You may want to check out Braver Angels - a nonpartisan US group committed to teaching us how to engage in civil civic dialogue again. I’ve take the social media courses and participate in several debates (including one in a few hours on free speech on college campuses); the debates are designed to preclude personal attacks and force ‘meaningful’ conversation. They help us overcome our worst instincts and move toward our best intentions.
I'm particularly interested, Becky, in how organisations can 'bake in' diverse perspectives to strategic decision making. I'm working with an organisation right now where the board missed something fundamental that a particular portion of their workforce could easily have challenged them on ---- and it's resulted in a LOT of adverse public attention.
DEI is a huge thing here! I’m on a BoD as the 2nd woman with 9 middle-to-old aged white men. Most of us understand the power of diversity (not just race or sex) but a couple don’t. BoD members must listen outside their bubble, regardless of how diverse it is.
This isn't the place to have this lengthier conversation, but a board of a health organisation said to me, "We think we're pretty diverse". I said, "Are you? Let's take a look"
There were equal numbers men and women, true. But, all were Caucasian. All were over 45. More than half had graduated from the same university in the same handful of years - in medicine. All but one had 'day jobs' at the pinnacles of various organisations headquartered within 5kms of the organisation's head office.
All wonderful people, I might add, but there weren't easily able to bring 'challenger' views into the room.
BOOM! A power packed 5MSM this week Andrew. I can see myself going down a long and interesting rabbit warren today! Thanks as always for your great mindset!
Do you think a program like Grammarly enables people to better understand the grammar they're using correctly? Does it give them any more power with the language they're using to communicate their ideas?
Good question Therese. I look at my son, and his generation, who use auto-correct, and voice-to-text for almost everything, irrespective of Grammarly. My prediction is that, like slide rules & log tables, having to 'know your own' grammar and forms of expression will be a thing of the past. It's just another social progression ---- there are LOTS of things that my grandfather could do, that I can't: light a fire from scratch, slaughter an animal for food, darn a sock. They're no longer necessary.
Yes, but I can't help thinking we don't know when we might, collectively need those skills again, and so many of us can't light a fire, or understand the reasons for particular grammatical forms, or use the Times tables, or make things. I feel as if we are de-skilling ourselves and that's not an appropriate adaptation, it's a serious collective loss of skill!
Memory techniques, mental arithmetic, map reading, handwriting, and now spelling and grammar, are rapidly becoming lost arts.
...
This is supposedly freeing up the human brain for more "creative" thinking, but I've seen no evidence whatsoever that this is happening.
...
But in a dumbed-down, infantilised and self-loathing West, this is probably no concern - at least so long as Chinese, Indians, and East Europeans continue to do whatever brain work needs doing.
I'll let Thomas Sowell answer all this "diversity" drivel.
....
"Can you cite one speck of hard evidence of the benefits of "diversity" that we have heard gushed about for years? Evidence of its harm can be seen — written in blood — from Iraq to India, from Serbia to Sudan, from Fiji to the Philippines. It is scary how easily so many people can be brainwashed by sheer repetition of a word." Thomas Sowell.
...
If anything, China is demonstrating that "homogeneity is strength".
...
Moreover, the only form of diversity that might actually make a difference, viz. diversity of opinion, is the one that is emphatically not tolerated anywhere in the West, where woke/PC "orthodoxy" is rammed down everybody's throat as incontrovertible fact in schools, universities and even workplaces without any time, let alone equal time, being given to contrary views.
...
In fact, to express a contrary opinion is career and social suicide.
If you don't believe me *and* if you have the courage of your convictions, then I challenge you right now to publicly state that men and women are fundamentally different.
I would be really curious to see how you got on.
I would be especially curious to see where citing facts got you.
I believe we're in a society, Steve, where BOTH similarity and difference are prized, at the same time.
I was working with an Aboriginal organisation a while back, talking about access to health care. I said, "Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people essentially need the same things". Everyone in the room loudly agreed with me. Then, I said, "And, Aboriginal people have distinct and specific healthcare needs, requiring different, and very specific approaches". Again, they loudly agreed with me. Which view is correct?
I appreciate the contrarian view you present, though, and wouldn't want to shut it down, even though I disagree with you on this.
