Feminists Attack Renowned Scientist Who Just Helped Land A Spacecraft On A Comet

Posted by khalling 9 years, 5 months ago to Culture
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SOURCE URL: http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/13/7213819/your-bowling-shirt-is-holding-back-progress


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  • Posted by DaveM49 9 years, 5 months ago
    Okay, let me get this straight. This guy is part of a team which just accomplished a huge scientific feat for the first time in history. And the only thing we are supposed to pay attention to is his SHIRT? These guys are lab rats--they have a long and proud geek tradition to live up to. Wouldn't surprise me if the last time this guy wore a suit was when he applied for his current job, if then.

    "I have a dream....that one day people will be judged, not by the color of their shirts, but by the contents of their character".
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  • Posted by $ nickursis 9 years, 5 months ago
    Oh, forgot.. maybe it was his lucky "landing on a comet" shirt, they probably would really be weirded out to know he hadn't changed out his lucky underwear from 10 years ago when they launched it....
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  • Posted by JCLanier 9 years, 5 months ago
    I agree with the well stated response of MikeM.

    Above and beyond ones freedom to wear (in this case this shirt) what one chooses, there are appropriate and inappropriate places/occasions where one needs to apply common sense or stated in other words, good manners: would you wear that shirt to church, to a funeral, to talk to your kid's teachers, to a job interview? Well, would you? It may be a cool shirt but good taste limits its use. As for the scientist, so smart... and yet so dumb.
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    • Posted by JCLanier 9 years, 5 months ago
      Mr. Vido:
      Decorum is never wrong.
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      • Posted by 9 years, 5 months ago
        nonsense. I will never bow to a monarch, for instance. Did Dr. Taylor in any way say something offensive or inappropriate? I remember when db took his first law job-downtown Chicago. He walked to the train station a few blocks away, took the train downtown. He then exited the station, walking 6-7 blocks over a bridge-yes, THAT bridge to get to his building. That year, a huge arctic snap had us in 2 digit below zero temperatures for two weeks. One day, he decided to wear a wool turtleneck instead of a dress suit and tie to work. He got to the office and shortly thereafter, a junior partner strolled in and asked him where his tie was. Now funny thing-db asked back-"where's yours?" He sputtered and stammered and said "you know I have a back problem and can't wear ties!" He stormed out. About 1/2 hour later a managing partner came in. "where's your tie, scooter?" and db's response-"where's yours?" you see, the managing partner had a girthy neck and always came into the office, removing his tie and jacket and rolled up his sleeves. The partner stormed into the sr. managing partner's office. This partner had been giving db the tough electrical and software patent cases to work on. He logged more hours than any associate. There was some discussion behind closed doors and no one ever bothered him again. One of the reasons we left the midwest and moved to the west was because decorum calcifies productivity in many cases. Db just wanted to be warm. Ask Apple, ask Google, ask Dr. Taylor
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        • Posted by JCLanier 9 years, 5 months ago
          What does unfairness or discrimination ( as in the example you quote above) have to do with decorum? A turtleneck instead of a tie is not on the same level as this originating thread.
          I do not think anyone that has proffered an opinion against the "shirt" is either overlooking the credits of the individual wearing it or is trying to establish a dress code. Trying to demean another's opinion, as seen in many comments in this thread by insinuating something never intended is disingenuous.

          While I am completely on the side of db, I remain contrary to the "shirt" debacle.
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    • Posted by vido 9 years, 5 months ago
      You obviously have never set foot in a research lab, you might want to consider that scientists do not care about what other people might think of their clothing, the only important thing is what they achieve.
      You are in no position to dictate a dressing code.
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      • Posted by $ MikeMarotta 9 years, 5 months ago
        "Experimental evidence indicates that women face a tax in the science careeer pipeline, which likely suppresses their numbers.z' -- http://orgtheory.wordpress.com/2012/09/2...

