How Melinda Gates Got Her Daughters Excited About Science (geekwire.com) 106
theodp writes: GeekWire reports that Melinda Gates concluded a Davos panel discussion about gender parity with a personal story about her own family, explaining how she originally became interested in computer science, and how she later played Lab Manager to Bill's Mr. Wizard to help pass along their passion for science and math to their kids. "On Saturday mornings," Gates explained, "I wanted to sleep late. So you know what I did? I made sure there were science projects available, and that's what he did with our two daughters and our son. And guess what my two daughters are interested in? Science and math."
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Cool Story, Sis (Score:1)
This would be better : (Score:2, Funny)
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Well, except Linux isn't actually Unix. Its a bad clone that does a lot of things in its own silly non-standard way which is one of, if not the biggest problem it has.
Irix is actually UNIX. OS X is actually UNIX.
Being open has not made it amazingly faster, its advanced at a slower pace than both Windows and OS X in every measurable way. It is also not actual OSS software, its copyleft, which is nothing more than pretend open source fitting RMS's personal hippie agenda.
Its highly modifiable to a small sel
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A few questions for you:
1. What makes it a particularly bad clone? What standards does it violate (POSIX)? Don't other free and open unix systems (such as free/net/open bsd) also violate these standards from time to time? Hasn't POSIX evolved over time? Do you expect us to go back to 1998 for 'real' POSIX, or is your arbitrary snapshot date back to the first revisions?
2. Irix is a dead stick. It's not developed anymore. Try using it today as a modern OS. It would be like trying to use OS/2 (people do try t
Re: This would be better : (Score:3, Interesting)
Years ago, l switched to Linux because windows XP sucked donkey balls. Linux's repositories, customisation, and freedom (from viruses as well as anti-consumer bullshit to help Microsoft's bottom line) absolutely rocked, and I was a huge Linux head for a while. Also, for all the rumours of Linux being bad with hardware, just about everything worked out of the box on my kubuntu install. Windows was the one that made me scour the net for drivers.
But recently I tried windows again (windows 8), and although the
Re: This would be better : (Score:5, Insightful)
Windows makes you pay through the $$$ just to ADD a c/c++ compiler.
Visual Studio Community edition - free.
Mind closing. Linux FTW!
Yeah, your mind got closed all right.
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Yes I have. What about it? Is there a part you need explained?
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It's highly unlikely that GNU is less free than the license for the libs that come with vs.
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Also https://www.cs.virginia.edu/~l... [virginia.edu] for C (I guess not C++).
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The vast majority of "hacked" systems I have encountered over the years have been Linux servers.
I am primarily a Windows admin and have been in hundreds of local businesses with Windows and Linux servers and nearly 100% of pwnd systems were Linux boxes.
The only Windows server I have ever personally seen hacked was due to RDP being open to the Internet with a very weak admin password (I believe the password was "pass")
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I believe you ;)
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What makes a full screen start menu 'easier to use'? What makes windows 8 more secure? Windows has never been truly secure, and probably never will be. You do realize that interface was simply grafted over the win32 stuff that stabilized somewhere around win2k/xp? Sure, there's some under the hood changes in kernel space, but they come with so many annoyances in the UI that it's probably not worth it. Win7 is the last 'usable' windows, but it suffers from the shitty decisions they made for vista.
Crashing
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I use both Windows and Linux, and I can't remember the last time I've witnessed an application crashing on either. It's most likely your hardware is faulty.
Why not let children develop their interests (Score:1)
naturally? And maybe they'll pick up hobbies that interest them on their own.
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naturally? And maybe they'll pick up hobbies that interest them on their own.
Disagree. Having an environment where something can develop is pretty important in my opinion.
Anecdotes from my childhood:
* Positives: free availability of encyclopaedias, the town library, "how to" books, books about experiments, workshop with many hand and power tools, some scrap materials.
* Negatives: Due to financial constraints and living far away from shops on farm, scarcity of some materials like light/torch bulbs, batteries, good quality wire, magnets, some chemicals. Due to improvising with scra
Re:Why not let children develop their interests (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Why not let children develop their interests (Score:4, Interesting)
This, for what its worth our strategy which seems to have worked so far was to spend time on a bunch of Parks & Rec classes on diverse things and see what clicked. If it clicked she got more of them. Since P&R courses were (relatively) cheap, we could afford to do the shotgun approach.
