[Edu-sig] Acadmic gender gap (was Thoughts)

[Kirby Urner]

> My post was aimed at one specific downside:  the power of professionally
> designed games to encourage a young person from getting started.  Ordinary
                    ^^^^^^^^^
                    discourage

> mathematics may have a similarly dismaying impact:  pick up something by
> Euler, and feel like you'll never be like that.  Euler is the like Valve
> on steroids -- just too cool.
> 
> Kirby

I was called to dinner just after typing these words.  Dinner conversation
wander to numbers so important they get their own letters (often greek).  

But Euler, I said, one of the greatest math heads of all time, has a number
named after him:  e.  Actually, I said there were several theories kicking
around about what 'e' might mean, other than lim n->infinity (1 + 1/n)^n --
but I'm going with 'Euler' -- good mnemonic.

My daughter is 10.  She and I play 'Uru' together.  That game is a work of
art, destined to last for centuries.  A classic even in our own time. 

Kirby