4 ms·

IT is not about math

TeMPOraL 7y ago
To be fair, IT was (and I'm guessing still is) perceived as something associated strongly with maths, even though actual jobs are year by year becoming increasingly less so.
llampx 7y ago
Programming is pretty strongly about math, especially in university when you learn the theory and not just how to link an API to a database. In order to study CS at my school you had to take some fairly advanced Math classes including Calculus and Linear Algebra, which are not easy unless you are comfortable with Math.
- tapland 7y ago
  But selection usually happens way before that. Probably at latest in middle school.
  - merb 7y ago
    In germany it even happens before. parenting has a real impact on any child. it starts with the color of their cloths. some people really live the old way and belive and tell their boys that boys don't cry and they don't wear certain colors, etc. while girls need to behave girly wear nice looking cloths, etc. and then when it comes to homework they try to push their childs in certain directions. or tell/force their childs their dream.
    - hutzlibu 7y ago
      "Some"? I wish. I have a baby and the most important question is allways: a boy or a girl? (Not: healthy? Everything allright? Hard birth? (Yes, allmost, yes)) And clothes, very important the distinction between boy and girl. We got a lot of second hand clothing ... and people did not understand, that I really don't car about the color shades. They should be comfortable, good to the babyskin and fitting for the weather. And good looking, yeah, that comes afterwards. But underlining that it is a son? Why?
    - tapland 7y ago
      I don't know how much I'd attribute this to choosing programming later in life. At 5 I was building Lego technics and my sisters were playing with dolls, though they got as much Lego as I did and our parents very much encouraged us all to fiddle with electronics and tech. My SO codes but hated anything girly from a very young age and was constantly told she wasn't acting ladylike. Those experiences are from prior to encountering the effects from the rest of society. My SO was diagnosed with ASD as an adult but has had elevated testosterone levels found at a young age. So just personally it feels weird attributing those things to upbringing. And Sweden where I am really shouldn't have as few women in tech as we do either if it was based on gender roles in upbringing.
    - llampx 7y ago
      If parenting had such an impact, there would be no female software engineers in/from India, and many in/from the US and Western Europe. The reality is pretty much the opposite, with Eastern Europeans, Indians and Chinese being overrepresented in software engineering and higher degrees in STEM subjects.

To be fair, IT was (and I'm guessing still is) perceived as something associated strongly with maths, even though actual jobs are year by year becoming increasingly less so.

llampx 7y ago

Programming is pretty strongly about math, especially in university when you learn the theory and not just how to link an API to a database. In order to study CS at my school you had to take some fairly advanced Math classes including Calculus and Linear Algebra, which are not easy unless you are comfortable with Math.

tapland 7y ago
But selection usually happens way before that. Probably at latest in middle school.
- merb 7y ago
  In germany it even happens before. parenting has a real impact on any child. it starts with the color of their cloths. some people really live the old way and belive and tell their boys that boys don't cry and they don't wear certain colors, etc. while girls need to behave girly wear nice looking cloths, etc. and then when it comes to homework they try to push their childs in certain directions. or tell/force their childs their dream.
  - hutzlibu 7y ago
    "Some"? I wish. I have a baby and the most important question is allways: a boy or a girl? (Not: healthy? Everything allright? Hard birth? (Yes, allmost, yes)) And clothes, very important the distinction between boy and girl. We got a lot of second hand clothing ... and people did not understand, that I really don't car about the color shades. They should be comfortable, good to the babyskin and fitting for the weather. And good looking, yeah, that comes afterwards. But underlining that it is a son? Why?
  - tapland 7y ago
    I don't know how much I'd attribute this to choosing programming later in life. At 5 I was building Lego technics and my sisters were playing with dolls, though they got as much Lego as I did and our parents very much encouraged us all to fiddle with electronics and tech. My SO codes but hated anything girly from a very young age and was constantly told she wasn't acting ladylike. Those experiences are from prior to encountering the effects from the rest of society. My SO was diagnosed with ASD as an adult but has had elevated testosterone levels found at a young age. So just personally it feels weird attributing those things to upbringing. And Sweden where I am really shouldn't have as few women in tech as we do either if it was based on gender roles in upbringing.
  - llampx 7y ago
    If parenting had such an impact, there would be no female software engineers in/from India, and many in/from the US and Western Europe. The reality is pretty much the opposite, with Eastern Europeans, Indians and Chinese being overrepresented in software engineering and higher degrees in STEM subjects.