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Elizabeth Dunn's avatar

"Auditioning musicians behind a veil guarantees that racial and gender bias cannot contaminate the decision-making. "

As a symphony lover, this line alone made the entire article for me! Thank you.

On the other hand, 'color-blindness' should not be exercised during an introduction or a personal event. The first thing you notice about a person is their gender, their race and even their hair color. Those are personal attributes that cannot help but be noticed and not necessarily for the wrong reasons. At a dinner party I once gave, the gentleman to my right was a MIT grad/engineer; black and 6'7'' as well. He loved being asked if he played in the NBA. I am a natural blonde and admittedly liked the attention. Another guest was 275 lbs at 6'5'' and enjoyed being asked where he played football although he was a successful art dealer in Miami!

We all had a great time laughing about these 'stereotypes' by which not a single one of us were offended. The moral of the day:

Maintain a sense of humor and enjoy the 'other side' of first impressions.

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