3 ms·
I feel like you're missing the point. The individual mathematicians don't really matter (in this particular exercise). The fact that there _were_ and _are_ math
by KerrAvon 5y ago
I feel like you're missing the point. The individual mathematicians don't really matter (in this particular exercise). The fact that there _were_ and _are_ mathematicians of color is what's relevant, because it turns out that representation is important.
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/why-race-and-representation-in-media-matters https://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/why-race-and-represe...
- khazhoux 5y agoWell, I might be missing the point. I'm just saying this: I don't think schools teach (or even imply) that mathematicians are straight white men. And in fact, schools (pre-University) don't talk about mathematicians at all. They deal in concepts which are not associated with individuals (arithmetic, geometry, trig, algebra, calc). There's only a couple of exceptions where individual mathematicians are named in high school (Euler and L'Hôpital come to mind). It's not until university level that you start getting into theorems, and actual mathematicians show up (Cayley's theorem, Lagrange's theorem, Abelian groups, etc).
- rkk3 5y agoIt's all kind of bizarre given the historical dominance of Mediterranean mathematicians, who did not look like they were from northern Europe or speak English. Do Pythagorus and Zeno sound white? Maybe need to blame the BBC for the "Queens Latin"