I assume by now that most people have heard of the “Google Memo Guy,” the guy who worked for Google, wrote an internal memo titled “Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber,” and who has since been fired for those opinions.
Why the controversy?
The memo explained how Google’s left-leaning bias has created a politically correct monoculture that maintains its hold by shaming dissenters into silence. It was immediately shared widely inside the company and throughout Silicon Valley. The basis of the memo relied on personality differences between men and women to explain why there were fewer women in engineering and leadership roles in the tech field.
In today’s highly polarized and politicized climate, especially when discussing such hot button topics as sex and gender, it is no wonder that the memo and his firing went viral.
Who is the “Google Memo” guy?
I became intrigued by this guy who had the courage to do something I likely would not have done. So I started wondering who this guy is, what’s he like, and whether he had a girlfriend. And just as the Google Memo Guy would predict, this led my unabashedly female brain to wonder whether the Google memo guy would be good dating material.
So what do we really know about this guy?
Here is what I found thanks to Google Memo Guy’s work on the Google search engine. After only a few clicks, I came up with a wealth of information about this guy:
- His name is James Damore.
- He is 28 years old.
- He is an Illinois native who graduated from the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy.
- He was a chess champion as a child.
- He was the highest ranked player in the world in the video game Rise of Nations in 2004.
- He graduated in the top 3% of his class at the University of Illinois where he studied molecular and cellular biology.
- He conducted research in computational biology at Harvard, Princeton, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- He has a senior or graduate level knowledge of biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, game theory, and computer programming.
- He was in Harvard’s doctorate program in systems biology and he may have dropped out before completing the program to start working for Google.
- He held a coveted position as a senior software engineer in Google’s search division for the past four years until his recent termination.
- He considers himself a classical liberal and strongly values individualism and reason.
- In a companywide email Google explained they fired Mr. Damore this past week for “advancing harmful gender stereotypes.”
- He is considering bringing legal action against Google.
- A crowdfunding page has been created to raise money on his behalf.
- The WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, has offered him a job.
- In the memo he stated that he values gender and racial diversity and inclusion.
- He said he wrote the memo to further open and honest discussion with those who disagree.
- On dating: on his Facebook page he confided that one of the best ways to find out if you’ve found the right girl is to bring her to a buffet. “If she gets a bowl of salad, eats half of it and then starts complaining, you have a dud. If however, she teases you, the hopeful master, for not getting your money’s worth, then you got yourself a keeper.”
What kind of guy is the Google Memo Guy?
Let’s try to look at this information objectively to figure out who this guy really is. What can we extrapolate from these bits of information to determine if this is a guy one would like to date.
He is serious.
This guy is a thinker. He takes things seriously. Issues are important to him. He likes to debate, at least in writing. He is not afraid to discuss controversial topics. He has lots to say, and he certainly is not boring.
He has a lot of free time.
I mean, really. Who has time to write a 10-page manifesto regarding a job-related program? Let’s face it; he more than likely wrote his memo during his free time. Even if he was responding to a request for feedback, this memo took some thought and research. Or he may just be a really fast typist. Considering his gaming accomplishments, he likely spends an awful lot of time on his computer.
He is confident.
To publicly share what any reasonable person would consider to be a highly controversial point of view, while risking a stable, well-paid position with a company that most people in the tech profession will only dream about takes a seriously confident personality.
He is misunderstood.
From what I have seen so far, cultural extremists are making claims about this guy that may or may not be true. Is he really the sexist misogynist as claimed by the left? Was the memo really disrespectful? Is he instead a right-wing hero? I am going to make a guess that this guy is really just somewhere in the middle. Yes, he has some conservative ideas. He says he values gender and racial diversity, and having read the memo I would not describe it as “anti-diversity.” I think it would be fascinating to get to know this guy, and his philosophy would probably make for some interesting conversation.
He has the potential for a good income.
Yes, he is currently unemployed, but whether he should be is hotly debated. He has an incredibly impressive resume. He also has at least one outstanding job offer. I suspect this guy will not go hungry, and instead he likely has a very interesting future.
He has courage.
It takes courage to speak one’s mind. Knowing that he was taking an unpopular position which had the huge potential for backlash, he was hoping to open the airwaves and encourage discussion. Of course, things did not quite go as he had expected, but you have to admit that taking the step to put himself out there took a lot of courage.
He is a risk-taker.
We could argue whether he took a calculated risk, since he seems to be surprised that he got fired for his opinions. But, he put his neck on the line, said what he believed, and wasn’t ashamed.
He may lack self-awareness.
Obviously he was not afraid to speak his mind. But perhaps there was a more appropriate venue. If he were more aware would he still have his job? Do self-aware people really put their livelihoods on the line for their opinions, especially those making lots of money doing what they love? Probably not.
In my search I was unable to find out whether Google Memo Guy is married or single. Perhaps that information will soon make this blog post moot. Considering he made a risky decision in publishing the memo and placed his livelihood and stability in danger, I have to assume he is not providing for a family.
In the meantime, Google Memo Guy: if you are married, congrats to the lucky bride and this post was all meant in good fun. On the other hand, if you are not attached, and are Catholic, or at least open to the teachings of the Catholic Church, then I would wager that there would be some Catholic Singles ready for a date.
This is my take. Everyone may see something different in this guy based on the information we know about him so far.
What do you think? Would you be interested in dating the Google Memo Guy?
