一個名叫達娜的男孩 A Boy Named Dana

I have applied over email for internships with several high-tech companies in the Bay Area, and I suspect I have benefited from my potential employers’ incorrectly assuming that I am a woman. Many of these companies actively seek female applicants to balance out the field’s male dominance. Nowhere on my résumé do I state my gender, as that’s not typically done. Do I have an ethical obligation to mention my gender in the email? By refraining from doing so, am I taking advantage of a policy designed to counter social and institutional discrimination against women? Am I receiving some form of cosmic payback for having been given a woman’s name? DANA, CALIFORNIA

我通過郵件申請了舊金山灣區幾家高科技公司的實習機會，我懷疑那些潛在僱主誤以爲我是女性，讓我因此獲益。很多這樣的公司在積極尋找女性申請者，以平衡該領域以男性爲主的局面。我沒在簡歷上說明自己的性別，因爲這是常規做法。從道德角度講，我是否有義務在郵件中說明自己的性別？如果我不說明，那我是否從那個旨在對抗社會和制度對女性歧視的政策中獲得了利益？我是否因爲被取了一個像女人的名字而享受到某種巨大回報？——戴娜(DANA)，加利福尼亞州

If the internships were designed specifically for women (and if they were advertised as such), you shouldn’t be applying at all. But that doesn’t appear to be the case; these internships are gender-agnostic. Any advantage you might gain doesn’t come from a policy aimed at correcting a gender imbalance in the industry. This is not a systemic overhaul with a clearly outlined motive. You’ve just heard, anecdotally, that tech companies are trying to hire more women. And you suspect they’re lazily looking at applicants’ names and using that as the first criterion for consideration. If this is true — and if these companies subsequently hire interns they didn’t intend to hire — it’s their own fault.

如果這些實習機會是專門爲女性設計的（如果廣告中這樣說明了的話），那你根本就不該申請。但事情似乎不是這樣的，這些實習機會沒有性別限制。你可能擁有的任何優勢並非源於意在糾正該行業性別失衡的政策。它不是系統性的徹底調整政策，沒有明確具體的目標。你可能只是聽傳言說科技公司在儘量僱傭更多女性。你懷疑他們是懶散地瀏覽申請者的名字，把它作爲首要考慮因素。如果是這樣的話——如果這些公司因此僱傭了他們本不想僱傭的實習生——那是他們的錯。

When he was still an unknown comedian, Jamie Foxx (whose real name is Eric Bishop) adopted the stage name Jamie whenever he appeared at open-mike events, based on his belief that clubs tend to call women onstage first. He consciously fabricated a more androgynous name to amplify his career opportunities. But Dana is the name you were assigned at birth. You don’t need to worry about the ethics of being the person you actually are.

傑米·福克斯（Jamie Foxx，他的真名是埃裏克·畢曉普[Eric Bishop]）還是個不知名的喜劇演員時，每次出現在即興表演活動中時都用傑米這個藝名，因爲他覺得俱樂部一般是先叫女人上臺表演。他有意起了一個更中性的藝名，來增加自己的事業機會。但是戴娜是你出生時就有的名字。你不必擔心保持本來面貌會有什麼道德問題。

HIGH-MINDED LOWBALL

高尚的壓低價格行爲

I recently attended a real estate auction. I had information about a property I wanted to bid on that I do not believe all bidders had access to. The information would have effectively devalued the property by 10 percent. Would it have been unethical for me to proactively share this knowledge with all bidders so as to improve my chances of winning the bid while, at the same time, helping them to not overpay? BRUCE PELLEGRINO, FAR HILLS, N.J.

最近我參加了一個房地產拍賣會，瞭解到我想出價的某處房產的一個情況，我覺得不是所有投標人都知道這個情況。這個情況肯定會讓這個房產貶值10%。如果我主動把這個情況與所有投標人分享，能提高我的中標機會，同時幫助他們不花冤枉錢，這樣做是不是不道德？——布魯斯·佩萊格里諾(BRUCE PELLEGRINO)，法希爾斯，新澤西州

Was your information true, verifiable and relevant? If so, there’s no problem with making it public. Yes, doing so gives you a benefit — but it would also benefit the other bidders and level the playing field. I understand your apprehension, since “doing the right thing” so often means taking on some kind of personal downside. But this is the rare case in which being honest helps both you and your competition. It hurts the people selling the property, but — assuming what you know is accurate — any loss in value is merited.

你的信息是真實的、有證據的嗎？它確實關係重大嗎？如果是這樣，公佈這個信息沒有任何問題。是的，這樣做會給你帶來好處，但也會讓其他投標人受益，讓這個平臺更公正。我理解你的想法，因爲“做正確的事”經常意味着給自己帶來某種不利影響。但這次是罕見情況，誠實能幫助你和你的競爭對手。它會損害房產賣家的利益，但如果你的消息確切，降價是應該的。

UNOBSTRUCTED VIEW

無遮擋的視野

I live in a fourth-floor condo that faces an office building across the street. What appears to be a small business has recently taken over a third-floor office in that building. In the morning, before the rest of the office has arrived, the assistant, who sits with his back to the window, watches pornography on a rather large computer screen that is visible to me (and presumably other apartments in my building). This alone doesn’t bother me — though I think it’s a bad decision on his part — but I wonder about my neighbors. Should I alert the company as a way of protecting other, possibly under-age, people in my building? NAME WITHHELD, WISCONSIN

我住在一個四層公寓大樓裏，街對面有個寫字樓。最近好像有個小公司進駐了那幢樓的第三層。早上，在辦公室其他人沒來之前，那個座位背對窗戶的助手在一個很大的電腦屏幕上看色情片，我能看見他屏幕上的畫面（我覺得我這幢樓其他公寓裏的人也能看見）。單是這個行爲我並不介意——雖然我覺得對他來說不是好事——但我爲鄰居們擔心。爲了保護我這幢樓裏的其他人——可能是未成年人——我應該提醒這個公司嗎？——匿名，威斯康星州

This is happening inside a separate building, 30 feet in the air. People have a right to assume their activities are not being monitored just because they happen to be near a window. I realize windows are transparent, but what lies beyond is still a separate existence. There’s no reason to report anything going on here, unless you witness a violent crime or an act that tangibly endangers the public good. A solitary weirdo enjoying pornography before work does not qualify. If you had any reason to believe the man was consciously trying to attract the attention of strangers by doing this, my answer would probably be different. But as it stands, I would classify this as “none of your business.” If you’re worried about the innocent eyes of children, inform any parents who share your street-side view that it’s possible to see glimpses of pornography before 9 a.m. if they stare out the window and across the street. But if that’s your concern, you might also want to remind them to check the browser history on their own computers.

這事發生在另一個建築裏離地面30英尺的地方。在那裏，人們有權認爲自己的活動沒被監視，他只是碰巧坐在一個靠近窗戶的座位上。我知道窗戶是透明的，但那裏面仍是獨立空間。你沒理由報告那裏的任何事情，除非你目擊暴力犯罪或明顯威脅公共利益的行爲。你沒必要舉報一個上班前看色情片的孤獨怪人。如果你有理由相信此人這樣做是故意想引起陌生人的注意，我的回答很可能會不同。但以現狀來看，我認爲它屬於“與你無關的事”。如果你擔心孩子們看到，那你可以通知跟你住同一側的父母們，說9點前隔着窗戶往對面看，有可能看到色情畫面。但如果你那麼擔心，你可能也該提醒他們覈查自己電腦上的瀏覽歷史。