Re:Egoless Mathematics in the AI Era
by joe_the_user on Monday November 02, 2026 @07:21PM
(#50346257)
I think that if you had hiring policies that allowed people not to worry about whether they got credit for an achievement, you'd have people significantly more OK with transitioning to an "egoless" approach.
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How would the hiring committees decide who to hire if not based on achievements? Flip a coin?
Re:Egoless Mathematics in the AI Era
by neutronicus on Tuesday November 03, 2026 @06:24AM
(#50350631)
Racial bias
I think at some point flipping a coin can actually be a good idea for this sort of problem, and there's some researchers/employers who agree. It might actually be more fair than trying to find differences, actually more often than not introducing bias, when there's a lot of competition for a spot/job. Just put the top 5, top 10% or top 20% of those who fulfil a set of requirements in a raffle.
I've always found the colleagues that were less focused on credit, recognition, awards made better colleagues. Fundamentally it's about who you'd rather be holding you in high regard - people who've worked with you or people reading your LinkedIn profile.
If you're in a field with fierce competition the ones who focus on credit/recognition/awards get some sort of boost above their actual potential. Meanwhile those who don't will get punished and the ones who end up doing well despite it just had better natural aptitude on top of having more pleasant characteristics. It's some sort of Berkson’s paradox.
Yes, they are better colleagues. They do not get promotions, pay raise or any other recognition or reward from management. Even from colleagues who hold them in high regards, they do not get praise on meetings as much either.
However, people with ego end up being praised more, in front of bosses or others, because people want to be on their good side. And that makes them look better, they end up promoted and seen as higher performers.