what do you think of stereotypes?

[EnGorDiaz]

to me there stupid everyone is labeled or organised into a particular order?

what are your thoughts?

[Le-Froid]

I think they are kinda funny, I laugh at my own all the time. ( I don't take anything like that seriously )

[davidryder]

I think they generally have some truth to them, but shouldn't be used to definitely label someone or a group.

[joninkrakow]

Considering that they do tend to bear some semblance of truth, and considering that they tend to be used to avoid considering individuals for who/what they are, and are the basis of prejudging, I think that they tend to be far more destructive than harmless. Let me put it slightly differently. A stereotype allows you to not think of the situation, but to pigeonhole, and get out of the responsibility of considering the merits of a situation or person on its own merits.

I can easily share one stereotype from these forums that irritates me all the time to serve as my illustration.

Mac Users:
Mac users on this forum are far more grossly stereotyped than Windows users because the vast majority of Linux users come from Windows, and bear with them the double prejudice of both Windows and Linux users. The absolute mischaracterization of them is both far from the truth and shameful. The only "stereotype" that works on Mac users (particularly long-term Mac users) is that they are swimming against the current from the start, and are forced to put up with the prejudice and outright biases others throw at them.

The truth is, there is no "average" Mac user. Many are _very_ technologically savvy, quite a number barely know how to use a "computer" other than what they need to get on the web, send and read email and write a letter. Many are rich, many more are poor, scrounging around, being bottom feeders--typically because they appreciate the quality of Apple hardware and Mac software) Many are the creative type, working in creative industries, yet many are also number-crunchers, or lawyers or preachers or parents, or students. Mac users cover the same broad spectrum that PC users do, and probably a broader spectrum than Linux users. ;-) However, they do share one characteristic with Linux users--they are swimming upstream, as I said, and putting up with a lot of abuse because of it. Which leads me to my next point...

What I find sad is how Linux users also bash on Mac users, despite the fact that we (speaking as both a Mac and Linux user) are very similar in most ways. The major difference is that Mac users are used to paying a premium for good quality. In this case, it's not so much that they are "opposed" to OSS, but so far have yet to be convinced of the benefits. IMO, instead of beating the dead horse of stereotypes, the Linux crowd would do itself a great favor in courting the Mac crowd--in particular, Mac developers. The Mac developer community is full of highly talented and creative developers--many of whom have a great mind for design. If you want an example, check out some apps like TextMate, or Nisus Writer, or Be-Light software

TextMate (http://micromates.com)
Nisus Writer Pro (http://www.nisus.com/pro/)
BeLight Software (http://www.belightsoft.com)

Rather than use your stereotype to dismiss others, overcome your tendency to stereotype others, and embrace. ;-)

And yes, I fight against stereotyping in my own life every day. And no, it's never easy, but try it. ;-)

-Jon

[frankleeee]

The question is to vague, but overall; stereotyping is not accurate in any quantifiable way, it is based on assumptions, and learned social constructs, and includes unconscious drives. This is just a small amount of the reasons that stereotyping is inaccurate and possibly hinders cognitive development.

[mentallaxative]

Your poll is a bit too black and white for me.

Many people associate stereotypes with something that is bad, though I regard them as quite useful at times and definitely necessary if people are to go about their day normally. In a world without stereotypes, people would have to process the situations they find themselves in separately, without drawing on past knowledge--which would be very taxing for our minds.

Think of stereotypes as cognitive shortcuts; they are useful, but don't overly rely on them when you are presented with more information that invalidates them.

[zxscooby]

Those Stereotypes, they are all the same.
When I see one walking towards me, I cross to
the other side of the street (..they will rob you ya know).

[uberdonkey5]

like it or not, we ALL stereotype things. (Normal) life is impossible without classification.

I did quite a lot of work on (plant) classification in the past. All classifications are inaccurate, and what is vitally important is choosing WHAT to classify people on, and realise it is this that forms the categories. For example, we could say 'linux users are more computer literate than windows users'. However we could also say 'computer science students are more computer literate than non students'. There are so many characteristics in which to categorise people. We have to understand that the results we get are a function of the characteristics we are using to classify the objects.

