Math shouldn’t have to be a gender issue, but unfortunately society has generally foisted the stupid myth on us that “girls can’t do math.” Modern society has foisted the dumber myth on us that “if you are smart, you can’t be cool.”

Let’s examine that second one for a minute. If you are smart, it’s probably true that there is window of time in your adolescent life during which most of your friends will pretend that it’s uncool to be smart.

Why do they do that? Because they are secure, mature, and successful at the things they are going to need and want in life?

Naaaaah. It’s because their hormones are playing ping-pong with their gonads.

That will last a few more years, and then they’ll end up as fratboy and sororitygirl drunks. Now there’s a goal to shoot for.

Respect your future. Respect your mind. This book seems to have some insights on how to do that without becoming a total boring geek. Imagine that!

I’ve created a new squidoo lens about it at: http://squidoo.com/mathdoesntsuck
Check it out.

Professor Peabody and Sherman's Wayback Machine

I know I should be working on MathMojo and writing more books, getting podcasts of Eating Math for Breakfast out, writing the Math Mojo Monthly (“Comes out Quarterly, Mostly”) and making some videos about how to make your own abax, but I got a great distraction a few minutes ago.

My cousin, Jayne, who is about my age (only younger) (I am fifty) sent me an e-mail with a link to a website that was like a time machine. If you are a boomer like us, you may want to check out When Life was in Black and White.

Go ahead and check it out now. I’ll wait. (You kiddies can go back to your X-boxes while Mommy and Daddy go back in time for awhile.)

Wasn’t that amazing?

It’s weird how my memory goes beyond my birth, because I remember every single one of those shows and jingles except for about 3. And some of them were before my time.

Remember

?

Those are the earliest ones I can remember.

I am a fan of some of the locally generated shows from NYC, too.

I guess with all that TV watching, it’s no wonder I never learned any math when I was a kid.

Don’t get me started on cartoons! If you do I’ll never get any work done!

For me, the best thing about the web is that it is like a Wayback Machine.

Hotcha!

Brian

Update: I’m having a nostalgia moment a few years after I posted this. Once again procrastinating from work. Here are the fruits of recent procrastinating:

Parody poster of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E"

Anybody remember “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”?

The original cover of one of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." books