Monday, September 20, 2010

Sexy Mathematicians

Is our children learning sexy?
Danica McKellar -- best known for playing Winnie Cooper, Kevin Arnold's love interest, on "The Wonder Years" (yes, really) -- has found a second career writing about math. Her books have all reached the New York Times bestseller list: "Math Doesn't Suck," "Kiss My Math" and the just-out "Hot X: Algebra Exposed!," which is exponentially more engaging and entertaining than any math book has a right to be. Yet McKellar's vocation as role model isn't uncomplicated: She holds a degree in mathematics from UCLA and co-authored a complex theorem that bears her name, but she's also posed for Maxim in skimpy lingerie, and her books feature cheekily sexy titles and fluffy packaging -- the cover of "Hot X" promises "boy-crazy confessionals!" Is she sending mixed messages that compromise her mission -- or just making savvy marketing moves?
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15 comments:

  1. M. BouffantSeptember 21, 2010 at 12:39 AM

    I always thought math(s) was kinda gay, but what do I know?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Smut ClydeSeptember 21, 2010 at 1:35 AM

    M. Bouffant is banned.

    ReplyDelete
  3. fishSeptember 21, 2010 at 5:04 AM

    related

    Give me something to write on man.

    ReplyDelete
  4. tigrisSeptember 21, 2010 at 7:23 AM

    Is she sending mixed messages that compromise her mission

    Yes, the modeling in skimpy lingerie totally undercuts her "math is sexy!" message.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Substance McGravitasSeptember 21, 2010 at 8:21 AM

    Custard π.

    ReplyDelete
  6. J—September 21, 2010 at 8:35 AM

    Wait, didn't Justin Timberlake sing "I'm Bringing Sexy Math"?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Substance McGravitasSeptember 21, 2010 at 8:41 AM

    I thought we were on that other Justin.

    ReplyDelete
  8. mikeySeptember 21, 2010 at 8:43 AM

    Shocking that American publishers would consider Math a dry subject that required a little 'sexing up' in order to become a commercial success.

    I mean, when has THAT ever happened?

    ReplyDelete
  9. JenniferSeptember 21, 2010 at 9:38 AM

    Shocking that American publishers would consider Math a dry subject that required a little 'sexing up' in order to become a commercial success.

    Math lube...

    ReplyDelete
  10. BrandoSeptember 21, 2010 at 2:36 PM

    Solve for xxx.

    LOL at Substance's Zeppelin use.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hamish MackSeptember 21, 2010 at 3:36 PM

    Hey baby, if you've got the curves, I've got the angles. Yowsaaah

    ReplyDelete
  12. Smut ClydeSeptember 21, 2010 at 7:42 PM

    Let's have a love poem, lyrical, pastoral, and expressed in the language of pure mathematics. Tensor algebra mainly, with a little topology and higher calculus, if need be. But with feeling, you understand, and in the cybernetic spirit.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Substance McGravitasSeptember 21, 2010 at 7:45 PM

    After AK's last project I think I will look elsewhere for poetry-machine builders.

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnonymousSeptember 21, 2010 at 8:25 PM

    It takes two to have a simple harmonic oscillator.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Big Bad Bald BastardSeptember 22, 2010 at 5:16 PM

    What's wrong with being sexy?

    WV (I kid you not)=carwar

    ReplyDelete

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