Classification helps to make generalisations for decision making. For example, you can say that if there needs to be investment to reduce poverty, a place like zimbabwe or nigeria would be a good place to start because people are poor there. However, there are obviously some individuals in these countries who are far richer than anyone on this ubuntu forum. Thus there are always people who unfairly benefit or loose out if we apply classifications without common sense. This isn't the problem of the classification, it is the way the classification is interpreted.

For example, in most countries, men earn more than women. But what does this mean? It usually means that the mean (average) wage of men is higher. However the mean is completely inappropriate to use statistically, because the distribution is skewed (i.e. there are many more poor people than very rich people). The median wage is better. Not only this, but what purpose does this result serve? Women tend to be less mobile than men, reducing their competitive ability in the market, and they work less hours (indeed one study in the uk showed that men earn less per hour than women, though I am a bit suspect about this). Now, I am not saying women are not discriminated against in certain circumstances, but just saying 'women should get paid more' is not useful. People should be treated as individuals (well, thats what we believe in western society), and thus on their individual merits. Classification can help with decision making (like, when I go to a furniture shop, I go to the section marked 'chairs' if I want something to sit on, though I could just as easily buy tables or small beds to sit on instead), however its limits should be understood.

P.S. when my parents lived in Malaya, they adopted a dog because it would bite all the Malaysian people, but not foreigners. Apparently when it was pregnant it had been kicked in the stomach by a Malaysian and lost its puppies. So animals are also prejudice*

*PP.S this is a generalisation, inferring that all animals can be prejudice based only on 1 anecdotal event.

ok, well, basically words are always insufficient to transfer understanding accurately if there is no common understanding of the protocol behind what is being said. When I say 'nigerians are poorer than british people' I obviously mean on average, and it is a generalisation. If the listener doesn't understand this, the protocol has to be explained better.

[uberdonkey5]

Your poll is a bit too black and white for me.

Many people associate stereotypes with something that is bad, though I regard them as quite useful at times and definitely necessary if people are to go about their day normally. In a world without stereotypes, people would have to process the situations they find themselves in separately, without drawing on past knowledge--which would be very taxing for our minds.

Think of stereotypes as cognitive shortcuts; they are useful, but don't overly rely on them when you are presented with more information that invalidates them.

hmmm, I am disgraced at your unpolitical correctness, you should have written...

"A large number of people, probably more than half, though I cannot be sure, of people associate stereotypes with something that is bad, though I regard many of them (though not sure if all of them) as somewhere in between useful and possibly not useful, at certain times, and almost definately (within my limited understanding of the universe, and at this stage in my life) necessary, if (I presume) most people are to go about their day normally (considering that normality varies between people, but that there is a core sense of what would be considered acceptable, by many people)....

[DrMega]

Stereotypes can be amusing when used among freinds, who know that you're are joking, and deliberately playing up to known stereotypes even though you don't really believe them.

For example, I sometimes pick on my little sister for being a goth. I make jokes about devil worshippers and the like. She knows that I have no interest at all in whether or not someone is a goth, and that I don't really believe that goths are devil worshippers. She knows that even if they were I wouldn't care either way, and she knows that I'm simply using a stereotype to wind her up.

I wouldn't apply stereotypes to someone who I didn't know well though. If someone doesn't know me very well, they may not realise that I'm just pulling their leg, and they may be offended, so I wouldn't do it.

[CouchMaster]

This is a stereotypical question from a stereotypical stereotype.

[davidryder]

If stereotypes didn't hold any truth, they wouldn't exist. There are of course unfounded ones created to distill fear or prejudice in others but I think those are pretty obvious and easy to dismiss.

[DrMega]

If stereotypes didn't hold any truth, they wouldn't exist. There are of course unfounded ones created to distill fear or prejudice in others but I think those are pretty obvious and easy to dismiss.

