tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post5872880828190685599..comments2024-03-12T14:31:50.264-07:00Comments on Bits and Pieces: The Crimson on the Dean's RoleHarry Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17088418333536732728noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-89535462588196183132013-10-19T06:14:35.259-07:002013-10-19T06:14:35.259-07:00One other amusing point. The first year was the ro...One other amusing point. The first year was the roughest, not just because of the lack of gender control that led to the disproportion in Currier House. The Houses that already had distinct populations because of selection effects noticed the change the most. One House that had a reputation for quiet, studious types happened to get two blocks of party animals; that would not have been a big change from an average, but it was a big change from the decidedly non-random prior distribution! Suddenly Saturday nights were noisy.Harry Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17088418333536732728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-1643291822842231592013-10-19T06:08:34.102-07:002013-10-19T06:08:34.102-07:00We discussed that question, but there is another w...We discussed that question, but there is another wrinkle that may not be obvious and that makes this the right decision. The Houses cover 3 classes, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. So a third is replaced every year and the other two thirds persist. Because the numbers of each gender are large, a significant deviation from the average is noticeable immediately. Not so for the various minority groups (minority in the mathematical sense, including athletes, etc.). A one-year variation just mixes in with the remaining two classes and nobody notices, and it is almost certainly not going to recur. Even if there is a variation in the same direction two years running, there is no reason for it to persist, so no House gains a minority identity as used to happen.Harry Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17088418333536732728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-86928821050576128022013-10-19T05:29:37.880-07:002013-10-19T05:29:37.880-07:00Humans in general do not appreciate or trust rando...Humans in general do not appreciate or trust randomness. I'm reminded of "Fooled by Randomness" by Nassim Taleb (http://www.amazon.com/Fooled-Randomness-Hidden-Chance-Markets/dp/0812975219). It's a good read. I wasn't aware that you had recommended using randomness but then correcting for gender balance. Interesting idea, but is gender the only thing to correct for?<br /><br />(We had mixed-sex bathrooms in my MIT dorm back in 1983-1987, but only mixed-sex bedrooms only informally, when mutually consenting people swapped rooms de facto but not on paper.)<br /><br /><br />Simsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11386605583173227909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-59189353289443593562013-10-18T10:37:56.406-07:002013-10-18T10:37:56.406-07:00"I was told in pre-randomization days, for ex..."I was told in pre-randomization days, for example, that if a gay student wasn’t happy where he were living, it wasn’t really a problem, since he could always transfer to Adams House, which knew how to make people like that feel comfortable. No one would say such a thing today (about the residential system, at least)."<br /><br />Still trueish. Last year, it was the case that freshman entering the lottery had the option of requesting 'gender-neutral housing' in Adams, Cabot, Kirkland, Pfoho, or Quincy (the specific house was, of course, random), as those houses had more-relaxed mixed-sex rooming policies.<br /><br />http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic623420.files//Gender-Neutral.pdf<br /><br />Topically: "The pilot program comes in the wake of plans announced by [Dean Hammonds], to appoint a director of BGLTQ student life and to accept the recommendations of the BGLTQ Working Group..."Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06425182901548329436noreply@blogger.com