Timing and the Power of Repetition

Each time the subject of Diversity in Tech surfaces in the jumbled mass of opinions called the Internet (it’s like clockwork: every couple months or so, something particularly incendiary emerges and the HN comments devolve into the same spiral of accusations and entitlement around the same damned topic), I take a deep breath, skim the first few paragraphs of the article or comments on the thread, and prepare to sigh at the same points being trotted out again like seasonal decorations.

This isn’t a post about my views on the topic. This is a post about realizing that this repetition is, in spite of my disdain, valuable after all.

Not just because it’s useful to “increase awareness” or “maintain the conversation”; by rehashing an argument, the chances are increased that someone will be reminded of something when they need it most.

In other words, through the various stages (and mini-stages, mini-phases, and so on in decreasing order of duration) of life, your susceptibility to a particular argument may change. And Important Life Lessons are even better when re-impressed upon you in one of those susceptible periods in your life. Just because the third, fourth, and fifth times you read about something you’re inclined to roll your eyes, doesn’t mean that the sixth time can’t ring especially true.

This was a roundabout way of saying: Hey, there was a great article in the Atlantic last month titled “The Confidence Gap”. Take a look; I think you’ll like it.

Let me know what you think on Twitter.