I can't agree with this. Most stereotypes arise from one of two things. Either a very small minority of people that are not representative of the larger group draw a lot more attention to themselves than many others in the group, and so create an impression of the larger group based on their actions. The other source of stereotypes is entirely political, where either heavily biased or blatently incorrect information is distributed in order for a particular political group to convery a message that suits them.

If we take a couple of examples, the first scenario, where all youths that wear hooded tops are lying, cheating, violent muggers. What's happened there is that a small minority of youths that actually are lying, cheating, violent muggers have created the stereotype for all youths that follow the hooded top fashion.

There are loads of examples from the second scenario, but I can't give any here because we're not allowed to discuss politics.

[zxscooby]

If we take a couple of examples, the first scenario, where all youths that wear hooded tops are lying, cheating, violent muggers. What's happened there is that a small minority of youths that actually are lying, cheating, violent muggers have created the stereotype for all youths that follow the hooded top fashion.

The youths who are following the hooded top fashion are trying to look like hoodlums.These whippersnappers think its cool to look like a thug these days.
GET OFF MY LAWN!! :o

I admit , I am guilty of stereotyping. I know its wrong but its kinda hard not to. I try to be impartial and base my opinions of individuals on what I have personally observed, its just that certain traits tend to show up in the majority of most classifications of people, that is what makes one group different from the other. Its the negative stereotypes that
are based on fear or ignorance that I don't like.

[mentallaxative]

hmmm, I am disgraced at your unpolitical correctness, you should have written...

"A large number of people, probably more than half, though I cannot be sure, of people associate stereotypes with something that is bad, though I regard many of them (though not sure if all of them) as somewhere in between useful and possibly not useful, at certain times, and almost definately (within my limited understanding of the universe, and at this stage in my life) necessary, if (I presume) most people are to go about their day normally (considering that normality varies between people, but that there is a core sense of what would be considered acceptable, by many people)....

Yes, but look how cumbersome your writing is. Don't people read between the lines anymore? :(

[lisati]

Coping with stereotype is more three-dimensional than monotypes. There are competing style - Dolby Digital Stereotype is but one example.

[barbedsaber]

Gday mate, here is ozstralia, we stongly approve of sterotypes, now, im gunna hitch me a ride on that kangaroo there, to me local pub, to get me a pint of beer.

I hate stereotypes.

[davidryder]

People who are capable of looking past the surface of one's skin are far less sensitive about these types of subjects. IMO

[davidryder]

I can't agree with this. Most stereotypes arise from one of two things. Either a very small minority of people that are not representative of the larger group draw a lot more attention to themselves than many others in the group, and so create an impression of the larger group based on their actions. The other source of stereotypes is entirely political, where either heavily biased or blatently incorrect information is distributed in order for a particular political group to convery a message that suits them.

If we take a couple of examples, the first scenario, where all youths that wear hooded tops are lying, cheating, violent muggers. What's happened there is that a small minority of youths that actually are lying, cheating, violent muggers have created the stereotype for all youths that follow the hooded top fashion.

There are loads of examples from the second scenario, but I can't give any here because we're not allowed to discuss politics.

As I said though there are two types of stereotypes: ones that have a certain amount of truth to them and ones that are used to instill fear or hate in people. They don't have to have a negative connotation either.


A stereotype (from Greek: stereo + týpos = "solid impression") is a generalized perception of first impressions: behaviors presumed by a group of people judging with the eyes/criticizing ones outer appearance (or a population in general) to be associated with another specific group. Stereotypes, therefore, can instigate prejudice and false assumptions about entire groups of people, including the members of different ethnic groups, social classes, religious orders, the opposite sex, etc. A stereotype can be a conventional and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image, based on the assumption that there are attributes that members of the "other group" have in common. Stereotypes are sometimes formed by a previous illusory correlation, a false association between two variables that are loosely correlated if correlated at all. Though generally viewed as negative perceptions, stereotypes may be either positive or negative in tone.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotype

[Corfy]

All generalizations are false.
:lolflag: