3 ms·

Equity equalizes downward.

falcolas 4y ago
In this story, yes. In reality, it can be done in either direction. You can give a short person a step more easily than you can chop the legs off a tall person.
- prottog 4y ago
  In reality, the step has to come from somewhere.
  - falcolas 4y ago
    Well, it sure didn’t come from the tall guy’s legs.
    - prottog 4y ago
      In the end, the "step" (as a metaphor for production) comes from those who produce more to those who produce less, whether due to differences in ability, desire, or circumstance. It's redistribution. And it's entirely fair for you to argue that such redistribution is just, fair, or beneficial for society as a whole, but someone had to work for that step.
- inglor_cz 4y ago
  "You can give a short person a step more easily..." Once you get into the territory of cognitive abilities, it is the other way round. Making a dumb person smart is nigh impossible, while you can dull a bright intellect with all sorts of external interventions (various medications or drugs come to mind).
  - falcolas 4y ago
    Are people asking for that? I’ve never heard anybody ask for that. What I have heard people with mental disabilities ask for is accommodations. Don’t put someone who gets panic attacks on call. Let people take medications that helps them without stigmatizing it. Don't mock someone with Tourette’s syndrome when they have a vocal tick. Provide plenty of pto to those with chronic migraines. Small boxes like those help more than you might imagine.
    - antiquark 4y ago
      That's why some people want to cancel advanced math classes: https://nypost.com/2021/06/08/parents-panic-as-top-nyc-school-to-end-advanced-math-program/ https://nypost.com/2021/06/08/parents-panic-as-top-nyc-schoo... https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/06/04/california-math-class-detrack-race-equity/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/06/04/californ...
    - inglor_cz 4y ago
      "Don't force someone who isn't into maths to take advanced algebra," is perfectly OK with me. "Don't allow mathematically talented kids to take advanced algebra in the name of equity," is an attempt to re-create a classless society in school, and I hate the idea approximately as much as I hated my early years in late stage Czechoslovak Communist regime. Not least because there always is an elite class of ideological mandarins which makes itself exempt from the rules pushed on everyone else. We called it "the Nomenklatura" in the old Soviet Bloc: the list of privileged names. Once you are on it, you belong to modern nobility, the rest are peasants in better clothing. Also, what do you think about overdiagnosis of ADHD and consequent overprescription of Ritalin in the US? Might there be other ulterior motives than just money?

In this story, yes. In reality, it can be done in either direction. You can give a short person a step more easily than you can chop the legs off a tall person.

prottog 4y ago
In reality, the step has to come from somewhere.
- falcolas 4y ago
  Well, it sure didn’t come from the tall guy’s legs.
  - prottog 4y ago
    In the end, the "step" (as a metaphor for production) comes from those who produce more to those who produce less, whether due to differences in ability, desire, or circumstance. It's redistribution. And it's entirely fair for you to argue that such redistribution is just, fair, or beneficial for society as a whole, but someone had to work for that step.
inglor_cz 4y ago
"You can give a short person a step more easily..." Once you get into the territory of cognitive abilities, it is the other way round. Making a dumb person smart is nigh impossible, while you can dull a bright intellect with all sorts of external interventions (various medications or drugs come to mind).
- falcolas 4y ago
  Are people asking for that? I’ve never heard anybody ask for that. What I have heard people with mental disabilities ask for is accommodations. Don’t put someone who gets panic attacks on call. Let people take medications that helps them without stigmatizing it. Don't mock someone with Tourette’s syndrome when they have a vocal tick. Provide plenty of pto to those with chronic migraines. Small boxes like those help more than you might imagine.
  - antiquark 4y ago
    That's why some people want to cancel advanced math classes: https://nypost.com/2021/06/08/parents-panic-as-top-nyc-school-to-end-advanced-math-program/ https://nypost.com/2021/06/08/parents-panic-as-top-nyc-schoo... https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/06/04/california-math-class-detrack-race-equity/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/06/04/californ...
  - inglor_cz 4y ago
    "Don't force someone who isn't into maths to take advanced algebra," is perfectly OK with me. "Don't allow mathematically talented kids to take advanced algebra in the name of equity," is an attempt to re-create a classless society in school, and I hate the idea approximately as much as I hated my early years in late stage Czechoslovak Communist regime. Not least because there always is an elite class of ideological mandarins which makes itself exempt from the rules pushed on everyone else. We called it "the Nomenklatura" in the old Soviet Bloc: the list of privileged names. Once you are on it, you belong to modern nobility, the rest are peasants in better clothing. Also, what do you think about overdiagnosis of ADHD and consequent overprescription of Ritalin in the US? Might there be other ulterior motives than just money?