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I have a hard time with these studies because they obviously had an agenda before they started. Rural areas likely do not have as much communication with frien

I have a hard time with these studies because they obviously had an agenda before they started. Rural areas likely do not have as much communication with friends and the income to support a tech lifestyle. While you grow up in the suburbs, you see your friends get the latest video games, you spend more time online. One day you decide you want to 'hack' and 10 years later you are making apps and websites. There seemed to be a culture among my friends that math/tech was extremely important. I know my sister had very little interest, they'd play outside with my both male and female neighbors who none ended up being good at math/tech.

weliketocode 8y ago
I'm very difficult to please, but I think this piece was actually pretty well done --> using large standardized samples, pointing out trends without drawing conclusions.
willvarfar 8y ago
As a rural (non-US) person who did ok at math and whose children are doing great at it, I can only guess that you have an agenda before you read the article ;)
Jonnax 8y ago
What's the agenda?
roenxi 8y ago
To be fair, this is an area where it is impossible not to have an agenda. Both being pro-status-quo or pro-something-here-should-change are relatively radical in the eyes of the other, and there isn't a lot of middle ground. Ideally, more money would be sunk into raising the statistical literacy of everybody. Then we can all talk sensibly about the statistics involved here and take it for granted that Simpson's Paradox is being considered in all studies involving gender :P.
- tomp 8y ago
  The way the article's written, it's putting much more emphasis on the slight and sporadic outperformance of boys in math, rather than on the much stronger and more consistend outperformance of girls in language. That's the problem with the agenda, IMO. Edit: as mlthoughts2018 points out, the title could as well be: "Boys, increasingly abandoned in English class, turn to math as a domain in which they can be rewarded for success-- especially in rich, white suburbs."
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
qntty 8y ago
I grew up in a rural area and had the same experience with math and tech as you. I don't think whether or not I was in a rural area was a significant factor in encouraging or discouraging an interest in tech.

weliketocode 8y ago

I'm very difficult to please, but I think this piece was actually pretty well done --> using large standardized samples, pointing out trends without drawing conclusions.

willvarfar 8y ago

As a rural (non-US) person who did ok at math and whose children are doing great at it, I can only guess that you have an agenda before you read the article ;)

Jonnax 8y ago

What's the agenda?

roenxi 8y ago

To be fair, this is an area where it is impossible not to have an agenda. Both being pro-status-quo or pro-something-here-should-change are relatively radical in the eyes of the other, and there isn't a lot of middle ground. Ideally, more money would be sunk into raising the statistical literacy of everybody. Then we can all talk sensibly about the statistics involved here and take it for granted that Simpson's Paradox is being considered in all studies involving gender :P.

tomp 8y ago
The way the article's written, it's putting much more emphasis on the slight and sporadic outperformance of boys in math, rather than on the much stronger and more consistend outperformance of girls in language. That's the problem with the agenda, IMO. Edit: as mlthoughts2018 points out, the title could as well be: "Boys, increasingly abandoned in English class, turn to math as a domain in which they can be rewarded for success-- especially in rich, white suburbs."
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]

qntty 8y ago

I grew up in a rural area and had the same experience with math and tech as you. I don't think whether or not I was in a rural area was a significant factor in encouraging or discouraging an interest in tech.