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How Melinda Gates Got Her Daughters Excited About Science (geekwire.com)
theodp writes: GeekWire reports that Melinda Gates concluded a Davos panel discussion about gender parity with a personal story about her own family, explaining how she originally became interested in computer science, and how she later played Lab Manager to Bill's Mr. Wizard to help pass along their passion for science and math to their kids. "On Saturday mornings," Gates explained, "I wanted to sleep late. So you know what I did? I made sure there were science projects available, and that's what he did with our two daughters and our son. And guess what my two daughters are interested in? Science and math."
What's your point? She's not a school teacher.
Do you believe that parents should avoid science projects being available?
How I got my kids exited about using better operating systems .
naturally? And maybe they'll pick up hobbies that interest them on their own.
I can't quite find her resumé.
Is she qualified to teach science and math?
In my humble opinion, I have found that people that are qualified teachers in something are often not the best choice to inspire interest in that subject (to the contrary - and I've been a part time teacher myself). IMO, role models (e.g., parents and other adult relatives) that are (even mildly) passionate about something are much better at that. Parents are passionate organic farmers? Chances are, kids might become that too, or at least be the ones that plant a bed of veggies instead of flowers. Parent a fairly good sports shooter? Kids might just surpass him (happened to my brother). Etc. etc.
Free, as in your money being freed from the confines of your account.
What does she have as proof that, if she had not done this, then they would not have been interested in science and maths?
"On Saturday mornings," Gates explained, "I wanted to sleep late. So you know what I did? I made sure there were science projects available, and that's what he did with our two daughters and our son. And guess what my two daughters are interested in? Science and math."
"On Saturday mornings," Gates explained while looking down her nose at the little people, "I wanted to sleep late. So you know what I did? I spent your money on educational toys, after Bill and his company were convicted of abusing Microsoft's monopoly position to grow both the company and our personal fortune. And just guess how much better my kids did than yours! Now imagine how secure their futures will be, no matter how useless they are, since Bill succeeded in dodging taxes by creating a for-profit foundation!"
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
How likely are you to die today?
Amazing. One would think that a family with that sort of wealth at their disposal might be able to hire all sorts of nannies/governesses/tutors at any hour of the month to keep their kids occupied (and educated) while they slept in - whether on a weekend or on any other day of the week.
Cudos for keeping it real and staying in touch with how the other half ^H^H^H^H 99.9999% lives.
Amazing. One would think that an intelligent, educated reader of Slashdot might be able to understand that this is a highly "massaged" version of the real story, which Melinda Gates' PR department disseminates to the 99%.
Cudos for keeping your innocence and believing everything on the "Kardashians" TV shows.
Catalin Braescu
Ofaly.com
I'd have thought that pointing out that computer science made daddy the richest man in the world would be sufficient to get them interested in science quite frankly.
I can't find your resume either. What makes you qualified to comment on this, apart from your obvious self-importance?
A great many people home-school their kids, even in technical subjects. A great many people have self-taught even technical subjects. It's not rocket science (until it is).
I wanted to sleep late. But you know what I did instead? I got up, made breakfast, did laundry, cut the grass, replaced a faucet, pressed and folded said laundry and then cleaned the kitchen. Oh, some days I also try to learn more computing languages on my own time because I can't do that on work time, can I?
I resent the idea that the only thing separating my kids from a deep and abiding interest in all things science is if I only worked a little harder and got my lazy hiney out of bed earlier.
If the Gates foundation arranged for the above to happen every week for me (*cough*), I'd be ecstatic to create cool science experiments for my kids instead. Deal?
Ack!
that is because the powers that be share quite a lot of common traits. They do not share all the ideology that they show support of but that is another thing.
Rediscovering Things of Science: For many years [1940-1989], the Science Service produced a monthly series of science kits called "Things of Science", available by subscription. When I was a kid (in the 60s), I subscribed to Things of Science for several years. I suspect that many of us who chose careers in the sciences found at least part of our inspiration in those blue boxes that arrived in the mail every month (well, almost every month; sometimes we'd get manila envelopes, filled with stuff that wouldn't fit in the boxes). Each kit ("unit") had a booklet of experiments, and usually everything needed to perform them.
Of course, now it's perfectly normal and expected to bundle a browser with an OS
Of course, now it's perfectly normal and expected to bundle an OS with a browser .
How likely are you to die today?
"Today is the last day of your life . . . so far."
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
"How did Melinda Gates get her daughters interested in science?"
Answer : "Like science or you're out of the will."
