zachwooddoughty

6 ms·

1.
by zachwooddoughty 9y ago
Of course all models are biased, but we can try to build models that minimize the types of bias we care most about. I think the so-called panic comes from the fact that more complicated algorithms are difficult for an untrained person to un
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by zachwooddoughty 9y ago
>> ProPublica labelled the algorithm as biased based primarily on the fact that it (correctly) labelled blacks as more likely than whites to re-offend (without using race as part of the predictor), and that blacks and whites have diff
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by zachwooddoughty 11y ago
I think the argument is that if people tend to "just be rude" to women more often than to men, then that is evidence of sexism. Even if there isn't a conscious reason for the rudeness. There clearly isn't any easy way to
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by zachwooddoughty 11y ago
While I empathize, anonymity makes moderation very hard. Most people I've talked to prefer the tradeoff of reduced anonymity for improved moderation. If you email me at zach@discoverboard.com I can set you up with a pre-verified accoun
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by zachwooddoughty 11y ago
You'll have to verify your phone number to sign up, which will make moderation more effective (hard to make an additional account after getting kicked out). If it grows and that isn't enough to keep it respectful, I will add a $1-
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by zachwooddoughty 11y ago
Plug: I'm launching Discoverboard.com for this in a couple weeks
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by zachwooddoughty 11y ago
Google cache: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:9UNd6-l...
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by zachwooddoughty 11y ago
Hi Sam -- do you think YC has a role or responsibility in addressing social issues in the bay area or the US?
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by zachwooddoughty 11y ago
From the article: >The offenses that landed them in solitary? Most often, it was evidence that they were "affiliated" with a prison gang, whether or not they had broken any rules. Solitary isn't being used as a last resort
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by zachwooddoughty 11y ago
Madison, WI has a cool version of this along a main bike path: http://www.spaceplace.wisc.edu/planettrek.htm
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Should police departments have standardized tests to assess racial prejudice?(discoverboard.com)
2 points by zachwooddoughty 11y ago|0 comments
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by zachwooddoughty 11y ago
I help run Discoverboard, which is a subscription-based discussion community (less of a new aggregator). It's been around for a few months. If you're interested, you can check it out: http://discoverboard.com/code&
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by zachwooddoughty 11y ago
Short-term efficacy is not zero efficacy. If the fish works to alleviate anemia for three months, it seems worthwhile to continue distributing the fish and to rally support for further research. Sure, this fish is probably getting too much
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by zachwooddoughty 11y ago
>Some people are in power, they are white This is the root of racial inequality in our justice system. No one is claiming that all white people are evil supervillians. But many white people don't comprehend the harsher reality peopl
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On Startups, Gentrification, and Getting Mugged in West Oakland(medium.com)
11 points by zachwooddoughty 11y ago|0 comments
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by zachwooddoughty 12y ago
That's not how I interpreted it, but I could see how that could have been what he meant. In that case, I do think staring can, in certain contexts, be considered harassment. I would hope that it could be solved by a conversation ala &q
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by zachwooddoughty 12y ago
Fair enough, but it seems her tweet is being supported by others' perspectives, which I think gives it weight. Twitter and Google+ seem like reasonable places to post a complaint you want to take public.
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by zachwooddoughty 12y ago
> whose definition of sexual harassment includes talking to a woman without her explicit permission. That's inaccurate. "Third wave radical feminism" is not a monolithic belief structure, and it certainly doesn't pres
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by zachwooddoughty 12y ago
I appreciate the perspective that we should make sure to be on the look-out for bias, but I don't think it's helpful in this particular instance. When your first response to a claim of harassment is "let's consider the b
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by zachwooddoughty 12y ago
> Was she in a thong, on the beach, after hours, after drinks, with her butt in his face when he said that? First, I don't see any evidence that this was the context for the remark, and it's turning the focus off of the comment
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by zachwooddoughty 12y ago
A compliment, when given by a superior about a subordinate's physical appearance, could be considered harassment. Here's a handy guide from The Guardian [1]. > could we consider overly sexy looks a form of harassment too? Proba
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by zachwooddoughty 12y ago
I'm not a fan of saying we should "take whatever she says with a grain of salt". It's casually dismissive of the entire situation. If you want to accuse her of having fabricated the entire story, do that and try to find
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by zachwooddoughty 12y ago
I disagree. 1. It's her experience, and she can equate those two experiences if she feels they should be. 2. Her experience with 'reading words on the internet' is indicative of a much wider culture of harassment against wome
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by zachwooddoughty 12y ago
While these are selected examples and personal experiences, they are indicative of a greater cultural norm that normalizes the harassment of women. By seeing what one woman has gone through, we can be more cognizant of what other women are
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by zachwooddoughty 12y ago
I think it's important to look at this as part of a more widespread issue than a few individuals expressing themselves inappropriately. When women are so ridiculously under-represented in the tech industry and are facing both explicit