Comments on: Turing Centennial Post 4: Luca Trevisan

By: (Belated) Turing Centennial Series from ‘in Theory’ blog « kryptomusing

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 00:22:46 +0000

[...] Turing Centennial Post 4: Luca Trevisan [...]

By: Turing Centennial Series from In Theory blog | Healthy Algorithms

Turing Centennial Series from In Theory blog | Healthy Algorithms — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 06:08:33 +0000

[...] Turing Centennial Post 4: Luca Trevisan [...]

By: Linkage « An Ergodic Walk

Linkage « An Ergodic Walk — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 23:45:27 +0000

[...] Luca’s thoughts on the Turing Centennial are touching. Like this:LikeBe the first to like this. [...]

By: It’s here! The DiS PRIDE CARNIVAL! | Balanced Instability

It’s here! The DiS PRIDE CARNIVAL! | Balanced Instability — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 00:31:57 +0000

[...] Luca Trevisan in honor of Alan Turing's 100th birthday. They are all fantastic! There is one by Luca Trevisan, who talks about how easy it was to come out in the CS field. Sampath Kannan also feels that the [...]

By: luca

luca — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 02:30:10 +0000

Siva, I think that in San Francisco we are already there, and I can think of two defining moments. One was in 2004, when then Mayor Gavin Newsom directed the city clerk to give marriage licenses to same-sex couples, in what was generally seen to be a publicity stunt. (That is, it was taken for granted that grandstanding for gay marriage would be good publicity for him.) The other was at a recent election for the board of supervisors; now I can’t find any articles about it, but I remember that a rumor was going around that one of the candidates, who was an out lesbian, was in fact straight. (This was, needless to say, a damaging rumor.)

In most of the remaining 99.7% of the United States, I would say that gay people, for the time being, would be quite ok being thought less than human in their neighbor’s hearts, provided they wouldn’t need to worry about, say, being attacked for holding hands with their boyfriend (sorry, baby-daddy) in public.

By: Guest

Guest — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 13:12:05 +0000

I liked your post, Luca.

I was wondering how is the situation in the Italian accademia. Were you out already when you did your PhD in Rome?

By: Siva

Siva — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 05:45:46 +0000

Great post, Luca.

While I am happy for the gays in CS theory, Chemistry, California, and CNN, I wonder what the equivalent of “the first black president” is for gays.

The story about the “indelible image of boy’s pat on Obama’s head” (http://goo.gl/9oU1j) drove home the point that Obama being in the white house is a powerful message for young black Americans — not just that they aren’t lesser citizens in the eyes of the law, but that they aren’t lesser humans in the hearts of their neighbors.

What will be a landmark that drives the message that being gay is broadly accepted, embraced, and being out about it is routine and natural? A celebrity marriage of an NFL star to a Catholic military general?

Off-topic: to commenter Andy who had “the feeling that the theory community is a faceless important person, who always rejects my papers” — oh please. Just because the theory community embraces diversity and pluralism along many axes, don’t assume it’s not a faceless important person who always rejects your papers

By: John

John — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 02:30:21 +0000

A story a friend told me. He is a very friendly and nice guy. Once he was flying back to US from Germany and a young American girl sat next to him. They starting talking. At some point she asked him if he is German. My friend replied that he is Iranian. The girl turned pale. She didn’t speak with him anymore. It was possible to read the unease on her face as if he was going to blow up the plane.

By: Atri Rudra

Atri Rudra — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:01:29 +0000

Hi Luca,

I’d like to add my thanks for this series of posts that you have been doing. I was only aware of LGBT issues at a more abstract level and it is great to hear these personal stories.

And as couple of commenters have said, it’s great to know about the Congratulations response!

–atri

By: luca

luca — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 23:38:58 +0000

Moose: thanks for your comments. The interview segment is great. I really dislike the use of “partner” in a romantic relationship, and I think that I am getting too old to be anybody’s “boyfriend”, and I had never thought of “baby-daddy”, which is perfect!

About (2), I didn’t mean to say that gay students prefer to go where gay professors are, and I don’t think it’s true. The point that I wanted to make is that gay students are everywhere, but they don’t seem to be comfortable being out, even in very welcoming environments, unless they see someone more senior who is also out.