Gabfest: And Thereby Hangs A Tail

Discussion in 'Education & Personal Growth' started by Cimorene, Jan 9, 2017.

  1. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    13,370
    Likes Received:
    24,115
    Trophy Points:
    538
    Gender:
    Male
    After careful review of your testimony and Female Bureau of Investigation Report about you knowing the Tamil slang, the Gabfest Judiciary Committee approved to elevate you as Associate Justice to the highest court to resolve IL disputes.
     
    sokanasanah and Gauri03 like this.
  2. Gauri03

    Gauri03 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    6,211
    Likes Received:
    13,034
    Trophy Points:
    445
    Gender:
    Female
    Aww...


    Lady as in 'cross your legs, powder your nose, and stick your pinky out while sipping afternoon tea'? How about cursing like a sailor while chugging a liter stein of beer. That count?

    Je ne suis pas une dame... : )
     
    sokanasanah likes this.
  3. Gauri03

    Gauri03 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    6,211
    Likes Received:
    13,034
    Trophy Points:
    445
    Gender:
    Female
    It was but I was afraid of the blowback. HR takes action because they are legally obligated to but the women who complain don't get out of it unscathed. They are labeled poor team-players and marginalized in subtle but damaging ways. It's like the blue wall of silence in the police force. Once you break it you are never one of the guys again. It is NOT the right way to go about such matters but I was young and risk averse. It was easier to leave than take a stand.
     
    Viswamitra likes this.
  4. Gauri03

    Gauri03 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    6,211
    Likes Received:
    13,034
    Trophy Points:
    445
    Gender:
    Female
    I wouldn't credit corporates for anything besides being invested in protecting their bottomlines. :lol: But I agree that workplace culture has improved albeit due to economic and regulatory pressures, not to forget social media. Investing in your female workforce makes economic sense. Period.

    Of late I have become more and more convinced of the need for women in STEM to give back to the community. I run a group along those lines at work and mentor the young women I work with. It is deeply gratifying to have their trust and respect. Statistically more women are promoted by women than men. For women to make a dollar for every dollar a man makes, we need to see the same sort of hand holding, guidance and grooming - by women for women - that men have offered each other for millennia.
     
    Laks09, Viswamitra and kaniths like this.
  5. sokanasanah

    sokanasanah IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    3,959
    Likes Received:
    6,857
    Trophy Points:
    408
    Gender:
    Male
    This will sort itself out. Princeton did not admit women until 1969 (after the Summer of Love). At Harvard, women were not allowed into the Lamont Library until 1967. Obviously because of all the womanly shenanigans they might get up to amidst the stacks. Harvard merged with Radcliffe in 1975, but held on to a "only 25%" quota for women until 1977, when sex-blind admissions were first instituted.

    It's not as if you can have a MALDI-TOF MS in your basement. For most experimental STE fields, no access means no achievement. Things are different now. Much progress has been made. Soon, women too can be powerful idiots. Like this pioneer here. Or indecisive hand-wringers. Look at Aung San Suu Kyi. Or intrepid deciders making all the wrong decisions for all the right reasons. Look at Chancellor Merkel. Yay.
    I'm glad you were able to learn from the best. Consummate astrophysicists are indeed a rare breed - but FYI re: that typo, 'astro' has only one $.
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2018
  6. sokanasanah

    sokanasanah IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    3,959
    Likes Received:
    6,857
    Trophy Points:
    408
    Gender:
    Male
    Stop fomenting revolution!!! We already know what "all our wives" want.

    The New York Times today carries an obituary for the famed chemist and crystallographer Thomas Steitz (Nobel 2009), who died Tuesday. Here is a quote on the academic two-body problem he shared with his wife Joan Steitz, a distinguished scientist in her own right and a laureate of the Lasker award this year:

    "Early in their careers, she said, he turned down a job offer from the University of California, Berkeley, after she had inquired about an assistant professorship and was told by the chairman of biochemistry, “All our wives like being research associates".”

    Leaves 'em with more time to cook dinner, no doubt. Gotta love it!! :roflmao:


    "Insulted, the couple went instead to Yale, which had offered both of them assistant professorships."

     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2018
    Laks09, Gauri03 and Viswamitra like this.
  7. Laks09

    Laks09 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    6,682
    Likes Received:
    11,157
    Trophy Points:
    440
    Gender:
    Female
    What can we do when the only girl in the Physics class gets so demotivated by the buggers in there knowing everything beforehand! Seriously boys, give the girl a break. Take it easy for a couple of chapters. CompSci isn't considered a science but there is still hope because there are girls in CompSci. I love Girls Who Code and Reshma Saujani. I'm sure we will be hearing about Gauri and Girls Who Compute!
     
    Gauri03 likes this.
  8. sokanasanah

    sokanasanah IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    3,959
    Likes Received:
    6,857
    Trophy Points:
    408
    Gender:
    Male
    Perhaps that question is rhetorical, but anyway ...
    Maybe, remind her that "A little bit of slope makes up for a lot of y-intercept."?? :lol:
    The boys are showing off for themselves, to establish their own pecking order. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It is not personal.
    Hanging with superior players is better than being the smartest one in the class. Use them to pace you if you can handle it, but if not, start where you are and focus relentlessly on getting better, ignoring them. Get the fundamentals straight. Then the rest of it will fall into place naturally.

    A child needs help with these things. Most cannot figure out the roots of motivation and achievement by themselves. Paradoxically, motivation increases as you get better at something, but you cannot get better unless you have the motivation. It is best not to wait for it to make its presence felt. One idea is to look at 'motivation' as being of two kinds: the first is simply the motivation to work, to make the effort. This includes asking for help as needed, without debilitating self-criticism. The second is the more targeted motivation to gain expertise in this or that (physics, piano, whatever). The second is easier, it's the first that's hard. One could substitute "confidence" for "motivation" and the effect is the same.

    Beginners need motivation/confidence of the first kind more than anything else. This is necessarily a leap in the dark, one that's difficult for many children - adults too. Everyone wants instant gratification when the real key is to trust the process. A good teacher/coach is invaluable because they help to structure the process and to navigate the rough seas of self-doubt.

    Barbara Oakley may provide some inspiration - an interesting woman!
    :beer-toast1:
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2018
    Laks09 and Gauri03 like this.
  9. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    13,370
    Likes Received:
    24,115
    Trophy Points:
    538
    Gender:
    Male
    @Gauri03,

    Nice Navaratri gift.

    Let the tribe that your husband and I belong grow faster. Happy wife happy life. :)

    Viswa
     
    Gauri03 likes this.
  10. Gauri03

    Gauri03 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    6,211
    Likes Received:
    13,034
    Trophy Points:
    445
    Gender:
    Female
    Mrs V is way luckier than I am. I have seen your culinary skills on the IP thread. :sunglasses: My husband's repertoire is fairly limited but whatever he does cook he makes well. Not complaining!
     
    Viswamitra likes this.

Share This Page