Life's Persistent Questions

Accountability

So some people are calling Laurance H. Summers, the president of Harvard, a sexist. I wonder if the school will hold him accountable for his statements. Probably not. But this just points to that as a public figure, or at least a private citizen with considerable visibility, there are too many opportunities to be mis-presented, or presented in an unfavorable light. Should Dr. Summers be held accountable, especially since he's the president of the foremost institute of higher learning in the U.S., which all of us will admit the last bastion of equality and policital correctness? If the president of the school's view contradicts the views of its majority members, should he or she be punished? Or is it his first admendment right? I would side with the latter.

Oh, by the way, I just heard somebody say last night on NPR, "women sometimes make better CIA field agents (when it comes to flipping foreign nationals for intelligence) because they tend to be more intuitive." Well, is that true? Can you say that? Of course you can, you hear it all the time, and people accept it as facts. But is that science? The last time I checked, the world series of poker never have any female finalists.

posted by hedgehog @ 12:10 PM