        “Females have made up nearly half of the science classes I’ve taken ever since [high school], right up through graduate school.” But although 40% of her peers are women only two of the grads and post docs who deliver seminars are women. “Here’s what really made me feel awful: I didn’t notice this lack of women speakers for over a year. … If I’ve interacted with women working in science across the world, across cultures, and religions, how could I fail to notice their absence right here at home?” SHE'S SUCH A GEEK in the Gulch here. http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/posts/2b...
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        • Posted by 9 years, 5 months ago
          and this study:
          "They find that lower grades lead to lower persistence, and that this effect is stronger for women. As it is generally true that STEM field departments are the most difficult grading departments at most colleges, this finding could also play a large role in the under-representation of women in STEM field majors, and their higher rates of attrition from the major following matriculation."
          http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/art...
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  • Posted by $ allosaur 9 years, 5 months ago
    I liked reading the part that a woman made the shirt.
    I thought about providing here the link that said Elly Prizeman; but when I saw what was to be seen, dino says to himself, "No, that could get my comment squished.
    See for yourself if you haven't already.
    It just proves that not all women are feminists while feminists think they are speaking for all women.
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  • Posted by Lucky 9 years, 5 months ago
    The shirt- it is offensive and the wearing of it is an aggressive act against any viewer and especially his sponsors showing contempt for other people now the wearer thinks he is famous. It is so bad that the pictures of women on it makes it neither better nor worse.
    Judge on his character, exactly, loud and crass.
    There may be appropriate occasions for that shirt so no blame can be put on the designer.
    The complaint about the shirt being sexist -or whatever the in-word is now- shows the complainer is also an attention seeker and is likely to have perceived and real inferiority.
    [any remarks about- bigger fools, shut up]
    There are women who discriminate against women- if this anecdote is data it may be evidence of inferior judgment of that type of person.
    " the old-fashioned gentleman’s insistence on protecting a woman from physical work and physical risk."
    This quote is wrong, the word 'woman' should be 'lady'. In the days of ladies and gentlemen, women's work was often dirty and dangerous. On a journey by carriage, the gentleman would assist the lady in and out but a servant woman would be strapped to an outside board.
    In my motor mechanic's office there is a new bookkeeper, there used to be the usual pics on the wall opposite and maybe embarrassing to a female bookkeeper, Now there are pics of male backsides. Have not worked out the correct response yet, could be either blushing or LOL.
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  • Posted by 9 years, 5 months ago
    look at all the cowardly downpointing of this post. say who you are.
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    • Posted by $ MikeMarotta 9 years, 5 months ago
      I stepped up. "Thumbs down for the lack of fact checking and the many problems with sexually objectifying women…" Perhaps the other people who disapproved did not want to be harassed, to have someone go through all their posts and downpoint them, as has happened. I get them occasionally, of course. We all do. The Gulch is not a freewheeling fandango of individualists. We have a common culture; and those who stray from the folkways are punished with disapproval. Look at this thread. If the topic post has gotten down votes; and if my post have gotten one or two ups, then, obviously, I am not the only one here who believes that the shirt was offensive. (I see JCLanier's post below.) However, no one else posts opinions in this thread. No one likes being harassed. And we will discuss "Gamer Gate" later.
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  • Posted by Herb7734 9 years, 5 months ago
    Focusing on the guy's shirt after such an astounding accomplishment should be cause for the woman to apologize. I hate that he apologized, but I don't care what he wears so long as he continues scientific progress.
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    • Posted by $ MikeMarotta 9 years, 5 months ago
      Do you care that he is a collectivist? We all salute scientific progress, from Sputnik to the Lunakhod to Mir. Now the Chinese are moving forward and starting to colonize space. I am happy enough, but I do have serious problems with their political system. We have Objectivist comrades working for NASA. That does not imply an endorsement for public funding of the projects. By contrast, we denounce Elon Musk, Jeff Bizos, George Soros and Bill Gates. Why not just cheer their achievements and ignore their political beliefs. Matt Taylor wore his beliefs on his shirt.
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      • Posted by 9 years, 5 months ago
        he's a sci-fi geek. Who knows what his politics are? If he becomes so influential that he begins to change government policy (like Musk, Gates, Soros, and Bizos) then we may look deeper. But right now, he was just whipped into submission by some mean ass dominatrix bitches who have an agenda
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  • Posted by $ jdg 9 years, 5 months ago
    Feminists being offended by the shirt are no surprise. Most of them will simply never understand normal male sexuality.

    The issue here is that a woman TV reporter considers the offense she takes to be the shirt-wearer's problem. That view needs to be laughed off the stage whenever it appears. Those who assert it need to be taught to take responsibility for their own feelings.

    Her boss should also have something to say about her walking away from news (while on-camera!) to harangue the guy about non-news.
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    • Posted by $ MikeMarotta 9 years, 5 months ago
      Cartoons of females with disproportionate features go back to the Paleolithic "Venus" figures. But we are not paleolithic creatures. The story of the Sabine Women demonstrates that rape can be a successful reproductive strategy. You cannot excuse that as "normal male sexuality" today, even if it was 2500 years ago.

      The story of Abraham and Isaac is not isolated, but common across the world. Sacrificing your children - especially the first born male - was supposed to bring favor from the gods. As for Sarah and Hagar, they did not get to write the books. If we are to leave the planet, we must leave quite a bit of our history here, and write a story.

      I do not find the cartoonish, disproportionate females attractive. I do question whether a bondage fetish is "normal" male sexuality.
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  • Posted by $ MikeMarotta 9 years, 5 months ago
    Thumbs down for the lack of fact checking and the many problems with sexually objectifying women, granted that everyone enjoys sex. First of all, Matt Taylor is just another physicist, not at all at "renowned scientist."

    Of course, we defend the freedoms of those with whom we disagree. Said Matt Taylor, "“Since early on in my career I have enjoyed working with groups or teams of scientists towards a common goal, encouraging them to work with one another and to support their activities." (His bio from the Rosetta Project here: http://rosetta.jpl.nasa.gov/matt-taylor)

    He is certainly free to wear the shirt on his time, especially when in the company of the woman who made it for him, or with anyone else, for that matter, but not at work. The shirt was totally inappropriate for just about any enterprise that I know of, and definitely out of bounds for NASA and the ESA. No sexually explicit clothing is appropriate.

    If the images had been men, they would have been no less insulting, demeaning, and inappropriate.

    It is especially disappointing to me to read approval for the objectification and sexualization of women on this site. In _Atlas Shrugged_ conservative looter Cuffy Meigs called Dagny Taggart "the little girl who's such a wizard at railroading." The two are causally related.

    That two women here, mimi and khalling, defend the shirt and its imagery as if that were asserting a rational romanticism is also deeply troubling.

    I am all in favor of sex. I would be happy to share links, images, stories or whatever else. But not in the workplace.

    Would you be so quick to defend him if he wore a shirt that said "Death to Atheists" or "Stop Global Warming Now"?
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    • Posted by wdg3rd 9 years, 5 months ago
      Mike, you really wouldn't approve of the tshirts I wore while working for Unisys back in the early 90s. The art was by the late great cartoonist Vaughn Bode. He drew great broads. Never a complaint from the female engineers and techs in San Jose and I had no reason to visit Berkeley to get the "popular" opinion.
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      • Posted by Snoogoo 9 years, 5 months ago
        Broads? Really? I wouldn't call myself a feminist, but I know where that word comes from and I don't think you would dare use it in my physical presence... I think Mike is promoting a little "think a little before you speak" which is always wise and logical.
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        • Posted by wdg3rd 9 years, 5 months ago
          :Broads" was Vaughn's title for the portfolio of art the tshirts were based on. I bought them from his widow and son at the 1984 World Science Fiction Convention. You might want to google Vaughn Bode. A fine artist, died too young. His son continues his legacy. (I'm also a fan of Damon Runyon, but you probably wouldn't approve his use of the term "dolls" either).
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      • Posted by $ MikeMarotta 9 years, 5 months ago
        Just because the victims do not complain does not mean that no harm was done. It is well known that he abused do not speak up against their attackers. Your assaults at Unisys went unchallenged. Unisys management also should have been held accountable. Again, we know for a fact that those who are insulted and assaulted often do not speak up or retaliate or seek legal redress in a court of law. The harms were done, nevertheless.
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        • Posted by $ jdg 9 years, 5 months ago
          Horse hockey. Hurt feelings aren't damage. Anyone offended by a shirt like this simply needs to grow up. The ridiculous federal regulations that define "sexual harassment" are both unconstitutional and morally wrong on their face.
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    • Posted by 9 years, 5 months ago
      http://sci.esa.int/rosetta/43058-mission...
      One of two scientists leading the entire rosetta team. He has been interviewed the entire week, answering questions related to the project. History will decide, but this accomplishment I found amazing. The shirt was in no way a political statement, but a vintage sci fi themed print. You probably say hula dancing girls on an hawaiian themed shirt was denigrating to women. Fess up, you 're offended by the ray guns the women were sporting. How urbane of you # styleoversubstance
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    • Posted by 9 years, 5 months ago
      oh brother. get over yourself
      from an O friend of mine:
      "The Verge" is owned by Ezra Klein's company, Vox Media. I am part of a boycott against Vox Media and Gawker Media because of all of their propaganda.

