Situationism in the news thanks to the Berkeley professor who suggested moving out of the Bay Area as a dating strategy for heterosexual men

by philg

“UC Berkeley professor under fire for telling student to ‘get out’ of California’s Bay Area if they want a girlfriend” (New York Post):

“If you want a girlfriend, get out of the Bay Area. Almost everywhere else on the planet is better for that. I’m not kidding at all,” [Berkeley Computer Nerdism prof Jonathan Shewchuk] reportedly said, according to screenshots of the comment posted to social media.

“You’ll be shocked by the stark differences in behavior of women in places where women are plentiful versus their behavior within artillery distance of San Jose and San Francisco.”

The professor was highlighting Situationism:

… the theory that changes in human behavior are factors of the situation rather than the traits a person possesses. Behavior is believed to be influenced by external, situational factors rather than internal traits or motivations. Situationism therefore challenges the positions of trait theorists, such as Hans Eysenck or Raymond B. Cattell. This is an ongoing debate that has truth to both sides; psychologists are able to prove each of the view points through human experimentation.

The last part of the Wikipedia intro is interesting. It’s #Science and everyone collects a fat paycheck, mostly from taxpayers, but there are no answers!

CNN, 2015, “I have a fiancé, a girlfriend and two boyfriends”:

Miju Han lives in the Bay Area, works as a product manager and shares a charming apartment with her fiancé.

Here’s what makes her love story a bit different: She’s also in three other relationships. In addition to her fiancé, Han has been seeing a woman for two years (they recently said, “I love you”). She also dates two other men.

Han, 27, says she never quite colored inside the lines. She grew up in the South, was attracted to women and fascinated by programming. In 2010, she moved to the Bay Area and has since worked at several major tech companies.

Professor and Mrs. Shewchuk:

11 thoughts on “Situationism in the news thanks to the Berkeley professor who suggested moving out of the Bay Area as a dating strategy for heterosexual men”

  1. Noted in the last 20 years the prospect of infinite wealth & the rise of polyamory “in the name of fighting population decline” made dating a lot more of a waste of time than it used to be. Funny how social preferences require guys to be focused on their careers but the guys who were focused enough on their careers to move to Silicon Valley got a lifetime vacation with themselves. If you’re not happy with medeival customs, you’re not going to be dating anywhere in US though.

  2. Long-time Bay area resident, Nicole Shanahan (RFK, Jr’s running mate) is twice divorces before age 38.

  3. “Han, 27,… In 2010, she moved to the Bay Area and has since worked at several major tech companies.”

    Several lovers…several major tech companies. All before age 27. Who would hire this person…or date her (they, whatever)?

  4. Jonathan Shewchuk advice to his students to “get out” of the Bay Area if they want a girlfriend, if he made this comment 30 or even 20 years ago, he would not be under fire.

    And stories like the one about Miju Han is nothing new. They existed for ages in various forms. What’s new is the liberal media creating a sensational news out of such stories and legitimizing them. Once you go down this path, and it spreads as more and more folks accept it, society and with it, the nation will crumble.

  5. Maybe the pendulum will swing back after this ‘cultural revolution’
    Black community finally pushing back on the single mom epidemic:

  6. Off-topic but slightly related as its another story of computer nerds pissing women off since the 1970s…

    On Wednesday, the IEEE Computer Society announced to members that, after April 1, it would no longer accept papers that include a frequently used image of a 1972 Playboy model named Lena Forsén. The so-called “Lenna image,” (Forsén added an extra “n” to her name in her Playboy appearance to aid pronunciation) has been used in image processing research since 1973 and has attracted criticism for making some women feel unwelcome in the field.

    FURTHER READING
    Princeton researchers discover why AI become racist and sexist
    In an email from the IEEE Computer Society sent to members on Wednesday, Technical & Conference Activities Vice President Terry Benzel wrote, “IEEE’s diversity statement and supporting policies such as the IEEE Code of Ethics speak to IEEE’s commitment to promoting an including and equitable culture that welcomes all. In alignment with this culture and with respect to the wishes of the subject of the image, Lena Forsén, IEEE will no longer accept submitted papers which include the ‘Lena image.'”

    An uncropped version of the 512×512-pixel test image originally appeared as the centerfold picture for the December 1972 issue of Playboy Magazine. Usage of the Lenna image in image processing began in June or July 1973 when an assistant professor named Alexander Sawchuck and a graduate student at the University of Southern California Signal and Image Processing Institute scanned a square portion of the centerfold image with a primitive drum scanner, omitting nudity present in the original image. They scanned it for a colleague’s conference paper, and after that, others began to use the image as well.

    https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/03/playboy-image-from-1972-gets-ban-from-ieee-computer-journals/

    The photo is actually very nice.

  8. My experience with Berkeley women was totally different. Then again, it was in 1970.

    In that year, my Cornell fraternity sent me as a delegate to the national convention, held at the Berkeley chapter.

    Whereas Cornell, mostly East Coast, women, were generally reserved and standoffish, I was amazed at how incredibly laid back and friendly the California girls were. On a bus from the airport, for example, a pretty girl invited me to her place if I needed a place to change. And that was the general vibe.

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