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EpsomHorse t1_iu93uga wrote

Reply to comment by rmphys in TIL that Richard Feynman, one of the greatest theoretical physicists ever, was rejected admission to Columbia University because of his Jewish ancestry and instead went to MIT. by icbm67

> And his students.

Who are we to judge the consensual activities that adults choose to partake in?

> He'd have been canned for sexual harassments almost instantly today

No he wouldn't. Even in the puritanical America of 2022, relationships with students are perfectly licit as long as you're not currently teaching them.

> The man was a menace to women in science

Nonsense. There hasn't been a single accusation against him for derailing someone's career, preventing them from getting scholarships, or any other abuse of power.

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HPmoni t1_iubxld8 wrote

Eh. James Franco's career isn't what it was a decade ago.

Women hate the power imbalance.

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VeryJoyfulHeart59 t1_iu9tt4g wrote

>There hasn't been a single accusation against him for derailing someone's career, preventing them from getting scholarships, or any other abuse of power.

Mr. Horse, this logic is so wrong.

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SoItWasYouAllAlong t1_iu9v01y wrote

It is weak evidence. However, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, weak evidence is still evidence.

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VeryJoyfulHeart59 t1_iu9wbki wrote

He was a bit before my time, but even in my day I wouldn't have even thought of complaining about such a thing. That's just the way it was.

Edit: typo (would should have been wouldn't)

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SoItWasYouAllAlong t1_iu9yx8v wrote

I can imagine that the practice of filing formal complaints didn't exist. But if Feynman was destroying people's careers, that should have been known to everyone the field. It would have been knowledge of vital importance to his colleagues, not just gossip interest.

Besides, "The man was a menace to women in science": now that is a claim that has not been substantiated in this thread.

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VeryJoyfulHeart59 t1_iua134g wrote

The thing is, it wasn't thought of as destroying a women's career. Those women just didn't build careers.

This is an extreme analogy, but it would be like saying that you destroyed your dog's career.

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SoItWasYouAllAlong t1_iua9lef wrote

Ok, but was the existence of these sexual relations at all correlated to the women's career outcomes? "Frisky Feynman was a menace to women in science", without concrete specifics to support it, sounds to me like the one making the claim doesn't realize that women like sex too. As far as I can tell, Feynman was very handsome and witty.

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