She threatened to force them to use Microsoft Bob if they didn't finish their science homework.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Judging from the article, her best qualification is that her father was an engineer who encouraged her in the science/math direction. She was able to make the most of her talents by avoiding the poisonously fearful female culture that keeps women out of STEM.
I don't think you can make those sorts of comparison unless we have some believable figures on butt size. The Kardashians are known for ample heft.
Thank you, dear anonymous coward.
Free, as in your money being freed from the confines of your account.
I hadn't had my tea yet, so I missed the obvious. Let me try again.
Good for you, you rich bitch. I'll bet rich bitches like you never have to deal with juggling babysitters when you get your schedule for the next week that Sunday and find out that even though you usually work evenings, you've been scheduled for the afternoon for some inexplicable reason.
I'll bet rich bitches like you have plenty of time to cook homemade meals for your rich bitch daughters.
I'll bet rich bitches like you have no problem relocating to a better school district when some dipshit teacher with internalized misogyny starts transmitting her math and science phobia to your rich bitch daughters. I'll bet rich bitches like you don't ever need to worry about that! Just a little rumbling, and you can get any teacher you want fired and replaced with somebody else, just so your privileged little rich bitch daughters can show the world how much of a misogynerd people who aren't cisgendered women who work in science and programming are.
I'll bet rich bitches like you aren't beholden to the anonymous 1%ers here in Michigan to be able to afford to send your rich bitch daughters to college, because you are a 1%er! I'll bet you'll never trigger whatever hidden clause they have against whatever demographic they've put in there to make sure their money doesn't go to "those people."
I'll bet rich bitches like you don't ever need to worry about gaslighting asshole managers shutting down your rich bitch daughters' science or programming careers with sexual harassment!
I'll bet rich bitches like you don't need to worry about a husband cheating on you after you've given him a child and needing to go through divorce!*
I'll bet there are all kinds of things I'm missing about rich bitches like you that the women I know who struggle to make ends meet and make sure their children can eat don't have.
You know what, Melinda? Buddy! Pal! Let me give you a nickle's worth of free advice, my friend. Implement the basic guaranteed income, and then we will see some hope at resolving these problems. I believe your husband wants to make a legacy out of his charity in Africa, but there are children starving right here in the USA. There are single mothers at their wits end right here in the USA. Push for a basic guaranteed income. Make the USA great again, and let this country once more be a shining beacon and role model for the rest of the world. We have the wealth to do this. Its budget would be an order of magnitude less than the GDP. Yes, the number is still unimaginably huge compared to the numbers I'm familiar with seeing on budgets, but we have the wealth do this.
If you want more cisgendered* women to become scientists and programmers, you absolutely need to implement a basic guaranteed income.
* Circle of Protection: MRA. There is much progress from both ends that needs to be made on this matter. I also expect more out of feminism than FEEL GUILTY. I expect some actual sexual emancipation and equality instead of the current TERF victimhood bullshit. Final incantation: alimony needs to die a swift death. This will hopefully help feminism get the kick in the pants it needs to move out of victim mode.
* Circle of Protection: anti-SJW Trigger Word. If Circle of Protection: MRA is in play, reduce the casting cost to 0. I keep needing to drop that term because I don't know what else to do to correct news pieces like this. They don't give a shit about anybody assigned the male gender at birth regardless of what body pats they were or weren't born with. Any MRA who believes that "trans" women are communists is a delusional bigot and is not fighting for human rights for men.
I mean, sure ... it's good advice to stimulate the minds of your kids. Give them interesting things to do and figure out, and they might discover something they really like.
But the idea that you can "steer" a kid into a career field based on what you gave them to do for fun as a kid? Nah.... doesn't work like that.
When I was a kid, I realized I really liked working with those "50 in 1" electronics project kits like they sold at Radio Shack. (I think I actually discovered it first through a friend at school who had one.) My parents, both being teachers, were happy to spend their money on that kind of thing, so I occasionally got one of those kits for a birthday or Xmas present or what-not, for years after that. (For those unfamiliar, these were kits that came with a board full of springs and a box of components. You hooked up the components by slipping them into the springs, or occasionally inserting pieces of wire between certain springs, and made various things like an AM radio or a basic "alarm system".)
Up through senior year of high school, I held onto that interest in electronics enough that I took a couple of optional electronics courses in school. Despite all of that? I never became an electrician or anything.... I find it useful to have a basic understanding of electronics. But as I became an adult, I learned how much MORE you really needed to know to do anything valuable with it, and that was just more than I wanted to do in the field.
I think science is no different. I have a daughter now who likes science (her favorite class in school). But honestly, I also doubt she'll wind up in a scientific career because of other aspects of her personality and tendencies I see. It's one thing to find it "cool" to dissect something in a classroom, or to read about scientific discoveries and think "That's awesome!". But to actually get to the point where people want to hire you to work on those discoveries? That requires going through a LOT of stuff that's just not as fun or easy.
How many of us enjoyed pretending we were astronauts as kids, and/or had an interest in science fiction? How many of you who did wound up working for NASA? Probably not NEARLY as many, right?
I think all you can do as a parent is give your kids opportunities to think and learn. But don't expect you can direct them into a particular field or career path based on it.
Jesus, take a break from yourself.
She is a sphmore at of the top ranked tech schools in the world, but I was unable to google her major. Hint, its near the upcoming superbowl.
Because wanting money, or wanting to make money, is considered anti-social(ist) around here. you're supposed to want to work solely for the betterment of mankind (oops was that sexist? did I trigger anyone?) without regard for personal needs (never mind wants).
Basically, the desire for wealth comes from the desire to have individual control over your life and destiny. Socialists don't want people having too much (if any) of this, because without that dependency, there's no need for their tyranny.
The ones who marked it troll are probably jealous of his wealth, which is stupid because there're plenty of other reasons to dislike the man.
... pointing out that computer science made daddy the richest man in the world would be sufficient to get them interested in science ...
Computer science was not what made Bill Gates rich. There are plenty of people in CS, many far cleverer than Gates, who get no more than a working wage. Gates got rich because of a peculiar set of circumstances that happened at a particular time in computer history, following which he found riches thrust upon him.
What made Gates rich was buying an operating system (QDOS), selling it to IBM, and hiring the guy who wrote it (Tim Paterson) to port it to the IBM PC as PCDOS, and taking the royalties. That made his first "million" (the hardest part of getting rich) and the rest followed. It wasn't computer science, it was a business manoeuver, involving, as successful ones usually do, a combination of luck, skill, and con.
I am thinking that a couple of G notes would get the kids excited. Depending on how the parents have spoiled them so far, of course. It might take some promissory notes and a sports car.
If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
It would have been much easier and more effective to just tell your kids, "We made BILLIONS with SCIENCE, and YOU CAN, TOO!". That would have interested them enough.
You mean all those people busy "not dying" who have time and money to own the products and use the services of the 1%?
What's wrong with QBasic Gorillas? I spent much of HS developing orbital simulations that I used in my space simulator (decades before kerbals in space) using qbasic. That simulation opened a lot of high end job opportunities.
"The ones who marked it troll are probably jealous of his wealth, which is stupid because there're plenty of other reasons to dislike the man."
Actually to be honest, I think it was completely unrelated and it's the same reason a number of my posts have been downmodded in the last 24 hours. A bunch of real actual fascists got angry because I confronted them with facts:
http://slashdot.org/comments.p...
As is usual for fascists, they get a bit upset when confronted with reality and go on their little censorship sprees - I don't think my downmodding in this thread was anything to do with what I said in this thread for what it's worth but the more general down-modding I received for explaining why UKIP fascists are wrong with facts and figures.
The amusing thing is that they think that censoring random people on the internet will actually change the fact they're wrong, they'll keep telling us about how right they are, how important they are, and yet their grand dictator Farage will still keep failing to get elected regardless, though he'll still keep coming back of course because he's the world's sorest loser in the politics game and not a man of his word. Luckily as any UKIP conference will show you these people are nearly all dead, so we wont have to put up with them much longer and no one will give a shit about them and their views when they're 6 foot under. They're also mostly poor underachievers, so maybe they are also jealous of people like Bill Gates too mind you:
https://yougov.co.uk/news/2013...
Only 23% earn more than combined £40k a year in their household (this threshold is below the national average for a household), 71% are over 50, over half have no qualifications past GCSE level (you finish GCSEs at 16), not even A-Level and a mere 13% have a degree.
Yeah, actually, I think your jealousy theory probably does have some relevance to them after all :)
QBasic doesn't seem to have been capable of very fast graphics, even by the standards of the day. But I've certainly seen real work done in BASIC, amusingly both in QBasic and in Amiga BASIC, which was also written by Microsoft.
It's too bad people took up Microsoft operating systems, it would be nice for them to be known as the BASIC company today
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
My point was intended to be more general - that without science there wouldn't be computers for daddy to get so rich in the first place.
None of the simulations or games that I made had any graphics (the horrors). Just pages of numbers. I got so used to looking at columns of numbers that I slightly disliked graphics (for that use) when it started to come out. Kinda like that scene out of The Matrix. I'm old and lazy and not as smart anymore and now mostly watch videos.