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Comment by throwaway12245 | Hacker News Reader

Diversity of what? Thought? Height? Athletic ability? Age? Hair color? Education?

Skin color, the link is an article you know, not just a headline. It's requiring grant recipients to have a plan on how they will include more people of color in their research. It has to be real and specific as well, otherwise it would just be "bullshit" as one of the articles quoted advocates terms anything less serious.

Personally I think it's strange to force a rather arbitrary inclusivity metric into scientific research.

Let’s not forget IQ, people with low IQ are very marginalized in the field of physics and mathematics.

Seriously diversity is a mind virus at this point. North america is one the the most diverse, just equitable place that ever existed in the history of humanity.

Hey, I like diversity of thought. Wild ideas? Fuck yes. I don't really care about people's backgrounds that much. What good is diversity when everyone looks different but thinks alike?

It’s almost as if diversity initiatives are for the opposite reason.

Yes, these are all important elements of inclusion. For example, if only short people design energy equipment, tall people will hit their heads on it.

As a tall person I’ve been frustrated by tallism my entire life. I hit my head all the time. And then I’m mocked for slouching!

I wish there were more tall people that designed urinals and bathrooms. Only tall people will understand this.

When I redo the kitchen we’re going to put the cabinets higher because screw having some default countertop heigh when we could have something designed for us.

The next owners can redo it if they care.

The house I'm looking at buying has a deck, and I want to redo the stairs such that the steps are calibrated to the gait for people greater than 6' tall. You know what I mean ... steps that are "too short" can be literally painful to walk up.

"individuals from diverse backgrounds and groups historically underrepresented in the research community" according to https://science.osti.gov/grants/Applicant-and-Awardee-Resour... , so potentially any of those if you can make that argument, yes.

https://science.osti.gov/SW-DEI/DOE-Diversity-Equity-and-Inc... specifically includes "age, ... diversity of thought, technical expertise, and life experiences."

You won't be able to make that argument. It is pretty clear from the article which way the wind is blowing:

Still, Mason says, she’s encouraged by the initiative. “I’m an optimist,” she says. “I believe that the vast majority of physicists—even the vast majority of white male physicists—want a more diverse and representative community.”

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