A carefully developed argument that urges us to discuss character traits without reference to gender.
Can mathematics break down barriers to entry—in markets, in society—imposed by gender? Mathematician and math popularizer Cheng takes a positive view.
“Math isn’t just about getting the right answers; it’s about dreaming up different worlds in which different things can be true.” The author writes inductively of her experiences as a woman in a field dominated by men to arrive at an alternate world in which gender is not a determinant in who fails, who succeeds, who has access, and who does not. A specialist in category theory—a branch of mathematics in which theories and not theorems govern—Cheng proposes that many arguments about supposed gender absolutes can be reframed. For example, she breaks down the logical implications in the syllogism that says that men are better at math than women, because they are better at systematizing—ergo, “being a man implies being better at math.” But what if the frame were moved to encourage decomposition of the terms? “Men have been observed to be statistically more likely to be stronger at systemizing than empathizing, for some very specific definitions of these words,” a strength that often resolves in ways such that “we might expect more men than women to become mathematicians.” The onus is not on numeracy but instead on structures that push people into different endeavors. In a spry—and not number-heavy—text, Cheng suggests that inherent ability is not as important as how math is generally taught: the ponderous lecturer at the front of the class, the mostly bewildered students trying to follow along. She proposes a “congressive,” group-oriented solution to problem-solving to replace the “ingressive” model, which presupposes that learning is a sort of Darwinian matter of survival of the fittest. Most truisms about gender difference, she notes, are “because of bias, not biology,” and the reframing she suggests makes this bias clear.
A carefully developed argument that urges us to discuss character traits without reference to gender.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5416-4650-6
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Basic Books
Review Posted Online: June 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Maher calls out idiocy wherever he sees it, with a comedic delivery that veers between a stiletto and a sledgehammer.
The comedian argues that the arts of moderation and common sense must be reinvigorated.
Some people are born snarky, some become snarky, and some have snarkiness thrust upon them. Judging from this book, Maher—host of HBO’s Real Time program and author of The New New Rules and When You Ride Alone, You Ride With bin Laden—is all three. As a comedian, he has a great deal of leeway to make fun of people in politics, and he often delivers hilarious swipes with a deadpan face. The author describes himself as a traditional liberal, with a disdain for Republicans (especially the MAGA variety) and a belief in free speech and personal freedom. He claims that he has stayed much the same for more than 20 years, while the left, he argues, has marched toward intolerance. He sees an addiction to extremism on both sides of the aisle, which fosters the belief that anyone who disagrees with you must be an enemy to be destroyed. However, Maher has always displayed his own streaks of extremism, and his scorched-earth takedowns eventually become problematic. The author has something nasty to say about everyone, it seems, and the sarcastic tone starts after more than 300 pages. As has been the case throughout his career, Maher is best taken in small doses. The book is worth reading for the author’s often spot-on skewering of inept politicians and celebrities, but it might be advisable to occasionally dip into it rather than read the whole thing in one sitting. Some parts of the text are hilarious, but others are merely insulting. Maher is undeniably talented, but some restraint would have produced a better book.
Maher calls out idiocy wherever he sees it, with a comedic delivery that veers between a stiletto and a sledgehammer.Pub Date: May 21, 2024
ISBN: 9781668051351
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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