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by sp332 3233 days ago
Quote from the original memo http://gizmodo.com/exclusive-heres-the-full-10-page-anti-div...

> I’m simply stating that the distribution of preferences and abilities of men and women differ in part due to biological causes and that these differences may explain why we don’t see equal representation of women in tech and leadership.
1 comments
turtleofdeath 3233 days ago
Right, and I get that your counterpoint is against the person above you. However, that doesn't change the context of Damore's argument, which is saying that interests may differ due to differences in cognitive ability and that the difference may help to explain the gender gap.

Those differences are well documented: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_differences_in_cognition

And a lot people are ignoring the context, instead pulling straw men out of the text to fight, rather than arguing the substance of the memo itself, context included.

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dragonwriter 3233 days ago
> And a lot people are ignoring the context, instead pulling straw men out of the text to fight,

If its pulled out of the text, it's (by definition) not a straw man.

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AnimalMuppet 3233 days ago
No, a straw man is something that looks like the other person's position, but isn't, and is easier to defeat in an argument.

Can you pull out of the text something that is not the author's actual position? Of course you can. It happens all the time.

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