tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post6129626723117720986..comments2023-09-27T07:44:19.769-04:00Comments on Sabine Hossenfelder: Backreaction: Women in Science. Again.Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-25045299536221088852013-11-18T06:50:29.280-05:002013-11-18T06:50:29.280-05:00There is at least one female professor in Uppsala....There is at least one <a href="http://www.astro.uu.se/~hoefner/" rel="nofollow">female professor</a> in Uppsala.<br />Phillip Helbighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067585245603436809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-3462184213569564272013-11-17T06:45:53.441-05:002013-11-17T06:45:53.441-05:00Forgot the source: http://www.physics.uu.se/sv/pag...Forgot the source: http://www.physics.uu.se/sv/page/j-mst-lldhetsarbeteAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-57537096690164084752013-11-17T06:44:22.316-05:002013-11-17T06:44:22.316-05:00Having searched SU, UU and LU hompages I can decla...Having searched SU, UU and LU hompages I can declare that subject wise statistics is scarce, only finding the following:<br /><br />"For example, within Astronomy and Space Physics the first female PhD graduate was as recent as 1996, and the first, and only, female lecturer was appointed around 2003. The division of Theoretical physics has no female permanent academic staff member, Applied Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-65710407887911233422013-10-10T23:15:29.344-04:002013-10-10T23:15:29.344-04:00Very interesting and well-written post, as usual.
...Very interesting and well-written post, as usual.<br /><br />"How awesome is that? And where if not theoretical physics do you find this?"<br /><br />Very awesome; I've found it, in a minor way, in engineering (because there is a lot of physics in engineering). For example, I was testing a new design of turbine vanes on a test rotor, and found an unexpected vibration frequency amongJimVhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10198704789965278981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-39757797130707922272013-10-09T05:15:20.904-04:002013-10-09T05:15:20.904-04:00"Women and minority quota are, in my opinion,..."Women and minority quota are, in my opinion, a very bad idea. I am absolutely fed up of hearing from some colleagues that "being a woman might have helped you in getting your position", or "don't worry, you will easily get your grants through because you are a woman and come from an unusual country". I want my work to be considered (well or not) for what it is."Phillip Helbighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067585245603436809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-60757501267645116312013-10-09T05:11:50.566-04:002013-10-09T05:11:50.566-04:00"Alas, at our institute we have mixed bathroo...<i>"Alas, at our institute we have mixed bathrooms."</i><br /><br />Glad you mentioned it. Yes, mixed public toilets are quite common in Sweden. (On the other hand, mixed public saunas, the rule in German- and Dutch-speaking countries, are extremely rare in Scandinavia and the few that do exist usually insist on the guests wearing swimwear, which hits people familiar with proper saunaPhillip Helbighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067585245603436809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-21572563840732161092013-10-09T05:03:58.873-04:002013-10-09T05:03:58.873-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Phillip Helbighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067585245603436809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-5847312768455463582013-10-09T04:45:30.328-04:002013-10-09T04:45:30.328-04:00Experimentalist,
Thanks for your comment.
1) I ...Experimentalist,<br /><br />Thanks for your comment. <br /><br />1) I don't have any numbers on whether there are fewer women in theoretical or experimental physics. My impression has been there are more in experimental physics, but impressions can be misleading. It would be interesting to see some data on this.<br /><br />2) I agree with you. I've seen the worst of women quotas in the Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-74170550524559000622013-10-08T17:58:07.318-04:002013-10-08T17:58:07.318-04:00Great writing, indeed one of the best I've rea...Great writing, indeed one of the best I've read.<br /> <br />I'm myself a young "woman in physics". I got the NYT article forwarded too, asking for my opinion. And, as each time I talk about the topic, my answer was "first, please, kindergarten". Not so far from your " first, please, maternity leave". <br /><br />Two points I wanted to make: <br /><br />1. I experimentalisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12604021975234664112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-25807364751076967442013-10-08T11:15:48.283-04:002013-10-08T11:15:48.283-04:00I agree: even if the imbalance is due to discrimin...I agree: even if the imbalance is due to discrimination, a quota has the effect that many people who get in after a quota is in place will be perceived as not having been able to get in without a quota, even if the latter is not the case.<br /><br />Perhaps women in physics are, because there are so few, like men with pink toenails. People don't know how to react and choose to be on the safePhillip Helbighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067585245603436809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-58707061563463761302013-10-08T04:52:34.511-04:002013-10-08T04:52:34.511-04:00Phillip,
