Diversity vs. divergent

Yesterday I read a twitter thread talking about ‘divergent’ and ‘diversity’ as if these words belonged together, so I had to look up their etymology.

Ultimately, they do stem from the same Proto-Indo-European root (with descendants as diverse as wreath, worm, rhapsody, extroversion, warp, worth and many more). But already in Latin, their ancestors were very different: vertere ( = ‘to turn’) vs. vergere ( = ‘to bend, turn, tend toward, incline’).

In any case, the relationship is an occasion to think about one’s own understanding of ‘diversity’. If it only applies to groups or people that are, in some sense, ‘divergent’ from some ‘normal’ reference point or from some center, it might be a misunderstanding.

Maybe one overlooks differences that are less obvious, such as prefering synchronous over asynchronous style, oral over written style, guided over independent, mobile over desktop, neat outlines over scruffy maps, or any such, however vaguely demarcated, inclinations?

If one is not aware of their own style, how can they cater, then, to genuine diversity?

By Nancy White