I’d like to start a 2nd thread here about gender, science and the equality dividend.

Prominent female physicists are still too rare. When you are dealing with a critic at Sabine’s level you can’t afford to worry about diversity & inclusion as she pulls no punches. So then what? https://twitter.com/skdh/status/1281895298403569664

Let me say it simply: there is an equality dividend. You’reso happy to have a critic of Sabine’s integrity willing to engage in public and keep the game to the science that you can’t afford to think about the optics of giving as good as you get. I will honor her by fighting back.

Some will say, “Wow. There are so few women in science and you pushed back hard. It ain’t what we need bro.” Sabine will not be among them however. I’ve known her for years and the lady just doesn’t give a shit about anything other than being fair and getting it right. That’s it.

So I really look forward to fighting this out when the time is right and trying to be as civil, fair & forceful as my colleague. But with a professional like @skdh, I can’t afford to take the optics of gender into account. I’ve got to focus on defending my work from a top critic.

The moral here is this: there has to be an equality dividend where the benefit for the traditionally dominant group (males in this case) of truly believing in the equality of gender means getting to simply ignore it. Yet the optics of true equality look like aggression to some!

As such, I will likely say things in technical discussion like I would with any male colleague: “You’re not getting it.” Or “That’s wrong.”

And the world may explode when that happens. Why? Because they don’t really deeply believe in equality and, truth be told, I really do.

In fact, if & when I can beat Sabine’s arguments, I’m taking a victory lap. I don’t know what they are since she didn’t share them, but I’ve butted heads with @skdh before and she’s quite a bit more than my equal here as she is an actual physicist unlike myself. So be forewarned.

And if you want to know why I am doing this in a second thread, it was because I simply forgot Sabine was female in the first thread. I just saw a colleague I admire critically referencing my work. Which is, in my opinion, exactly what I want my brain to do.

#EqualityDividend