I remember D&D! I played in High School. Good Times, Gooooood times.
I never equated being a D&D nerd with being a STEM nerd, but it does make alot of sense.
I want to tell people who spout off with the math is hard theme that hard is the point. That is what makes it worth doing and learning.
Oh, and I aint 'manning up'. I have recently decided to get in touch with my inner girly girl and "girl up", and the first goal means getting in shape and paying attention to clothes again, so that my socks match EVERY DAY. Once I hit that goal, onward!
It's funny. He makes some good points, but either I'm damn special or he's missing something very obvious.
For the record- -I love math. I minored in it. -I find D&D, Pathfinder, and (I can't remember the other one my boyfriend tried to suck me into) boring as shit. Not because of the math. Because of the slow pace, and possibly because I hate people and watching a DM mentally masturbate to being in charge of a group...wait, that isn't really a people thing, but you get the idea. -My liberal-arts-major boyfriend loves D&D. And hates math. -And I am STEM. I'm a chemist, and I work in environmental forensics.
Here is a much clearer reason why women are under-represented in my field: Until recently, I wasn't planning on a family, so I made career choices in line with that. Now that I am, I am busy trying to finagle a secondary short-term career.
See, in order to have kids, I have to quit my job. Not to raise them (boyfriend will be staying home with them), but to be pregnant. I use dichloromethane, which is a pretty standard solvent. Fun hazard of it? It can cause spontaneous abortion.
In the 5 years I've been working, I've seen three women have miscarriages, one of which didn't even know she was pregnant. I've known two women who successfully carried to term while working in the lab (one of them twice), but they did it by staying away from the solvents. And even then, their kids have had a variety of health problems.
I don't wish to whine here, but a lot of women don't take these careers because it means making a choice between working and having a family. It's much easier to take an office job where you can work up until your due date and then remote in while you're on maternity leave. I don't have that luxury. I have to be in the lab. I have to use solvents. And therefore, I have to find a different career for a while. Which sucks, because I actually love my job, even though it's probably taking years off of my life.
I don't think its because "math is tough". I have to agree with the above commenter. I am currently in a marketing undergrad program. it is by no means what I wanted to do careerwise - I wanted to be a sports nutrition (read:lots of math and science, and at the very least, a masters degree.). However, I am currently working to provide for our family while my husband completes a doctorate degree in physical therapy. I altered my schooling for two reasons: I needed to be able to do my classes online because we move interstate for his school, and I didn't want to put off having a family for that many more years. so please, do not be mistake-my choice of education involving less math, science, and schooling overall has absolutely nothing to do with my intelligence or implied laziness. I am simply choosing to put my family first. -A conservative, pro-gun, anti-feminist college grad.
I remember D&D! I played in High School. Good Times, Gooooood times.
ReplyDeleteI never equated being a D&D nerd with being a STEM nerd, but it does make alot of sense.
I want to tell people who spout off with the math is hard theme that hard is the point. That is what makes it worth doing and learning.
Oh, and I aint 'manning up'. I have recently decided to get in touch with my inner girly girl and "girl up", and the first goal means getting in shape and paying attention to clothes again, so that my socks match EVERY DAY. Once I hit that goal, onward!
Never really looked at gaming that way. I am geek enough to get into the Kickstarter program for Ogre though.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny. He makes some good points, but either I'm damn special or he's missing something very obvious.
ReplyDeleteFor the record-
-I love math. I minored in it.
-I find D&D, Pathfinder, and (I can't remember the other one my boyfriend tried to suck me into) boring as shit. Not because of the math. Because of the slow pace, and possibly because I hate people and watching a DM mentally masturbate to being in charge of a group...wait, that isn't really a people thing, but you get the idea.
-My liberal-arts-major boyfriend loves D&D. And hates math.
-And I am STEM. I'm a chemist, and I work in environmental forensics.
Here is a much clearer reason why women are under-represented in my field:
Until recently, I wasn't planning on a family, so I made career choices in line with that. Now that I am, I am busy trying to finagle a secondary short-term career.
See, in order to have kids, I have to quit my job. Not to raise them (boyfriend will be staying home with them), but to be pregnant. I use dichloromethane, which is a pretty standard solvent. Fun hazard of it? It can cause spontaneous abortion.
In the 5 years I've been working, I've seen three women have miscarriages, one of which didn't even know she was pregnant. I've known two women who successfully carried to term while working in the lab (one of them twice), but they did it by staying away from the solvents. And even then, their kids have had a variety of health problems.
I don't wish to whine here, but a lot of women don't take these careers because it means making a choice between working and having a family. It's much easier to take an office job where you can work up until your due date and then remote in while you're on maternity leave. I don't have that luxury. I have to be in the lab. I have to use solvents. And therefore, I have to find a different career for a while. Which sucks, because I actually love my job, even though it's probably taking years off of my life.
I don't think its because "math is tough". I have to agree with the above commenter. I am currently in a marketing undergrad program. it is by no means what I wanted to do careerwise - I wanted to be a sports nutrition (read:lots of math and science, and at the very least, a masters degree.). However, I am currently working to provide for our family while my husband completes a doctorate degree in physical therapy. I altered my schooling for two reasons: I needed to be able to do my classes online because we move interstate for his school, and I didn't want to put off having a family for that many more years. so please, do not be mistake-my choice of education involving less math, science, and schooling overall has absolutely nothing to do with my intelligence or implied laziness. I am simply choosing to put my family first. -A conservative, pro-gun, anti-feminist college grad.
ReplyDelete