I have been wrong about the diversity vs merit debate. I support policies to increase diversity, but I used to think merit should be the final determining factor in admissions or hiring.

I am not arguing for hiring unqualified candidates, nor does the word diversity referred here means only skin color.

Diversity to prevent homogeneity of thoughts. Diversity so we don’t talk in an echo chamber. The 10 brighest people in the world might miss a different viewpoint if all 10 come from the same background.

We need diverse backgrounds in boardrooms, government, and policy centers. Today I believe that in certain places diversity should be forced, especially in places where decisions about future of societies are being made. And diversity does not mean grouping anyone with more melanin in their skin into a single monolith. Based on raw numbers, there is far more diversity within darker skin people than those of western European ancestry.

We need to educate ourselves about the infinity diversity of the human existence, thoughts, and experiences. Diversity should be an end goal, not homogeneous purity, including purity of thoughts.