[commandlinefan]

The theory behind this mindset is: you're either born smart, or you're born stupid, and there's really not much you can do (i.e. education) to change that. The people born stupid get dull, repetitive jobs, the people born smart get to work at exciting places like Tesla. This sort of eugenicist thinking is frowned upon in most contexts, but somehow seems to have taken a foothold in, of all places, software development.

[dang]

"Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith."

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

It may not have been the most substantive comment, but you've grossly overinterpreted it in an uncharitable direction.

[thethethethe]

I don’t disagree with your point on eugenics, however, I don’t believe it is the mindset that backs the practice of hiring people without degrees

I think it is more a rejection of traditional academic institutions as the arbiter of merit. It is a shift towards a more “pure” meritocracy where all that matters is your ability to deliver. Whether this is good or bad, I am not sure. I think it depends on how society treats people are aren’t able to deliver to the same degree, and currently, in the US at least, those people get thrown to the wayside

[friendlybus]

You can make smart people less intelligent.

[anthonypasq]

believing there is variation in human intelligence isnt eugenics lol

[thethethethe]

That’s not what parent is saying. Yes there is likely a an innate variance in human intelligence, but we can’t believe this is the sole reason why society considers people to be “intelligent” or “stupid”. Many people with lower IQs and academic performance would perform differently when raised in a different environment. People who are of lower socioeconomic status often times perform worse than wealthier counterparts. People in of lower socioeconomic status are often in that situation because they have been systematically oppressed. So saying that people are either born stupid or smart without acknowledging societal and environmental factors is essentially saying that poor people are poor because they are stupid, which is certainly eugenicist.

[anthonypasq]

So you are mad at people misusing the word intelligence?

[thethethethe]

This is an oversimplification of my argument and a leading question. Do you disagree with my argument? If so, why?