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Notes -
The triumph of the blank slate
i recently was in a seminar discussing fixed versus growth mindsets, and it was argued that believing in any innate/genetic component of intelligence was connected to a 'fixed' mindset. we were discouraged from using the idea of 'talent' as it implied that some people were just naturally better at some things than others. it seems like a core part of the 'diversity, equity, and inclusion' mantra that is finding its way everywhere - the idea of innate difference is anathema to the principle behind caring about equity versus equality.
I want to take issue with the first part of this.
The quote from the Atlantic article is cherry-picked- Yes, it's dumb. Yes, the article used the silly "but gender and sex is a complex issue that isn't so cut and dry" gambit, but if you actually read the article, it's arguing (couched in progressive applause lights and signalling) that sports should have weight/size divisions rather than sex-based divisions, which I entirely agree with. Divisions based on physical attributes neatly sidesteps the transgender problem, it's more obviously fair, it would be fun to watch - it's a fantastic solution. We could split up divisions based on attributes that fit the sport- height or leg length for running, size and weight for football or boxing and so on. Large, muscular women would square off in the higher categories against men, while underweight men would compete against women their own size.
I read through a few comments, and no one seems to have clicked through to the source article and read it - everyone is just using the quote as a jumping-off point to bitch about their issues with modern academia or with those damn progressives that are ignoring biology.
EDIT: fixing some weird phrasing
Sounds kind of like arriving at the correct answer to a math problem through the wrong method.
I think they got to the correct answer by the correct method (it's fair, merit-based, avoids sex-related questions/trans stuff etc), and then tried to decorate the reasoning process with language that would make it palatable to their readers. Reading it gave me a bit of mental whiplash.
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