone makes a general claim like "nobody should be fired for agreeing with any text x", it makes sense to test that claim by putting an extreme value in for x.
  - conanbatt 9y ago
    Im not criticizing, if there is one thing the nazis did right was being a never ending example of what not to be/do. That said, I have not read Mein Kampf and its a similar situation. Is everything in that book ideological garbage? Maybe, maybe not. I actually dont know what its about! But trying to find that out in public can get you beat and people will clap in encouragement if that happened. Hell, I would be even afraid to google that book in amazon.
- ScottBurson 9y ago
  You should definitely read it and make up your own mind: https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3914586/Googles-Ideological-Echo-Chamber.pdf https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3914586/Googles-I...

angersock 9y ago

> We aren't a bunch of robots - our productivity is influenced by what our colleagues say. Indeed! That's why it's so concerning to some of us that our colleagues are apparently children who blindly parrot misinterpretations of source material and call for blood over their own fabricated outrage.

xocyabencl 9y ago
I think we're on the same page here - you shouldn't claim to know the content of something you never read.

conanbatt 9y ago

Godwin's law came fast on this one! A part of me is uninterested in reading it because I find other topics way more interesting. But a part of me also feels I can't read it. Because if I read it and I agree with it, I will have to balance honesty and integrity with oppression. All my life I held all my controversial opinions quite openly, but this was the first time I actually fear being controversial. I'm with Voltaire on this one: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.". A coworker can say something I disagree terribly with, that even could impact my life personally, and would consider it just the way people relate to each other, sometimes its not nice and thats it. "Moral outrage" on twitter is a ridiculous measure for progress or improvement over people's lifes. It does terrible damage in so many levels. And companies listening to that are just succumbing to their PR and legal department, not striving to an idealistic work environment. Google can be sued for not firing Damore!

xocyabencl 9y ago
Godwin's law exists because "something we both agree is wrong" is a useful north star in an argument. Edit: If someone makes a general claim like "nobody should be fired for agreeing with any text x", it makes sense to test that claim by putting an extreme value in for x.
- conanbatt 9y ago
  Im not criticizing, if there is one thing the nazis did right was being a never ending example of what not to be/do. That said, I have not read Mein Kampf and its a similar situation. Is everything in that book ideological garbage? Maybe, maybe not. I actually dont know what its about! But trying to find that out in public can get you beat and people will clap in encouragement if that happened. Hell, I would be even afraid to google that book in amazon.
ScottBurson 9y ago
You should definitely read it and make up your own mind: https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3914586/Googles-Ideological-Echo-Chamber.pdf https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3914586/Googles-I...