Successful groups are diverse. If groups become gratuitously homogeneous there arises a lack of variance in approach. This lack of variance:
- Reduces ability to catch errors. Linus: "given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow". But this does not work if everyone looks at things in the same way.
- Makes it easier for undesirable decision cascades to form: One or two people have an idea, and the other members in the group copy their decision, because they always agree. Smart well-weighted decisions are the product of disagreement.
- Stifles innovation. Do you really want your tech company to be all Stanford graduates? Where everyone knows the exact same algorithms, because they sat in the exact same classes, by the exact same professors for decades?
- Is inefficient in regards to Pareto optimality: It is impossible to hire someone that knows all. Hiring for diverse skill sets comes close. Hiring people with homogeneous skill sets is an expensive uphill battle, that relies on small random mutations.
- Reduces the motivation of your top performers. The really desirable job candidates don't always like working in a drone factory, where everybody dresses the same, there is no challenging of their ideas, and, for instance, women all have inferior roles.
Agreed, but it seems to me that, in the context of our industry, race and gender diversity is way less important than the other kinds of diversity(ex. age, industry background, type of personality).
leakydropout|8 years ago
- Reduces ability to catch errors. Linus: "given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow". But this does not work if everyone looks at things in the same way.
- Makes it easier for undesirable decision cascades to form: One or two people have an idea, and the other members in the group copy their decision, because they always agree. Smart well-weighted decisions are the product of disagreement.
- Stifles innovation. Do you really want your tech company to be all Stanford graduates? Where everyone knows the exact same algorithms, because they sat in the exact same classes, by the exact same professors for decades?
- Is inefficient in regards to Pareto optimality: It is impossible to hire someone that knows all. Hiring for diverse skill sets comes close. Hiring people with homogeneous skill sets is an expensive uphill battle, that relies on small random mutations.
- Reduces the motivation of your top performers. The really desirable job candidates don't always like working in a drone factory, where everybody dresses the same, there is no challenging of their ideas, and, for instance, women all have inferior roles.
taway_1212|8 years ago