Posted on 09/26/2016 8:12:47 AM PDT by pabianice
John Asher Johnson, a professor of astrophysics and astronomy at Harvard University, led a discussion about the lack of racial diversity in STEM academia and the need for national discussions of race and social power at his talk Friday in the Integrative Learning Center.
If Im worrying about where my next meal comes from, Im not trying to get telescope time. said Johnson during the talk.
The event titled The Language of Equity and Inclusion: Four Simple Words had about 35 people in attendance, leaving the majority of ILC S131 room empty. The discussion looked at some of the reasons that few black people are in the top astronomy departments in the country and how a lack of social power leads to a lack of options.
If your personal self worth is based on having out-performed other people on this even playing field, then youre being told actually there was a whole group of people you werent competing against because its not even. Thats going to really challenge their identity, said Johnson, explaining one reason he believes many white people in hard science fields do not want to consider race as a part of their success.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycollegian.com ...
More liberal excuses instead of solutions.
So, it’s White Astronomer privilege?
Berkeley.
There’s always an excuse...isn’t there? I used to buy into the excuses a little bit. But today, I am leaning towards lack of innate IQ in the majority of the bell shaped curve of that community.
many white people in hard science fields do not want to consider race as a part of their success.
As a STEM type myself, and as an ex full professor, the only filters we have in our profession are the math and science contents. There is nothing about race there.
If this professor wants more folks of a certain race in the profession, he can simply work to purge public schools of the “education major” idiots currently infesting them and get folks with real abilities in science/math/etc hired.
Sorry, but the correct solution to a differential equation does not involve race. For silly solutions without meaning, please go to your nearest liberal arts department.
Oh, as an aside, the African-Americans I know ALL have PhDs in subjects that would incinerate the small minds of Dorkbama the Muslim eunuch, his silly little wife, and most of the low IQ minions he has placed in office. My associates are smart, and they walked the walk. They do not need pushes from advocacy groups.
Even that can be largely an excuse.
People used to believe the true sciences and mathematics worthy of delving into not just because they might be found easy, but because they were inherently valuable. An IQ of 90 might have to work harder at it, but wisdom should tell both that person and the gifted or genius that science and mathematics are worthy things to know whatever is possible to know about.
I guess that’s why there are so many highly accomplished Asians in the sciences and engineering?
STEM is already very diverse, just look at the engineering or physics departments of any major university. South Asians, East Asians, South and East Europeans, Jews and even Muslims are represented in great numbers.
Only it doesn’t include blacks. So in our twisted political atmosphere of today, it means its not “diverse.”
For some reason it doesn’t seem “cool” for a modern African-American person to be a mathematician, a scientist, even a computer scientist.
I don’t know why. I have known African-Americans in engineering and they do a very, very decent job.
What we need is a “Professors Equity Federal Income Tax” bracket.
The tax rate on the income of Professors could be set quite high, perhaps in the 90% to 95% range, with the collected tax funds used exclusively to support the outrageous tuition fees that are not affordable by most blacks. This support would be strictly along racial lines. If you are not black or at least Muslim you need not apply.
Did the “Bell Curve” come up during the discussion?
You are correct. I forgot to mention "American" in my post. I know a few Nigerian engineers and doctors.
There were those who could handle the work and really excel. There were those who could do the work, but matched the "average" employee. And then there were those who could NOT do the work.
The demarcation line had more to do with the "attitude" of the institution(s) where they were educated than anything else. Those from "traditionally black" Catholic universities were typically in that top tier. Those from "traditionally black" secular universities typically filled the average and poor performer categories.
I had the misfortune to have a young man assigned to my group. He had a master's degree from a "traditionally black" secular school, but was in fact not able to even do high-school level work. But he was convinced that he could do masters level work and was "just being discriminated against", and it was "just the system" holding him back. Note...I wasn't his manager, just observing performance.
Must be referring to her...
He should move to San Jose, CA if he is concerned about “diversity” in STEM.
Johnson becomes and instant minority.
Back to astronomy, Prof.
So, let me see if I understand this correctly.
John Asher Johnson, a professor of astrophysics and astronomy at Harvard University, has revealed himself to be a bigot and a clueless idiot. Quite an accomplishment for an esteemed scientist.
Was I on target?
I took a semester of astronomy in college - never got any telescope time. You’ve got to be pretty high up in the program to do that.
There are other ways of learning astronomy besides looking through a telescope. In fact, most of what I learned was not in the lab, per se...a lot of math/physics, actually.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.