We ended up with a kid who loves electronics, piano and skiing.
Min
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Similarly. I shoveled snow, delivered papers and helped neighbors clean out their barns/garages to save up and buy a C64. My parents hated computers. My dad was constantly telling me to get off the thing and do *real* work. Even with the school bullying and the lack of dates -- I never quit. Somehow all of this has changed? Now people need constant encouragement, no bullying, financial incentive, etc and even then, it's still a struggle to keep people interested.
No one is saying it is impossible for people to pick up interests even when they are actively or passively discouraged. It is simply less likely. Encouraging your kids to be interested in difficult subjects (like STEM) makes it more likely they will find them interesting themselves.
The argument is the world needs many more STEM workers in the next 30 years than it needed in the last 30 years. So raising our kids the same way our parents raised us (I'm a parent in my 30's for context) is not a very good meth
Failed experiment (Score:4)
What does she have as proof that, if she had not done this, then they would not have been interested in science and maths?
By Spending a Big Pile of OUR MONEY (Score:4, Funny)
"On Saturday mornings," Gates explained, "I wanted to sleep late. So you know what I did? I made sure there were science projects available, and that's what he did with our two daughters and our son. And guess what my two daughters are interested in? Science and math."
"On Saturday mornings," Gates explained while looking down her nose at the little people, "I wanted to sleep late. So you know what I did? I spent your money on educational toys, after Bill and his company were convicted of abusing Microsoft's monopoly position to grow both the company and our personal fortune. And just guess how much better my kids did than yours! Now imagine how secure their futures will be, no matter how useless they are, since Bill succeeded in dodging taxes by creating a for-profit foundation!"
Correction (Score:3)
Of course, now it's perfectly normal and expected to bundle a browser with an OS
Of course, now it's perfectly normal and expected to bundle an OS with a browser .
Re: By Spending a Big Pile of OUR MONEY (Score:2)
Microsoft were found guilty of a lot more than that but let's not let the facts get in the way of your fanboyism.
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Nice ad-hominem, but that doesn't change the fact that this is good advice and applicable to everyone, rich or not. Schools and charities can just as well provide educational science projects and classes. Her point is that it works equally well for both genders, which is apparently controversial for some people, but mostly obvious to educators.
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Nice ad-hominem, but that doesn't change the fact that this is good advice and applicable to everyone, rich or not.
It's applicable to everyone who can afford it because they are more privileged than those from whom they have stolen. This principle writ large and small is how capitalism works. As we practice it, it is a negative-sum game because we are spending natural capital faster than it is replenished.
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"On Saturday mornings," Gates explained, "I wanted to sleep late. So you know what I did? I made sure there were science projects available, and that's what he did with our two daughters and our son. And guess what my two daughters are interested in? Science and math."
"On Saturday mornings," Gates explained while looking down her nose at the little people, "I wanted to sleep late. So you know what I did? I spent your money on educational toys, after Bill and his company were convicted of abusing Microsoft's monopoly position to grow both the company and our personal fortune. And just guess how much better my kids did than yours! Now imagine how secure their futures will be, no matter how useless they are, since Bill succeeded in dodging taxes by creating a for-profit foundation!"
"I taught them about manipulating 12 figure holdings and how to make legal donations to politicians, which we were failing to do, which is why they sicced their machinery on us. I showed them how Google donated to US federal and state politicians, and politicians of European countries, but neglected to donate to EU officials in Brussels, and look what happened."
Mindboggling (Score:1)
On Saturday mornings, I wanted to sleep late. So you know what I did? I made sure there were science projects available, and that's what he did with our two daughters and our son.
Amazing. One would think that a family with that sort of wealth at their disposal might be able to hire all sorts of nannies/governesses/tutors at any hour of the month to keep their kids occupied (and educated) while they slept in - whether on a weekend or on any other day of the week.
Cudos for keeping it real and staying in touch with how the other half ^H^H^H^H 99.9999% lives.
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Amazing. One would think that a family with that sort of wealth at their disposal might be able to hire all sorts of nannies/governesses/tutors at any hour of the month to keep their kids occupied (and educated) while they slept in - whether on a weekend or on any other day of the week.
Cudos for keeping it real and staying in touch with how the other half ^H^H^H^H 99.9999% lives.
Amazing. One would think that an intelligent, educated reader of Slashdot might be able to understand that this is a highly "massaged" version of the real story, which Melinda Gates' PR department disseminates to the 99%.
Cudos for keeping your innocence and believing everything on the "Kardashians" TV shows.
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I don't think you can make those sorts of comparison unless we have some believable figures on butt size. The Kardashians are known for ample heft.
On Saturday mornings... (Score:1)
I wanted to sleep late. But you know what I did instead? I got up, made breakfast, did laundry, cut the grass, replaced a faucet, pressed and folded said laundry and then cleaned the kitchen. Oh, some days I also try to learn more computing languages on my own time because I can't do that on work time, can I?
I resent the idea that the only thing separating my kids from a deep and abiding interest in all things science is if I only worked a little harder and got my lazy hiney out of bed earlier.
If the Gates
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I have multiple children, which is the definition of "context switching" and "inability to focus" as well as increased work, so I definitely work less efficiently (and have more work) than when I was single.
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I was still able to sleep in Saturday. And you know what, even sleeping in, .... I usually skip breakfast, and for laundry, being a single guy I just usually have my dirty pile and my clean pile,. I guess I did spend 2 hours on the phone ........ and I also cleaned the bathroom. ....... Maybe you just work really inefficiently?
Wow, you have a hard life! Laundry, phone calls and bathroom cleaning !!
You should follow me around one Saturday. The jobs will include some or all of : cutting up and clearing two fallen trees (~40" girth), keeping about 25 other full sized trees pruned, mowing a half an acre of grass, progressively replacing about 200 yds of fencing, trimming about 500 yds of 10ft high hedging, manually cleaning about 0.1 acres of gravel driveway, digging and planting 0.1 acres of vegtable garden, laying paved paths ar
Time for 'Things of Science' 2.0? (Score:5, Interesting)
Rediscovering Things of Science [mit.edu]: For many years [1940-1989], the Science Service produced a monthly series of science kits called "Things of Science", available by subscription. When I was a kid (in the 60s), I subscribed to Things of Science for several years. I suspect that many of us who chose careers in the sciences found at least part of our inspiration in those blue boxes that arrived in the mail every month (well, almost every month; sometimes we'd get manila envelopes, filled with stuff that wouldn't fit in the boxes). Each kit ("unit") had a booklet of experiments, and usually everything needed to perform them.
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QBasic doesn't seem to have been capable of very fast graphics, even by the standards of the day. But I've certainly seen real work done in BASIC, amusingly both in QBasic and in Amiga BASIC, which was also written by Microsoft.
It's too bad people took up Microsoft operating systems, it would be nice for them to be known as the BASIC company today
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Simple... (Score:2)
"How did Melinda Gates get her daughters interested in science?"
Answer : "Like science or you're out of the will."
I know (Score:3)
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I hadn't had my tea yet, so I missed the obvious. Let me try again.
Good for you, you rich bitch. I'll bet rich bitches like you never have to deal with juggling babysitters when you get your schedule for the next week that Sunday and find out that even though you usually work evenings, you've been scheduled for the afternoon for some inexplicable reason.
I'll bet rich bitches like you have plenty of time to cook homemade meals for your rich bitch daughters.
I'll bet rich bitches like you have no problem rel
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Jesus, take a break from yourself.
Common sense, perhaps, but not newsworthy .... (Score:4, Insightful)
I mean, sure ... it's good advice to stimulate the minds of your kids. Give them interesting things to do and figure out, and they might discover something they really like.
But the idea that you can "steer" a kid into a career field based on what you gave them to do for fun as a kid? Nah.... doesn't work like that.
When I was a kid, I realized I really liked working with those "50 in 1" electronics project kits like they sold at Radio Shack. (I think I actually discovered it first through a friend at school who had one.) My parents, both being teachers, were happy to spend their money on that kind of thing, so I occasionally got one of those kits for a birthday or Xmas present or what-not, for years after that. (For those unfamiliar, these were kits that came with a board full of springs and a box of components. You hooked up the components by slipping them into the springs, or occasionally inserting pieces of wire between certain springs, and made various things like an AM radio or a basic "alarm system".)
