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Is it like dark matter in cosmology? Except that here, "scientists" observe a social galaxy and note that it's round. According to their beliefs, the galaxy mus

by akomtu 4y ago

Is it like dark matter in cosmology? Except that here, "scientists" observe a social galaxy and note that it's round. According to their beliefs, the galaxy must be rectangular, so they had to postulate an invisible ubiquitous force that makes the galaxy round. They called this dark force many names: inequity, implicit bias, structural racism.

slowmovintarget 4y ago
I understand the analogy you're trying to make, but that particular one doesn't track. Dark matter is required by quantum mechanics. Sean Carroll had a great explanation of this in his Biggest Ideas in the Universe video series. The models of particle creation in the early universe require there to be something with the characteristics of a class of particles holding the label "dark matter." "Structural racism," "inequity," and "implicit bias" all mean very different things. Structural racism is where a society is deliberately constructed to be racist, as under Apartheid in South Africa. (It is otherwise nonsensically applied to current Western governments that employ capitalism as an economic system.) Inequity is the state of receiving disparate treatment. It can be caused by structural racism, by personal racism, or by empirical discrimination (person A is denied a mortgage because their income indicates they likely cannot afford to pay the loan back, whereas person B is granted the mortgage because their income indicates they likely can). Implicit bias is an actual psychological phenomenon where quirks in the way humans think affect their judgement. The classical example is to take two parallel line segments of equal length where the ends are lined up. On one segment draw arrowheads pointing outward, on the other, arrowheads pointing inward. When asked, humans will visually judge the line segment with arrowheads pointing inward as being longer than the one with arrowheads pointing outward [1]. Convincing yourself the line segments are of equal length requires measurement. That this occurs is true. That it is the great bugaboo of our times and the cause of inequity has a far more tenuous connection to reality. That these phrases are used as proxies for "bad" is the real problem. We can agree that structural racism is evil. Inequity occurs for the full spectrum of reasons, some immoral, some moral, some merely neutral and reasonable. Implicit bias simply is. The hard part is separating out acculturated bias (like racism) from implicit bias. One evaporates in the face differing environments. For example, children that grow up in integrated schools and integrated neighborhoods are far less likely to suffer from racist attitudes. The other is a cognitive feature that must be countered with measurement (empiricism) or rules (equally applied). Those attempting to use the terms as umbrella labels diminish our ability to talk about and address issues arising from them. It isn't a single dark force, and there isn't a giant conspiracy out to perpetuate all perceived societal ills. [1] https://cdn.psychologytoday.com/sites/default/files/styles/image-article_inline_full_caption/public/field_blog_entry_images/2019-10/effetto_ottico_3_.png?itok=ZduUW6JG https://cdn.psychologytoday.com/sites/default/files/styles/i...
- peanutcrisis 4y ago
  As laid out in the original post, there is currently no commonly agreed on definition of implicit bias, or if it even exists at all. As such, we can't reliably extrapolate the properties and effects of it, much less how it interacts with other aspects of reality.
- akomtu 4y ago
  Continuing my analogy with dark matter: 1. Inequity = the uneven distribution of matter along the radial axis of the galaxy. The scientists believe that density should be isotropic. 2. Implicit bias = the apparent tendency of stars to gravitate towards the galaxy core. The scientists believe that stars should be free to roam the galaxy space. 3. Structural racism = the spiral structure of the galaxy. The scientists believe that stars shouln't form any clumps like that. The obvious conclusion: since the reality disagrees with the model, something is deeply wrong with the reality. There is faction among these scientists that suggest to fix telescopes to fix the observed reality.

by akomtu 4y ago

slowmovintarget 4y ago

I understand the analogy you're trying to make, but that particular one doesn't track. Dark matter is required by quantum mechanics. Sean Carroll had a great explanation of this in his Biggest Ideas in the Universe video series. The models of particle creation in the early universe require there to be something with the characteristics of a class of particles holding the label "dark matter." "Structural racism," "inequity," and "implicit bias" all mean very different things. Structural racism is where a society is deliberately constructed to be racist, as under Apartheid in South Africa. (It is otherwise nonsensically applied to current Western governments that employ capitalism as an economic system.) Inequity is the state of receiving disparate treatment. It can be caused by structural racism, by personal racism, or by empirical discrimination (person A is denied a mortgage because their income indicates they likely cannot afford to pay the loan back, whereas person B is granted the mortgage because their income indicates they likely can). Implicit bias is an actual psychological phenomenon where quirks in the way humans think affect their judgement. The classical example is to take two parallel line segments of equal length where the ends are lined up. On one segment draw arrowheads pointing outward, on the other, arrowheads pointing inward. When asked, humans will visually judge the line segment with arrowheads pointing inward as being longer than the one with arrowheads pointing outward [1]. Convincing yourself the line segments are of equal length requires measurement. That this occurs is true. That it is the great bugaboo of our times and the cause of inequity has a far more tenuous connection to reality. That these phrases are used as proxies for "bad" is the real problem. We can agree that structural racism is evil. Inequity occurs for the full spectrum of reasons, some immoral, some moral, some merely neutral and reasonable. Implicit bias simply is. The hard part is separating out acculturated bias (like racism) from implicit bias. One evaporates in the face differing environments. For example, children that grow up in integrated schools and integrated neighborhoods are far less likely to suffer from racist attitudes. The other is a cognitive feature that must be countered with measurement (empiricism) or rules (equally applied). Those attempting to use the terms as umbrella labels diminish our ability to talk about and address issues arising from them. It isn't a single dark force, and there isn't a giant conspiracy out to perpetuate all perceived societal ills. [1] https://cdn.psychologytoday.com/sites/default/files/styles/image-article_inline_full_caption/public/field_blog_entry_images/2019-10/effetto_ottico_3_.png?itok=ZduUW6JG https://cdn.psychologytoday.com/sites/default/files/styles/i...

peanutcrisis 4y ago
As laid out in the original post, there is currently no commonly agreed on definition of implicit bias, or if it even exists at all. As such, we can't reliably extrapolate the properties and effects of it, much less how it interacts with other aspects of reality.
akomtu 4y ago
Continuing my analogy with dark matter: 1. Inequity = the uneven distribution of matter along the radial axis of the galaxy. The scientists believe that density should be isotropic. 2. Implicit bias = the apparent tendency of stars to gravitate towards the galaxy core. The scientists believe that stars should be free to roam the galaxy space. 3. Structural racism = the spiral structure of the galaxy. The scientists believe that stars shouln't form any clumps like that. The obvious conclusion: since the reality disagrees with the model, something is deeply wrong with the reality. There is faction among these scientists that suggest to fix telescopes to fix the observed reality.