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loveablegeek:

Why are girls less inclined to be interested in STEM?

I was raised by a grandfather who was a carpenter, farmer and engineer. He only finished 5th grade but he loved Math.  He taught me the multiplication table when I was 5 years old. He took me to “work” — wherever or whatever that may be. He was self-taught and was a success story.

I went to school in private Catholic all-girls school in the Philippines. There never any notion in my mind of what girls or boys are supposed to be good at. Looking back, our curriculum wasn’t particularly geared towards Math and Science. But I found out that I didn’t find Math or any Science subjects difficult. 

Fast forward now.. I am a Math graduate and a software engineer . I have no advanced degrees but I am also an applied researcher. I am not afraid of attending PhD level classes or reading and writing papers and applying algorithms in code.

There should be no psychological barrier to entry in STEM fields. Girls should not only be NOT AFRAID of Math but should be encouraged to pursue it and be good at it starting at a young age.

I’m not saying everybody should be in STEM careers but I think that STEM as a strong building block in childhood education trains the kids early on in analytical and critical thinking and problem solving.  Skills extremely important in whatever career they may pursue. 

Thank you grandpa for instilling in me curiosity and intellectual bravery and persistence. 

Zombie Apocalypse - a mom’s viewing experience

I liked it! I really did.  I did not expect to like it and I just watched it to spend quality time with my son.  It was in Syfy’s horror/zombie series. It is not Oscar material. It has all the horror cliches and the special effects were not very sharp, but it was entertaining!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1876547/

   Photo cred: IMDB

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The small blond girl didn’t do anything but still survived (unfair!!). I found her annoying.  The zombie tiger was just too much!