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Comment by kennywinker | Hacker News Reader

I'd just like to point out the last time Dave Winer weighed in on a similar topic: http://scripting.com/2013/08/19/whyArentThereMoreWomenProgra...

> Programming is a very modal activity. To be any good at it you have to focus. And be very patient. I imagine it's a lot like sitting in a blind waiting for a rabbit to show up so you can grab it and bring it home for dinner.

> There is specialization in our species. It seems pretty clear that programming as it exists today is a mostly male thing. Which also raises the obvious question that perhaps we can make it so that it can better-use the abilities of the other half of our species?

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"Here is how I came to my heartfelt conclusion: I have an intuitive understanding of what it is like to be a caveman, because of all my experience watching Captain Caveman on Cartoon Network. So I put myself in the place of a caveman, and think through what I would do in that situation. And what I would do is to sit quietly in a blind waiting for a rabbit to show up, which I would then grab and bring home for my cavewoman wife to cook me for dinner. I outright reject other people's ridiculous theories that the rabbit would act like Bugs Bunny and that I would act like Elmer Fudd. Therefore it follows logically from my extensive experience thinking through what it is like to be a caveman that this applies to every other human being on the planet, for all time. Therefore I will now describe how I think people should live their lives, if you will please bear with me."

This is probably pretty easy to label as sexism - not to jump to the author's defense again (I don't know him at all). I wouldn't say women can't program (they can, obviously) or do anything else males can, but there is definitely a different set of interests between males and females (generally speaking). I don't think its because of market manipulation or brainwashing, I just think the two sexes are wired differently (psychologically and physically). So, I don't know if his point is valid, but I do know that males and females have different traits (we don't need to be equal to be treated as equals, I guess).

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