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Posted: Fri May 19, 2006 11:21 am
by RobertGonzalez
Hockey, I think we all appreciate your candor and your point of view, but some of this is getting borderline dangerous in terms of the content that is being posted. It doesn't take a genious to see that there are differences in ethnicities that might favor one nationality over another in one category over another. I think what gets people riled up is the labeling of an entire group of people, whether bad or good.
I don't think you have started a flamewar. In fact, I don't even think any of the members here would esteem you lower. I might concede, however, that some people may be offended or even upset, at the content of the discussion as you have presented it. Not so much with you personally, but the means in which it was conveyed.
As for me, as I said before, we all have opinions and a forum is the most likely place for opinions to be voiced. You have yours, I have mine and everyone else has theirs. This community excels because we can all come together, from various and differing backgrounds, and share with one another our opinions. I, personally, am not offended or upset at anything you post. But I think there may be a chance that others might be.
This is just my $0.02. I still like the boldness you present when you offer your side of things.
Posted: Fri May 19, 2006 11:31 am
by alex.barylski
Everah wrote:Hockey, I think we all appreciate your candor and your point of view, but some of this is getting borderline dangerous in terms of the content that is being posted. It doesn't take a genious to see that there are differences in ethnicities that might favor one nationality over another in one category over another. I think what gets people riled up is the labeling of an entire group of people, whether bad or good.
I don't think you have started a flamewar. In fact, I don't even think any of the members here would esteem you lower. I might concede, however, that some people may be offended or even upset, at the content of the discussion as you have presented it. Not so much with you personally, but the means in which it was conveyed.
As for me, as I said before, we all have opinions and a forum is the most likely place for opinions to be voiced. You have yours, I have mine and everyone else has theirs. This community excels because we can all come together, from various and differing backgrounds, and share with one another our opinions. I, personally, am not offended or upset at anything you post. But I think there may be a chance that others might be.
This is just my $0.02. I still like the boldness you present when you offer your side of things.
Your probably right...
I'll shutup now

Posted: Fri May 19, 2006 7:09 pm
by evilmonkey
YEAH, RUSSIANS RULE!
<< Is Russian.
On a serious note, what those spammers did is really not cool. =\
Posted: Fri May 19, 2006 7:34 pm
by alex.barylski
evilmonkey wrote:YEAH, RUSSIANS RULE!
<< Is Russian.
On a serious note, what those spammers did is really not cool. =\
I couldn't agree more...thankfully...I think he was a lone wolf...so hopefully...he's made his statement and will move on in life

Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 4:58 am
by GM
My girlfriend is Russian, and she doesn't mix well with computers... She can switch them on, and can find her favourite game (as long as it's on the C:\ drive), and that's about it. She keeps asking me to teach her some programming (so that she can do more with Excel

), but the moment I start: "Now, this is a
variable..." her eyes glaze over, and suddenly it becomes important for her to iron her socks, or hang the towels straight, or arrange her clothes into alphabetical order, or some other vital task.
Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 12:52 pm
by jdrietz
My wife is Bulgarian (ok, not quite Russian) and there is a large Bulgarian community in Silicon Valley - not surprisingly, many are involved with computers. It's not an ethnic thing, per say, but cultural. Under communism, education was hugely important, and to push economic development (and to compete with the West), engineering and sciences were pushed big time. Moreover, certain countries were given certain areas of specialty.
For example, Bulgaria was the "computer manufacturer." They had a large fab, and special schools right next door that trained people from high school on up to be computer engineers and programmers. During the Cold War, Bulgarians reveresed engineered the IBM mainframe and made their own version, and this became widely used throughout communist Europe. There is a historically footnote that is relevant, too, from a cultural perspective - John Atanasoff, the inventor of the first digital computer, was himself Bulgarian (though he grew up in the U.S.).
Anyway, these factors have pushed Bulgarians into the world of math and computers (another interesting note- the world champion in chess right now is Bulgarian, and the world champion in chess boxing**). I believe it is similar in Russia - I believe it is their educational system, and the cultural history that surrounds it.
**Chess boxing is a new sport in which the participants box for one round, and then play chess for 5 minutes.