The Generalization Trap

Twain Me

The prevailing story this week in adtech was the continuing discussion about the memo that got James Damore, an engineer at Google, fired for the views expressed in the piece.

There's been a lot of back and forth about this in my feed. Some feel that terminating an employee for their views is tantamount to censorship, and just aren't down with that. Others believe that Google also missed an opportunity to retrain the asset, and defuse the controversy. More people have contributed what it's like to be female in tech, and the sheer fatigue encountered from having to continually overcome stereotypes. There was also a strong piece from NPR that showed how enrollment in colleges for tech courses changed dramaticaly, on the diversity level, with just a few minor tweaks to how the course was marketed. (Note: no content changes, just titles.) Finally, there was talk about the strategies involved, the ensuing lawsuits, the media coverage, and so on.

What I've found to be the silver lining in the experience is that tech, unlike too many other parts of our world, is actually learning from the experience, and adding more information. That is, after all, what tech types do; challenge assumptions, gather more data, go where the math takes you. Rather than simply point at a problem and declare the other side to be unrealistic and/or malevolent, we default to the science.

Which makes me wonder why so many people who are willing to defend some of the points in the memo are, well, missing the forest for the trees. And here's that forest: when you generalize about a group, and you aren't a stand up comedian trying for easy laughs... you are pretty much setting yourself up for catastrophic failure.

I get why people *want* to make these generalizations, of course. It's shorthand for thinking, and thinking all the time is absolutely exhausting. Our minds want to rest from time to time, and maybe even more than that, and a generalization can put you at ease, and make the world seem simpler. Run into trouble on the roads? Generalize about the demographic of the person who offended you, rather than how you might be bringing your own problems to the table. Annoyed about your economic status compared to some other profession? Generalize about their moral or ethical culpability. Don't like your working environment because it pushes you out of your comfort zone? Generalize about hiring practices, class structures, and so on.

It's lazy thinking, if it's even thinking at all. And it's a mistake. Always, and especially in a professional or business environment.

Which makes my closing statement on the matter curious, because it's going to sound like I'm stepping in the same hole.

What people really hate, even more than generalizations?

Being told they are wrong.