Why teach about female mathematicians?

Why teach about female mathematicians? (https://www.reddit.com/r/SneerClub/comments/do6gr8/why_teach_about_female_mathematicians/)

posted on October 28, 2019 09:27 AM by u/vermetel

These lines in Scott Aaronson’s teaching statement caught my eye today:

Some of my shenanigans in this program became infamous. […] When one student asked me why all the mathematicians I was referring to were men, I returned the next day with a mini-lesson about Sophie Germain and her correspondence with Gauss, so the student in question would no longer have any excuse to tune out.

It’s interesting that teaching about female mathematicians is not only considered a “shenanigan”, something that you would do to make students pay attention to the course.

Of course, 2007 is a long time ago so if the people with these views have contemplated it a bit, I should hope that they have a better idea nowadays of why feminism matters. Or perhaps not.

u/noactuallyitspoptart 22 points at 1572263322.000000

What?

I remember students who spent great energy finding creative new ways to cheat, or who memorized the proofs from the CLRS textbook like sacred scripture, or who rushed to office hours on September 11, 2001, begging me for hints on the problem set.

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u/brokenAmmonite 18 points at 1572295966.000000

god i hate it when students learn the textbook and come to office hours on 9/11.

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u/titotal 15 points at 1572304130.000000

okay, hes talking about the literal, actual day of 9/11 here, i think it's a fair point that it's mildy weird to be worrying about problem sets considering what a weird fucking day that was

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u/brokenAmmonite 14 points at 1572306033.000000

i mean students are out of touch with reality at the best of times

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u/DELETED 7 points at 1572317238.000000

[deleted]

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u/brokenAmmonite 10 points at 1572383182.000000

almost like the system viciously incentivizes getting good grades by constantly forcing competition on students and betting their futures on their GPA

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u/Ambrose_bierce89 12 points at 1572283816.000000

I’m confused as to who is the intended audience for this piece.

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u/AlexCoventry 8 points at 1572290060.000000

Probably part of his job application/tenure portfolio.

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u/Ambrose_bierce89 6 points at 1572290443.000000

Yeah that's what I guessed but its a bit rambling and includes some weird stuff. But then again its Aaronson so I don't know why I expected anything different.

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u/BewareTheSphere 8 points at 1572311345.000000

I mean, on the one hand it's pretty weird and long, but on the other hand, it was way more interesting to read than most teaching philosophies.

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u/titotal 13 points at 1572304278.000000

Scott Aaronson if you’re reading this, a reminder to block us again, we are all aware that your mental health cannot handle online criticism.

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u/DELETED -3 points at 1572324904.000000

>cannot handle online criticism You know this sub bans or strenuously downvotes almost everyone who goes against its narrative right?

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u/MarxBroshevik 14 points at 1572325130.000000

Actually it is the Rationalist community which is most infamous for doing this. This is why I've been kicked out of every Rationalist sub and comments section that I've ever posted on. Once I gave a Marxist criticism to Scott Aaronson and he replied with a snarky ad hominem.

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u/DELETED -2 points at 1572325848.000000

Haven't you been banned from this sub as well? To me that suggests it is not just about you going against the narrative.

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u/MarxBroshevik 15 points at 1572326096.000000

I think that actually shows how controversial rational Marxism is even in spaces with intelligent commenters. Still, I convinced the denizens of SneerClub based on the force and vitality of my arguments. That says a lot about how much more rational this sub is compared to so-called "Rationalist" spaces; where I have still not been unbanned despite the accuracy of my posts.

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u/DELETED -2 points at 1572342283.000000

I see. Do you think the force and vitality of your arguments could also bring people around to your support of North Korea? I seem to remember that you're a fan--correct me if I'm wrong

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u/MarxBroshevik 9 points at 1572347377.000000

That depends, often people have very deeply ingrained biases - one such bias is nationalism. Many Americans (and other 'Westerners') display this bias in their thinking, and it makes them side with Western imperialist governments even though it is not really rational to do so. Can I ask how many North Korean works of political theory you have read? And since you're so interested in science I assume you've read a lot of Marx?

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