Up through senior year of high school, I held onto that interest in electronics enough that I took a couple of optional electronics courses in school. Despite all of that? I never became an electrician or anything.... I find it useful to have a basic understanding of electronics. But as I became an adult, I learned how much MORE you really needed to know to do anything valuable with it, and that was just more than I wanted to do in the field.
I think science is no different. I have a daughter now who likes science (her favorite class in school). But honestly, I also doubt she'll wind up in a scientific career because of other aspects of her personality and tendencies I see. It's one thing to find it "cool" to dissect something in a classroom, or to read about scientific discoveries and think "That's awesome!". But to actually get to the point where people want to hire you to work on those discoveries? That requires going through a LOT of stuff that's just not as fun or easy.
How many of us enjoyed pretending we were astronauts as kids, and/or had an interest in science fiction? How many of you who did wound up working for NASA? Probably not NEARLY as many, right?
I think all you can do as a parent is give your kids opportunities to think and learn. But don't expect you can direct them into a particular field or career path based on it.
Re:Common sense, perhaps, but not newsworthy .... (Score:4, Insightful)
Making a career in a scientific field is hard, and there's not that much demand for it anyway. Knowing and enjoying science, however, is something we should strive for everyone.
Did it work with their daughter? (Score:3)
Did anyone else know the answer at once? (Score:2)
There's an easier way (Score:1)
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What's your point? She's not a school teacher.
Do you believe that parents should avoid science projects being available?
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I can't quite find her resumé.
Is she qualified to teach science and math?
In my humble opinion, I have found that people that are qualified teachers in something are often not the best choice to inspire interest in that subject (to the contrary - and I've been a part time teacher myself). IMO, role models (e.g., parents and other adult relatives) that are (even mildly) passionate about something are much better at that. Parents are passionate organic farmers? Chances are, kids might become that too, or at least be the ones that plant a bed of veggies instead of flowers. Parent a
Re:Melinda Gates? What did she accomplish? (Score:4, Informative)
I'd have thought that pointing out that computer science made daddy the richest man in the world would be sufficient to get them interested in science quite frankly.
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Because wanting money, or wanting to make money, is considered anti-social(ist) around here. you're supposed to want to work solely for the betterment of mankind (oops was that sexist? did I trigger anyone?) without regard for personal needs (never mind wants).
Basically, the desire for wealth comes from the desire to have individual control over your life and destiny. Socialists don't want people having too much (if any) of this, because without that dependency, there's no need for their tyranny.
The ones w
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"The ones who marked it troll are probably jealous of his wealth, which is stupid because there're plenty of other reasons to dislike the man."
Actually to be honest, I think it was completely unrelated and it's the same reason a number of my posts have been downmodded in the last 24 hours. A bunch of real actual fascists got angry because I confronted them with facts:
http://slashdot.org/comments.p... [slashdot.org]
As is usual for fascists, they get a bit upset when confronted with reality and go on their little censorship
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... pointing out that computer science made daddy the richest man in the world would be sufficient to get them interested in science ...
Computer science was not what made Bill Gates rich. There are plenty of people in CS, many far cleverer than Gates, who get no more than a working wage. Gates got rich because of a peculiar set of circumstances that happened at a particular time in computer history, following which he found riches thrust upon him.
What made Gates rich was buying an operating system (QDOS), selling it to IBM, and hiring the guy who wrote it (Tim Paterson) to port it to the IBM PC as PCDOS, and taking the royalties. Tha
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My point was intended to be more general - that without science there wouldn't be computers for daddy to get so rich in the first place.
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I can't find your resume either. What makes you qualified to comment on this, apart from your obvious self-importance?
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A great many people home-school their kids, even in technical subjects. A great many people have self-taught even technical subjects. It's not rocket science (until it is).
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Judging from the article, her best qualification is that her father was an engineer who encouraged her in the science/math direction. She was able to make the most of her talents by avoiding the poisonously fearful female culture that keeps women out of STEM.
Re:Typical (Score:4, Funny)
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How likely are you to die today?
"Today is the last day of your life . . . so far."
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You mean all those people busy "not dying" who have time and money to own the products and use the services of the 1%?