一个名叫达娜的男孩 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

我通过邮件申请了旧金山湾区几家高科技公司的实习机会，我怀疑那些潜在雇主误以为我是女性，让我因此获益。很多这样的公司在积极寻找女性申请者，以平衡该领域以男性为主的局面。我没在简历上说明自己的性别，因为这是常规做法。从道德角度讲，我是否有义务在邮件中说明自己的性别？如果我不说明，那我是否从那个旨在对抗社会和制度对女性歧视的政策中获得了利益？我是否因为被取了一个像女人的名字而享受到某种巨大回报？——戴娜(DANA)，加利福尼亚州

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.

如果这些实习机会是专门为女性设计的（如果广告中这样说明了的话），那你根本就不该申请。但事情似乎不是这样的，这些实习机会没有性别限制。你可能拥有的任何优势并非源于意在纠正该行业性别失衡的政策。它不是系统性的彻底调整政策，没有明确具体的目标。你可能只是听传言说科技公司在尽量雇佣更多女性。你怀疑他们是懒散地浏览申请者的名字，把它作为首要考虑因素。如果是这样的话——如果这些公司因此雇佣了他们本不想雇佣的实习生——那是他们的错。

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.

杰米·福克斯（Jamie Foxx，他的真名是埃里克·毕晓普[Eric Bishop]）还是个不知名的喜剧演员时，每次出现在即兴表演活动中时都用杰米这个艺名，因为他觉得俱乐部一般是先叫女人上台表演。他有意起了一个更中性的艺名，来增加自己的事业机会。但是戴娜是你出生时就有的名字。你不必担心保持本来面貌会有什么道德问题。

HIGH-MINDED LOWBALL

高尚的压低价格行为

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.

最近我参加了一个房地产拍卖会，了解到我想出价的某处房产的一个情况，我觉得不是所有投标人都知道这个情况。这个情况肯定会让这个房产贬值10%。如果我主动把这个情况与所有投标人分享，能提高我的中标机会，同时帮助他们不花冤枉钱，这样做是不是不道德？——布鲁斯·佩莱格里诺(BRUCE PELLEGRINO)，法希尔斯，新泽西州

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.

你的信息是真实的、有证据的吗？它确实关系重大吗？如果是这样，公布这个信息没有任何问题。是的，这样做会给你带来好处，但也会让其他投标人受益，让这个平台更公正。我理解你的想法，因为“做正确的事”经常意味着给自己带来某种不利影响。但这次是罕见情况，诚实能帮助你和你的竞争对手。它会损害房产卖家的利益，但如果你的消息确切，降价是应该的。

UNOBSTRUCTED VIEW

无遮挡的视野

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

我住在一个四层公寓大楼里，街对面有个写字楼。最近好像有个小公司进驻了那幢楼的第三层。早上，在办公室其他人没来之前，那个座位背对窗户的助手在一个很大的电脑屏幕上看色情片，我能看见他屏幕上的画面（我觉得我这幢楼其他公寓里的人也能看见）。单是这个行为我并不介意——虽然我觉得对他来说不是好事——但我为邻居们担心。为了保护我这幢楼里的其他人——可能是未成年人——我应该提醒这个公司吗？——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.

这事发生在另一个建筑里离地面30英尺的地方。在那里，人们有权认为自己的活动没被监视，他只是碰巧坐在一个靠近窗户的座位上。我知道窗户是透明的，但那里面仍是独立空间。你没理由报告那里的任何事情，除非你目击暴力犯罪或明显威胁公共利益的行为。你没必要举报一个上班前看色情片的孤独怪人。如果你有理由相信此人这样做是故意想引起陌生人的注意，我的回答很可能会不同。但以现状来看，我认为它属于“与你无关的事”。如果你担心孩子们看到，那你可以通知跟你住同一侧的父母们，说9点前隔着窗户往对面看，有可能看到色情画面。但如果你那么担心，你可能也该提醒他们核查自己电脑上的浏览历史。