Grex Diversity Conference

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Grex Diversity Item 7: Classification
Entered by keesan on Thu Mar 19 21:35:52 UTC 1998:

How many ways can you think of to classify people, and how many do you think
would be necessary to specify one individual person out of the 6 billion or
so?  Let's start with the easy ones:  sex, sexual orientation, age, height,
weight, hair color, eye color, skin color, income, education, religion.
(Feel free but not obligated to classify yourself).  Is there any surefire
way to tell two people apart by such a scheme, other than mapping their DNA?
Is there some number of classifications that woudl give a 99% probability?

8 responses total.

#1 of 8 by keesan on Fri Mar 20 01:03:19 1998:

While waiting for people to find there way here, I will pretend I am filling
out various application forms, census forms, etc.
I will skip the first few items, they are too easy.
Income - self-employed (highly variable)
education - ABD, summer schools abroad, and life experiences, including
        building a house
religious affiliation - none
ethnicity - E. European Jewish-American, nonkosher
dietary preferences - mostly vegan
occupation - science translator, retired housepainter
hobbies - gardening, biking, reading, music, languages
languages translated - Slavic, Albanian, Romanian
languages studied - German, French, Latin, Greek, Hittite, Sanskrit...
computer hardware and software - Zenith PC clone, WP4.2, Procomm 2.4.2
own transportation? - yes, a bicycle
class - of 68; intellectual elite?;  alternative?;  working?
blood type - AB positive

What are the chances of two people answering this the same way?  Which items
could be left out and still make me unique (assuming chances are low)?

#2 of 8 by orinoco on Sat Mar 21 04:50:15 1998:

I was startled to see, as one of the 'personal information' questions on the
application for the SAT, the question "what percentage of your high school
class is of the same race as you?".  Is it just me, or is that verging on the
ridiculous?...

#3 of 8 by keesan on Mon Mar 23 00:03:13 1998:

Hi Orinoco, thanks for joining the conf.  That sure sounds ridiculous to me.
What do you think they are trying to learn from that question, maybe whether
you are a minority at your school?  What other personal questions were there?

#4 of 8 by raven on Tue Mar 24 01:43:19 1998:

I have to ask a meta question, what purpose is there in classifying people
other than to sort them by some hierarchical system?

#5 of 8 by keesan on Tue Mar 24 02:01:10 1998:

I think people like to classify themselves and other people, that is how
brains work (binary).  You are in or not in each of many categories.
There are all sorts of books in the library on how to tell if you are an
endomorph, mesomorph or ectomorph, whether in order to color yourself
beautiful you are one of four seasons, which of 6 communication styles you
have, etc.  People like to feel that they are part of a group, not a random
individual.  And they find it easier to understand other people as collections
of characteristics, which sort themselves into probably combinations such as
race, class, etc.  Stereotypes.

#6 of 8 by faile on Tue Mar 24 04:03:24 1998:

I tend to classify people by if I know them or not... and if I want to know
them or not.  If I know them, then I tend to put them into categories as to
where I know them from-- from school, or from Interlochen, or if they are
someone from school, is it from teh dorm, or from theater, or from the school
of music, or whatever....

#7 of 8 by xandrer on Thu Jan 25 11:37:39 2001:

i classify the people in:those which jus demand and those that do something.

#8 of 8 by keesan on Thu Jan 25 23:55:50 2001:

Which group are you in, and why?

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