Posted by Aloke K. Bose, a resident of another community, on Jun 21, 2012 at 6:49 pm

It is a fact that William Bradford Shockley along with John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain, co-invented the transistor, for which all three were awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics. It is also a fact that William Shockley was instrumental in bringing "Silicon" to "Silicon Valley". And, it is also a fact that Shockley "was intensely interested in questions of race, intelligence, and eugenics. He thought this work was important to the genetic future of the human species, and came to describe it as the most important work of his career".

In view of the above, does Shockley as a person deserve being put on a pedestal?

Posted by Tea Party, a resident of another community, on Jun 21, 2012 at 7:26 pm

White supremacy is becoming mainstream again with the rise of the Tea Party. Don't expect a Shockley memorial while Obama is President, but if a Tea Party gets strong enough to put one of their people in office, then anything goes.

Posted by Observer, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Jun 21, 2012 at 9:25 pm

He was nonetheless a genius in his field. I wouldn't be so quick to brand him a white supremest based on his research into intelligence. To do so would inhibit future studies on intelligence every time the issue of race came up. The problem is that race and socioeconomic factors will always come up in studies on intelligence as will ethnicity. See Flynn's 2007 book "What is Intelligence". A lot of the shadows cast on Shockley was driven by the liberal media (such as in this piece). To do so would inhibit future studies on intelligence every time the issue of race came up.

Posted by Tea Party, a resident of another community, on Jun 21, 2012 at 11:55 pm

Interesting discussion on Dr. Shockley on a Tea Party web site: Web Link

Posted by sparty, a resident of the Shoreline West neighborhood, on Jun 22, 2012 at 2:02 am

Here's a guy complaining about Shockley when right down the street is Planned Parenthood... started by little miss eugenics.

Posted by Jes' Sayin', a resident of the Blossom Valley neighborhood, on Jun 26, 2012 at 4:25 pm

It's pretty easy, folks. When you make a landmark you word it to honor the discovery, not necessarily the person. Talk about what was invented and its significance and don't go into all that detail about who did it.

This could mean tourism dollars for Mountain View.