Re:How the most popular Chrome extensions affect browser per...
by kazinator on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @10:15AM
(#23539379)
> Do you want peoples brain to subconsciously associate words like that?
A well-dressed man doesn't want an ink stain on his crisp white shirt, even if he's black.
When people get cavities, those are black spots on white enamel regardless of race.
Sorry, the white-substrate-black-stain metaphor isn't going to die any time soon.
Also, the absence of light looks black. Daylight will continue to be white and nighttime black; people will continue to stumble in the dark and be afraid, regardless of their skin color. Violent crime will continue to prefer the cloak of darkness.
Re:How the most popular Chrome extensions affect browser per...
by catalogia on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @10:44AM
(#23539697)
It seems likely that kids and some adults will always have an irrational fear of the dark, since thousands of years ago nocturnal tigers used to eat our ancestors. The light/dark association is probably baked into our DNA due to this selective pressure; it's an unfortunate coincidence that similar words can be used to describe skin tone.
Every word that is commonly or uncommonly used has a physiological impact on perception that is not directly measurable and causes biases. In this case, whitelist = white = allow = positive. Blacklist = black = block = negative. Do you want peoples brain to subconsciously associate words like that?
Instead if we use words like 'allowlist' and 'blocklist', it reduces the association with people's skin color/ethnicity and hence the hidden biases that we do not know are present. This stuff takes generations to fix.