      It started because of something called "GamerGate." The media were saying that GamerGate was a group of nerdy misogynist shut-ins who played video games, who were trying to harass and bully women out of the video-game industry. At first I believed those accusations. But, when I looked into it, I learned that this was actually a smear spread by radical feminists -- there is no organized campaign to harass women out of the video-game industry. The smear campaign reminded me of how, after the Oklahoma City bombing, the media said that anyone critical of the Clinton administration was supportive of violent militias.

      Because Vox Media and Gawker Merdia were central to the smear campaign, I decided to join GamerGate's boycott against them.

      it's an orchestrated bullying campaign. that is all.
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      • Posted by $ MikeMarotta 9 years, 5 months ago
        We can discuss "Gamer Gate" in a separate thread. A lot needs to be said. You are literally correct: "there is no organized campaign to harass women out of the video-game industry." An organized campaign is not necessary because the prejudice, fear, and hatred run deep in many men.

        I "get" the shirt - and it would be OK at ComicCon, where it would be "e pluribus unum" just another one out of very many, male, female, and whatever else is in time and space. The shirt was inappropriate for the workplace, especially NASA, most especially when they were drawing news media to them.

        "The editors note that in 2001, “56% of bachelor degrees in science and engineering went to women, but women hold only 25 percent of jobs in science and engineering. More women than men are graduating in the sciences but a hostile job market and chilly graduate programs are keeping them from achieving their goals.” -- In the Gulch here: http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/posts/2b...
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        • Posted by vido 9 years, 5 months ago
          So there is some accounting on the proportion of females in science jobs ? You want to force women to do jobs they don't like, at the expense of men who work their ass off to have a chance to join the field ? Why should there be less jobs for men in a domain where they are obviously better than women ? This kind of cultural terrorism is how US is rapidly becoming a third rate country. Go ahead and proceed on the path of decadence.
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        • Posted by 9 years, 5 months ago
          In this particular case, I submit the feminist journalist had an agenda, one that is strikingly shared by the media companies which pay her to write articles. It is a weak woman indeed, who is so offended by iconic illustrations of 40s-60s sci-fi movies and book jackets, that she cowers in the corner and refuses to work in her chosen field of study. One of teams under the main project was indeed headed by a woman scientist. No, this journalist went out of her way to grab onto his spotlight and shine it on her "cause." First rate moocher.
          "...but a hostile job market and chilly graduate programs are keeping them from achieving their goals..." There is no evidence for this conclusion and frankly has no one considered the fact that many graduate students marry and have children? Anecdotal, perhaps, but if I was running a lab and a key member of my graduate team needs to take maternity leave during an important deadline-or I am looking to promote within my company an excellent female candidate who is clearly on the track to have 3 children over the next decade, it may affect my decision. It may be against the law, but facts are facts. Women accept jobs everyday when they are pregnant, do not disclose it to their employer until after they are hired and not only take maternity leave but often have difficulty giving 100% to their jobs while raising small children. It's a fact of life, unless they have a partner who is either stay at home dad or has a flexible schedule. Of course part of the feminist's agenda is make sure women remain in the workforce, even if there is a home life cost. and before you go off on me about that, I completely understand and admire working mothers' challenges. I was one. I am also not saying good old boy working environments don't exist. But a whole class of people are not being shamed out of working in science over the realities of working for a bad boss or two. That happens to EVERYONE.
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          • Posted by JCLanier 9 years, 5 months ago
            While your words sound correct, and represent a reality, underneath the reality that you reference courses a fundamental truth that women are penalized for having children...
            As if the men have nothing to do with this decision. That men carry on with their careers at the same time they are also fathers while the women are seen as secondary to their careers because they have taken time to have a child. Why does a father get to further his career while a mother has to put on hold her career? Why is one parent punished and the other rewarded or at least not demoted? Are these not fundamental discrepancies?
            Perhaps, because society still holds this stigma against women. Perhaps, because historically women were always paid less than men (even for the same job), therefore their job was the one to be jeopardized. Perhaps, because how you stated you think, that a woman in her child bearing years gets second consideration for an important position...
            MikeM has hit the nail on the head... thank you.

            Unfortunately, this thread started taking on a different life of its on and now is tending towards a completely different subject.

            The shirt could have had "f...k you" in various languages written all over it and my response, along with several others, would have been the same... no decorum, no manners. Period.

            I would like to see this scenario reversed: a woman wearing a shirt covered with naked bodies of men, exposed in all their glory... Maybe making a political speech, or a dean of some university, etc., or in the company of her husband/boyfriend... how many attacks would she have generated?
            As to the comments made in the gulch on "...women will never understand male sexuality..." Well, all I can say is you must have never had a real woman. And, furthermore, how many men understand a woman's sexuality- or does this not exist? " I think he protests too much" as Shakespeare would say.

            I am curious, though, to the strong, overt reaction that this thread caused. There is definitely reason to ponder just how far into Atlantis one can get with such elemental lack of respect.
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            • Posted by 9 years, 5 months ago
              well first of all, the women were not naked on the shirt.
              "As if the men have nothing to do with this decision. That men carry on with their careers at the same time they are also fathers while the women are seen as secondary to their careers because they have taken time to have a child. Why does a father get to further his career while a mother has to put on hold her career?"
              let's start with this biological fact: men cannot breastfeed. Women are highly empowered in the decision to have children. To say otherwise, well , is not real. everything is a risk and people make decisions on risks and on performance. However, if you have gaps in your career due to child bearing and rearing, that can affect your salary and job prospects. the answer is WORK FOR YOURSELF! not pass laws or shame people into coming down a few pegs to catch back with you. I do not have to defend every comment made on my post. As to your last statement: it is fraught with emotion and no fact. Give me an example. You "feel" your opinion rather than support it logically.
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              • Posted by JCLanier 9 years, 5 months ago
                No one is asking you to defend it.
                You comment on mine, I comment on yours... am I missing something?
                That is your choice. However, thank you for taking the time to do so.

                As far as support my comments, about the secondary role of women, history supports my declaration. Look at your grandmother, your mother, your sisters, your friends... Maybe you are one of the lucky ones and never witnessed this kind of discrimination.
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              • Posted by CircuitGuy 9 years, 5 months ago
                I agree with all of the above comments. To say people should have gaps in their careers and not lose earning power is to say that their counterparts (regardless of sex) who stayed in the workforce learned nothing on the job. This is absurd.

                Also, it would be hypocritical for me to condemn some moderate level of crassness among men of science.
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  • Posted by $ nickursis 9 years, 5 months ago
    This was an amazing feat, millions of miles away, landing on a tiny spec of mass, and some goobers are worried about his shirt? Really? The guy appears to be a little eccentric, his shirt is classic 50's sci fi artwork, he has tats all over his arm, so what? He is a member of a team that executed probably one of the most difficult space maneuvers you can imagine. Get off the shirt and go bother Hugh Hefner...
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    • Posted by $ MikeMarotta 9 years, 5 months ago
      Hugh Hefner's success was appropriate for the time and place. Bringing _Playboy_ to work is inappropriate. No one complained about Dr. Taylor's tattoos. Perhaps I missed something here, but did you post an essay here in The Gulch on the orbital mechanics of the feat?

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      • Posted by 9 years, 5 months ago
        why the ad hominem. I think it's pretty obvious that the mission is considered important in space science. It is the first time this has been done for instance, and took years to get it in position to even do. Only time will tell regarding the importance of the data they have collected in this first phase. Here is one of the project managers interviewed in 2010. Note her comments on having a family:
        http://rosetta.jpl.nasa.gov/news/claudia...
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  • Posted by johnpe1 9 years, 5 months ago
    I thought that europeans celebrated the difference
    between the genders, including shape, form, function
    and smell. does this shirt not celebrate differences? == j

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