You may want to check out Braver Angels - a nonpartisan US group committed to teaching us how to engage in civil civic dialogue again. I’ve take the social media courses and participate in several debates (including one in a few hours on free speech on college campuses); the debates are designed to preclude personal attacks and force ‘meaningful’ conversation. They help us overcome our worst instincts and move toward our best intentions.
I'm particularly interested, Becky, in how organisations can 'bake in' diverse perspectives to strategic decision making. I'm working with an organisation right now where the board missed something fundamental that a particular portion of their workforce could easily have challenged them on ---- and it's resulted in a LOT of adverse public attention.
DEI is a huge thing here! I’m on a BoD as the 2nd woman with 9 middle-to-old aged white men. Most of us understand the power of diversity (not just race or sex) but a couple don’t. BoD members must listen outside their bubble, regardless of how diverse it is.
This isn't the place to have this lengthier conversation, but a board of a health organisation said to me, "We think we're pretty diverse". I said, "Are you? Let's take a look"
There were equal numbers men and women, true. But, all were Caucasian. All were over 45. More than half had graduated from the same university in the same handful of years - in medicine. All but one had 'day jobs' at the pinnacles of various organisations headquartered within 5kms of the organisation's head office.
All wonderful people, I might add, but there weren't easily able to bring 'challenger' views into the room.
Diversity is a complex topic.
I always enjoy and get something out of your 5MSM, thanks Andrew. Fascinating vignette about the Human Library
Yes, but did you also use slide rules??
Haha …. We just missed those …
BOOM! A power packed 5MSM this week Andrew. I can see myself going down a long and interesting rabbit warren today! Thanks as always for your great mindset!
Do you think a program like Grammarly enables people to better understand the grammar they're using correctly? Does it give them any more power with the language they're using to communicate their ideas?
Good question Therese. I look at my son, and his generation, who use auto-correct, and voice-to-text for almost everything, irrespective of Grammarly. My prediction is that, like slide rules & log tables, having to 'know your own' grammar and forms of expression will be a thing of the past. It's just another social progression ---- there are LOTS of things that my grandfather could do, that I can't: light a fire from scratch, slaughter an animal for food, darn a sock. They're no longer necessary.
Yes, but I can't help thinking we don't know when we might, collectively need those skills again, and so many of us can't light a fire, or understand the reasons for particular grammatical forms, or use the Times tables, or make things. I feel as if we are de-skilling ourselves and that's not an appropriate adaptation, it's a serious collective loss of skill!
Steve Canty
School children using tools like Grammarly?
...
Memory techniques, mental arithmetic, map reading, handwriting, and now spelling and grammar, are rapidly becoming lost arts.
...
This is supposedly freeing up the human brain for more "creative" thinking, but I've seen no evidence whatsoever that this is happening.
...
But in a dumbed-down, infantilised and self-loathing West, this is probably no concern - at least so long as Chinese, Indians, and East Europeans continue to do whatever brain work needs doing.
I'll let Thomas Sowell answer all this "diversity" drivel.
....
"Can you cite one speck of hard evidence of the benefits of "diversity" that we have heard gushed about for years? Evidence of its harm can be seen — written in blood — from Iraq to India, from Serbia to Sudan, from Fiji to the Philippines. It is scary how easily so many people can be brainwashed by sheer repetition of a word." Thomas Sowell.
...
If anything, China is demonstrating that "homogeneity is strength".
...
Moreover, the only form of diversity that might actually make a difference, viz. diversity of opinion, is the one that is emphatically not tolerated anywhere in the West, where woke/PC "orthodoxy" is rammed down everybody's throat as incontrovertible fact in schools, universities and even workplaces without any time, let alone equal time, being given to contrary views.
...
In fact, to express a contrary opinion is career and social suicide.
If you don't believe me *and* if you have the courage of your convictions, then I challenge you right now to publicly state that men and women are fundamentally different.
I would be really curious to see how you got on.
I would be especially curious to see where citing facts got you.
I believe we're in a society, Steve, where BOTH similarity and difference are prized, at the same time.
I was working with an Aboriginal organisation a while back, talking about access to health care. I said, "Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people essentially need the same things". Everyone in the room loudly agreed with me. Then, I said, "And, Aboriginal people have distinct and specific healthcare needs, requiring different, and very specific approaches". Again, they loudly agreed with me. Which view is correct?
I appreciate the contrarian view you present, though, and wouldn't want to shut it down, even though I disagree with you on this.