Thanks, I fixed the typo. Regarding quot...Phillip,<br /><br />Thanks, I fixed the typo. Regarding quotas and discrimination. The problem is to find out whether or not an unequal fraction of men and women in any profession is due to discrimination or not. There are certainly studies claiming that in science such discrimination does exist and that's unfortunate. Quotas try to cure the symptom, not the disease. Best,<br /><br />B.Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1909046111532956152013-10-08T01:00:14.790-04:002013-10-08T01:00:14.790-04:00What I have learned from women is that they are us...What I have learned from women is that they are usually more practical within their lives than men. Thank God for that! Being practical sometimes mean risk aversion with the choices of one's life.<br /><br />Pursuing academic career in hard sciences might be somewhat risky. You can earn more money easily by doing something else in case you have the capacity needed with academic career.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16842237142348106304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-2668196408474929252013-10-07T03:31:31.119-04:002013-10-07T03:31:31.119-04:00What annoys me most about articles like the New Yo...What annoys me most about articles like the <i>New York Times</i> piece is that they concentrate on one field---usually, physics or astronomy---and spin all kinds of theories to explain that there are fewer women than men in this field. But if we look at all jobs in the world, there is practically none with equal numbers of men and women: some have more men, some have more women.<br /><br />I Phillip Helbighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067585245603436809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-75818315122029509762013-10-07T03:19:37.132-04:002013-10-07T03:19:37.132-04:00"Most of the time I’m not consciously taking ...<i>"Most of the time I’m not consciously taking note of them having a crinkly chromosome I don’t have"</i><br /><br />As long as it's just the crinkly <i>chromosome</i>. :-)<br />Phillip Helbighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067585245603436809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-34104414264719643392013-10-07T03:17:15.997-04:002013-10-07T03:17:15.997-04:00"pad my shoulders"
That should be "...<i>"pad my shoulders"</i><br /><br />That should be "pat". "Pad", in the context of "shoulder", refers to an aspect of 1980s fashion which you probably avoided, even if you paint your toenails pink.<br />Phillip Helbighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067585245603436809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-49249850311430501142013-10-07T03:11:34.689-04:002013-10-07T03:11:34.689-04:00One of the most sensible things I've read on t...One of the most sensible things I've read on this topic!<br />Phillip Helbighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067585245603436809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-36218269779522659232013-10-06T05:24:21.219-04:002013-10-06T05:24:21.219-04:00Dear Arun,
I wrote this to provide some context b...Dear Arun,<br /><br />I wrote this to provide some context by which to gauge my experience. I think it matters to see what is probably the difference between me and the author of the NYT article and I want readers to understand this. I'm happy to be alone with a pile of books though I would appreciate a pen and a notebook in addition. <br /><br />It's not as bad as that I'm unable to Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-36488133366230828082013-10-06T00:30:05.991-04:002013-10-06T00:30:05.991-04:00Dear Bee,
Great essay, though a few sentences can ...Dear Bee,<br />Great essay, though a few sentences can be read as though you retreated into physics, unable to handle people. Was that what you wanted to convey?<br /><br />Best wishes,<br />ArunArunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03451666670728177970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-34480305540320247492013-10-05T23:35:41.426-04:002013-10-05T23:35:41.426-04:00Excellent writing, and reading. Your personal rep...Excellent writing, and reading. Your personal reporting of the why you went into the sciences should be the only criterion... and an inspiration for the next generation.<br /><br />Now I have to look at what the firewall thing was all about, missed that one.<br /><br />Honesty and objectivity is refreshing and essential for good science.L. Edgar Ottohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00525169618204198073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-3985496003792177692013-10-05T23:35:16.894-04:002013-10-05T23:35:16.894-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.L. Edgar Ottohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00525169618204198073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-90281564308465103682013-10-05T23:33:33.162-04:002013-10-05T23:33:33.162-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.L. Edgar Ottohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00525169618204198073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-38643287535377829182013-10-05T18:29:30.690-04:002013-10-05T18:29:30.690-04:00/* take in contrast a problem like black hole info.../* take in contrast a problem like black hole information loss or the recent firewall controversy. Clean, neat, intriguing. So much easier. */<br /><br />?Zephirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06010623752049244967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-44464084603122375192013-10-05T18:15:25.377-04:002013-10-05T18:15:25.377-04:00In the modern world girls don't play with doll...In the modern world girls don't play with dolls and boys don't play wih cars (exclusively - duh!)<br /><br />I've explained the difference above for all time, any society anywhere - women can not be as solitary as menJimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16192738560762633240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-42548459407333381402013-10-05T17:56:16.597-04:002013-10-05T17:56:16.597-04:00Do not confuse empirical ability with social advoc...<a href="http://motls.blogspot.com/2013/10/nyt-prints-demagogic-essay-on-women-in.html" rel="nofollow">Do not</a> confuse empirical ability with social advocacy. Emily Noether was meteoric. Watson and Crick (1953) got their 1962 Nobel Prize after Rosalind Franklin was thoroughly dead (1958). "<i>But first, please, the maternity leave</i>". <a href="http://motls.blogspot.com/2013/10Uncle Alhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05056804084187606211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-60070950290200889162013-10-05T17:45:25.909-04:002013-10-05T17:45:25.909-04:00Women are more vulnerable -it's not so easy fo...Women are more vulnerable -it's not so easy for them to do stuff that requires isolation from society compared to men. A woman alone probably feels more threatened than a man aloneJimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16192738560762633240noreply@blogger.com