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Since there has been a couple of comment already about how the people in the pictures are clearly not PhDs but cleaners (because they're not caucasian, I suppos

Since there has been a couple of comment already about how the people in the pictures are clearly not PhDs but cleaners (because they're not caucasian, I suppose), I took 15 seconds to look up "NASA Gustavo Costa", first name mentioned in the article: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gustavo_Costa16 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gustavo_Costa16

matt4077 8y ago
Thank you. It’s terrible to see how little it takes to expose the seedy underbelly of even this community. It’s even more discouraging to think how far we have come from the times where, among the favorite lore, was the story of JFK asking someone sweeping the floor at NASA “and what do you do?”, with him replying “I send men to the moon”. (Edit: you probably need to change your settings if you want to see what we’re reacting to.)
- belorn 8y ago
  The seedy underbelly of the perma banned accounts. They are nor more part of this community than bots are.
  - krapp 8y ago
    The tech community appears to be experiencing a political and intellectual shift towards the embrace of anti-progressive and so-called "racial realist" ideology. To dismiss all such comments as trolls or to pretend that banning comments and accounts somehow excises intolerant and prejudiced views from the culture would be a mistake.
roenxi 8y ago
Which is really quite a baffling perspective. A stereotype/joke I was told while young: if you see a scruffy, probably homeless, person near a good university you should first check to see if they are part of the Math faculty before making any further assumptions. It is not possible to gauge intelligence or academic credential by visual inspection, unless someone is wearing an academic gown. Some very accomplished people positively seem to enjoy looking disheveled.
- matt4077 8y ago
  It’s one of the remaining interesting parts of “signaling theory” that the super-elite now commonly uses shabby looks to prove that they have nothing left to prove. Only mediocrity needs a suit to be taken seriously.
  - humanrebar 8y ago
    Suits are basically uniforms. Sometimes literally. Having a strict dress code isn't a sign of status in my book.
    - danmaz74 8y ago
      One data point: it makes me think first of all about salespeople.
- magic-chicken 8y ago
  It may be a little evil... but your comment reminded me of this online quiz that makes you try to classify pictures in two categories, prof or hobo... It turns out I'm not really good at it. https://www.proforhobo.com/ https://www.proforhobo.com/
- cenal 8y ago
  Some very broke people borrow money so they can look well dressed. Appearances can be deceiving.
- phkahler 8y ago
  >> Some very accomplished people positively seem to enjoy looking disheveled. Can confirm. A friend of mine has been consulting now for over 15 years. He's an excellent engineer with some valuable specialization. Met him after work for dinner and he shows up in crappy jeans and sandals. "Why are you dressed like that, didn't you just come from a client site?" "It's part of the uniform." Apparently IDGAF is a signal in more ways than I thought. In this case it shows that you are good enough not to need to conform - and he's right. I do wonder weather dressing better but finding another way to signal value might take him up a notch, but I honestly couldn't say.
belorn 8y ago
I find it a bit interesting that people only see the non-caucasians. If I load the full picture it looks like a typical "diversity arranged" image with representatives of each demographic. It is exactly 50/50 women and men, with what look like one or two from every continent.
kbutler 8y ago
I'm not sure that it's the visual appearance (loved the prof-or-hobo page!), I think it's the behavior. Do you think standing around holding signs is an effective tactic? Is that what you would do if you were directly impacted by the shutdown? Note that Gustavo Costa was interviewed "on a cold morning in his quiet living room" and the unnamed scientist spoke "by phone on the way to a job interview." I didn't see the article claiming they spoke to anyone pictured, and yes, those were very well-balanced race/gender/age diversity photos. Even had a couple of grey-haired white guys.

matt4077 8y ago

Thank you. It’s terrible to see how little it takes to expose the seedy underbelly of even this community. It’s even more discouraging to think how far we have come from the times where, among the favorite lore, was the story of JFK asking someone sweeping the floor at NASA “and what do you do?”, with him replying “I send men to the moon”. (Edit: you probably need to change your settings if you want to see what we’re reacting to.)

belorn 8y ago
The seedy underbelly of the perma banned accounts. They are nor more part of this community than bots are.
- krapp 8y ago
  The tech community appears to be experiencing a political and intellectual shift towards the embrace of anti-progressive and so-called "racial realist" ideology. To dismiss all such comments as trolls or to pretend that banning comments and accounts somehow excises intolerant and prejudiced views from the culture would be a mistake.

roenxi 8y ago

Which is really quite a baffling perspective. A stereotype/joke I was told while young: if you see a scruffy, probably homeless, person near a good university you should first check to see if they are part of the Math faculty before making any further assumptions. It is not possible to gauge intelligence or academic credential by visual inspection, unless someone is wearing an academic gown. Some very accomplished people positively seem to enjoy looking disheveled.

matt4077 8y ago
It’s one of the remaining interesting parts of “signaling theory” that the super-elite now commonly uses shabby looks to prove that they have nothing left to prove. Only mediocrity needs a suit to be taken seriously.
- humanrebar 8y ago
  Suits are basically uniforms. Sometimes literally. Having a strict dress code isn't a sign of status in my book.
  - danmaz74 8y ago
    One data point: it makes me think first of all about salespeople.
magic-chicken 8y ago
It may be a little evil... but your comment reminded me of this online quiz that makes you try to classify pictures in two categories, prof or hobo... It turns out I'm not really good at it. https://www.proforhobo.com/ https://www.proforhobo.com/
cenal 8y ago
Some very broke people borrow money so they can look well dressed. Appearances can be deceiving.
phkahler 8y ago
>> Some very accomplished people positively seem to enjoy looking disheveled. Can confirm. A friend of mine has been consulting now for over 15 years. He's an excellent engineer with some valuable specialization. Met him after work for dinner and he shows up in crappy jeans and sandals. "Why are you dressed like that, didn't you just come from a client site?" "It's part of the uniform." Apparently IDGAF is a signal in more ways than I thought. In this case it shows that you are good enough not to need to conform - and he's right. I do wonder weather dressing better but finding another way to signal value might take him up a notch, but I honestly couldn't say.

belorn 8y ago

I find it a bit interesting that people only see the non-caucasians. If I load the full picture it looks like a typical "diversity arranged" image with representatives of each demographic. It is exactly 50/50 women and men, with what look like one or two from every continent.

kbutler 8y ago

I'm not sure that it's the visual appearance (loved the prof-or-hobo page!), I think it's the behavior. Do you think standing around holding signs is an effective tactic? Is that what you would do if you were directly impacted by the shutdown? Note that Gustavo Costa was interviewed "on a cold morning in his quiet living room" and the unnamed scientist spoke "by phone on the way to a job interview." I didn't see the article claiming they spoke to anyone pictured, and yes, those were very well-balanced race/gender/age diversity photos. Even had a couple of grey-haired white guys.