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Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Girly and Fabulous

Advance copies of Math Doesn't Suck by Danika McKellar are starting to circulate and the reviews are mostly positive. The general consensus seems to be that anything that gets young girls excited about math is a good thing. There has been a little bit of criticism of her marketing style. She is definitely exploiting her classic good looks (let's face it, she is pleasing to the eye,) and she uses topics like shopping and make-up to explain math concepts. Although her style may offend certain hard-core feminists or misogynistic men, neither of those demographics fall in the target audience. Aetiology over at ScienceBlogs has an interview with McKellar, where she puts forth the idea that it is possible to enjoy fun "girly" things like fashion and jewelry, while still developing an appreciation for math and science.

2 comments:

maths teacher said...

Sounds pretty good to me - whatever helps! Maybe it'll get published over the water here in the UK (with added "s" to keep us happy) if we're lucky.

Mr. Lucchese said...

You know, it's funny. My step-father is British, but has been living in the States for nearly thirty years. He has no recollection of ever using the abbreviation "maths," although he must have done it.