Xiao Ma
Xiao Ma
Aug 8, 2017 · 1 min read

The Google employee said, “Many of these differences are small and there’s significant overlap between men and women, so you can’t say anything about an individual given these population level distributions”. I think you and many people do not get this point so that some are even offended by someone’s stating “these population level distributions”. While the existence of some of the distributions are subject to scientific debate, you have to admit some do exist. Stating a statistical characteristic of a group does not mean applying it to any individual of the group. These statistical characteristics are often subject to misinterpretation. Some apply an adverse characteristic to individuals of a group resulting in discrimination. Yet some others in the group apply it to themselves and are offended. Nonetheless, we shouldn’t deny the existence of the statistical differences and should consciously avoid applying it to any individual. For example, statistically, Group A has a lower percentage getting college degree than the general population. When a member of Group A comes to interview or is considered for promotion, any decision should be solely based on the qualifications of the individual but not the statistics. A member of Group A may feel uncomfortable or even offended when someone says less people in Group A have a college degree. However, he or she should not assume people think him or her are less likely to have a college degree; nor should he or she deny the statistics. The whole point is to not apply statistics to others or to oneself while admitting the statistics exist.

    Xiao Ma

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    Xiao Ma