Comments on: Painting pictures of astronomical objects

By: Astrojan

Astrojan — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 04:35:11 +0000

By: Mainstream breakthrough | Cosmic Variance

Mainstream breakthrough | Cosmic Variance — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 04:39:44 +0000

[...] But all the publicity, of course, is currently associated with Lisa’s new book more than with any recent breakthroughs. As predicted, I’ve written a review of Warped Passages, along with Michio Kaku’s book Parallel Worlds, which has now appeared in American Scientist. You’ll see that these are very different books, and it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out which I liked better. The holidays are coming — if there’s nobody in your family you like enough to get them my book or Clifford’s, you wouldn’t go wrong buying them Lisa’s. [...]

By: Clifford

Clifford — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 19:27:11 +0000

Thanks Ed!

-cvj

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 19:18:55 +0000

This is slightly off-topic, but speaking of rotation curves, has anyone looked at the new analysis of the EGRET data? At a very prelimary first glance it looks pretty compelling: http://www.arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0508617

By: Ed Hessler

Ed Hessler — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 17:34:18 +0000

CVj (Blame this greeting, the shortening of your name, on the CV explanation. I LOLed when I read the comment about it and your name.):

I love the coincidence but not my forgetfulness. In the past few days I’ve clipped two articles which mentioned Henrietta Leavitt who also struggled in ways that are barely imaginable to me. She is another person for whom I’ve considerable regard and respect, forcing me to ask again how they managed to do their work. I think it has something to do with the love of science but maybe I ascribe too damn much to love.

I will look at the links again which I didn’t read too carefully, spending too much time on the pictures. Thanks for the reminder. Again, you have a very nice way about such matters. I hope sometime that all of you will say a few things about your early years and experiences with science (since my home ground is K-12 science).

I’m glad to learn that no one discouraged you or said a contrary word. I sometimes wonder just how many people have been dissuaded from a career path in science because of sometimes well-meaning/too often, ill-meaning and sometimes downright prejudicial comments. They can have a chilling effect. Many of us are more fragile than we think.

Take care.

By: Sean

Sean — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 05:33:16 +0000

Pyracantha, I would say it’s about stereotypes more than importance (although some people may also rank “men’s work” more important than “women’s work”, of course). I could easily imagine a male student telling an admissions officer that he wanted to design clothes, and being told “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather design … racing cars?” Gender roles can be imposed from either side.

Suz, yes, two talks at MIT in fact: the colloquium next Thursday (the 8th), and the cosmology seminar the following Tuesday (the 13th). Drop by and say hi if you’re in the audience.

By: Suz

Suz — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 05:20:41 +0000

hey Sean,
I just noticed you are coming to give a talk at my school next week. Hope you have a nice time here when you come!

By: Pyracantha

Pyracantha — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 05:02:57 +0000

Regarding Vera Rubin and “painting pictures of astronomical objects” rather than doing real science: Well, as a “career” artist studying math/physics in middle age, that’s all I ever will be able to do, no matter how much physics I study. I’ve painted scads of trivial but pretty astronomical paintings. I can make art that is inspired by science, but I’ll never really do any science. I think science is more important than art, which is also the implication of that anecdote about Rubin, as well as the unspoken, and not unfounded in this era, assumption that art is for girls.

By: Clifford

Clifford — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 03:35:17 +0000

Yes, Katie, I agree….. I’m also grateful that I was lucky enough (I believe it was just luck) that nobody pointed out to me too early that I was from a racial group that’s not supposed to be able to “do science”…. Otherwise I might have not have continued on enjoying it and doing it, blissfully ignorant of the prevailing view. Of course, there were plenty of people lining up to tell me later implicitly or otherwise (I still encounter them), but it was already too late…. I had too much momentum.

-cvj

By: Katie

Katie — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 03:28:56 +0000

I’m surprised every time I hear stories like this. It makes me realize how lucky I am that no one ever told me I couldn’t or shouldn’t do math or science. Thanks to all the incredible women who have faced discrimination and ignored it, smoothing the path for future generations.