tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10235575.post4429756468270704470..comments2024-02-04T15:48:48.193-05:00Comments on Adventures in Applied Math: Women, Don't Worry Your Pretty Little Heads over Science!Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06927630155994067676noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10235575.post-33210626237376112112008-07-25T12:24:00.000-04:002008-07-25T12:24:00.000-04:00Break out the champagne, someone "proved" that gir...Break out the champagne, someone "proved" that girls are just as good at math as boys. Whee.<BR/><BR/>http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080725/ap_on_re_us/girls_math;_ylt=AvHICjLPmWLcnPh2H7F7LpBvieAA<BR/><BR/>There is one bone-head quote from a male professor near the end -- the study found that standardized tests don't include complex reasoning problems (duh!) and that therefore American students may be under-prepared for university-level math and science. So the bone-head takes that as an opportunity to point out that there might be male/female differences in that ability that haven't been measured by the tests. Because systemic discrimination is a *much* less likely as an explanation for the lower numbers of women in physics than differences in the ability to think. (Ask me what I think of his ability to do complex reasoning. Go ahead, ask me.)Madeleinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05389653184198589623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10235575.post-25047526686975349402008-07-19T14:38:00.000-04:002008-07-19T14:38:00.000-04:00The NYT article really annoyed me too - someone fr...The NYT article really annoyed me too - someone from my school's women in science organization forwarded it to all of us. A brief discussion ensued, where I learned that the actual people from the government doing the interviews were grossly uneducated in the issues. This is what led to Amber Miller's comment on it being a waste of time, which unfortunately can be misconstrued in the article to mean that we're all good and we don't need any studies on this, thanks. Really, it's because the interviewers from the agencies had no idea what to ask, asking only yes or no questions about things like which equipment they were allowed to use (come on!) instead of asking in what ways we feel that we experience bias. Apparently, in one case the interviewer even referred to a women's asian lab mate as "Oriental." I haven't heard someone use that in 10 years!<BR/><BR/>I will now cop to the fact that I haven't even finished reading your post yet because just the first three paragraphs got me so upset that I had to comment right away. Off to read the rest...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10235575.post-80074887795702961842008-07-18T07:15:00.000-04:002008-07-18T07:15:00.000-04:00Well-written post with useful details.Well-written post with useful details.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10235575.post-27578547417241465642008-07-18T01:09:00.000-04:002008-07-18T01:09:00.000-04:00In some fields, perhaps there is an overabundance ...In some fields, perhaps there is an overabundance of scientists. However, in my field, there is a large demand, for American citizens in particular. So don't study string theory; become a computer scientist instead!Rebeccahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06927630155994067676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10235575.post-57088869474892932752008-07-18T00:52:00.000-04:002008-07-18T00:52:00.000-04:00"The truth of the matter is that there is a need i..."The truth of the matter is that there is a need in this country for as many STEM professionals as we can muster. "<BR/><BR/>Uh, there aren't even enough jobs for the current ones! Society already undervalues scientists. The overabundance certainly doesn't help. What would you suggest all of these people do when they realize in their 30s that they can't find a job and can't support their families? Of course I am all for balancing the pool and against the discrimination of women, but we don't need more in total numbers!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10235575.post-1416244557046497962008-07-17T22:43:00.000-04:002008-07-17T22:43:00.000-04:00Wow, what a good post! I think that's one of the ...Wow, what a good post! I think that's one of the best reactions to the NYT article that I've read. Thanks.EcoGeoFemmehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11236907917990309659noreply@blogger.com