Logic, Math and Kiira's Bowling Story
Alek Quinn
Kiira Triea wrote:
>
> The only time I have ever used math in my
> work as a systems analyst and database developer is when I was
> writing statistical analysis programs explicitly concerned with
> math.
Actually, if we are using the same definition of systems analyst (and we
quite possibly are not because it means different things to different
people), a lot of it is an application of algebra with a little of prob
and estimation theory thrown in. But that usually is not explicitly
talked about until you start to get into linear system analysis and
such. This all depends on what type of analysis you are doing. I used
to love stat programming, but I burned out on it. Too much data
cleaning in my case.
> Personally, I always thought
> that there was more of a logical link between programming and
> linguistic skills than between math ability and programming.
I would say both, but much of my programming is numerical analysis. I
like that programs are like little proofs sometimes. A facility with
language helps, too, because a lot of it can be seen as grammar and
vocabulary.
> One of the problems with the way that schools teach "logical thinking"
> is that it is also often associated with linear thinking. I think that
> is one reason why the structure of these knowledge systems tends to be
> culturally exclusionistic to women.
On a similar note: if you are interested, go read the 6th chapter of the
book "Women in Mathematics: The Addition of Difference" by Claudia
Henrion. The book is a lot about the myths that keep women about math.
The 6th chapter talks about mostly about how the structure of how
mathematicians are taught to think and how it excludes women. It's the
same problem, different field.
> I had to get a certain score to get an A and I missed it
> by a few pins. It was so funny, I actually argued my case with the
> bowling teacher. How humiliating.
This is the funniest thing I've read in ages. Sorry, maybe that is not
what you want to hear.
Alek
--
"My experience with getting hit was that it taught me to duck." BL
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CharlottezWeb
In article <1.qdd*_2/b...@panix.com>, nick...@mail2.sas.upenn.edu (Carol A
Nickolai) wrote:
> Kiira Triea (tr...@qis.net) wrote:
> (snip)
> : Gee, all this talk about school is making me nostalgic. I had a 4.0
> : GPA until the 2nd semester of my junior year and then I addressed my
> : PhysEd requirement and took Bowling/Pool. One of my only Dykely skills
> : is pool so that was fun but the bowling part deep-sixed me. I got a B
> : in Bowling! I had to get a certain score to get an A and I missed it
> : by a few pins. It was so funny, I actually argued my case with the
> : bowling teacher. How humiliating.
>
> Hey! I thought I was the only one who did this! I, too, took bowling in
> the second semester of my junior year but I got a C/B (a B- or C+
> depending on your optimism). Our scores for the semester were placed on
> a curve with the highest scorers getting A's. I had two big problems: I
> bowl left-handed and I can consistently hit only the far left pin in the
> back row. The instructor (who didn't "instruct" much because he could
> barely walk) kept saying in mystification "You shouldn't be able to do
> that!"
Wow, I thought it was bad enough that my college required PE classes, but if
they had been graded, that would have really sucked. All you had to do was
show up and try--showing up was my problem. Why are PE classes so damn
early? By Senior Year I had exceeded the allowable absences for several PE
classes cause I couldn't get my lazy ass out of bed, so I had to take a
three credit class second semester to get all my credits so I could
graduate--Fitness for Life. I actually missed one too many classes then too,
so I had to write a paper on the major aspects of "total body fitness." I've
never been so glad for a class to be over.
<snip>
CharlottezWeb
Amanda Walker
> I shoot lefty, both pistols and rifles but especially rifles. I'm
> mostly right handed but I do some things left handed without
> thinking.
>
> So you think this is some cross-brain thingey?
I dunno. I'm most right-handed, but I shoot arrows left-handed. I
tried rifles both ways, and didn't notice a big difference, so I
settled on right handed for convenience (this was college riflery
class, so we were using bolt-action rifles, and it made reloading
easier).
My younger brother is left-handed, exclusively as far as I know.
Amanda Walker
Roving Reporter
Nickolai) took an electronic fuchsia crayon to
soc.women.lesbian-and-bi and scribbled:
>a curve with the highest scorers getting A's. I had two big problems: I
>bowl left-handed and I can consistently hit only the far left pin in the
>back row. The instructor (who didn't "instruct" much because he could
>barely walk) kept saying in mystification "You shouldn't be able to do
>that!"
Heh. I lefthanded too, made the ball bounce...my other problem was
that none of the dam* shoes fit, which certainly reduced any
enthusiasm I had left for it.
--
Therese Shellabarger - tls...@concentric.net
http://www.concentric.net/~tlshell/ Shalom chaverot!
Julie the MS
>I should have taken
>badminten.
Oh, but this isn't always good WRT depth perception either. I can generally hit
some pins while bowling, but I can't hit those badminton birdies to save my
life. Especially serving. I drop it, and swing, and whiff the air.
Consistently. The gym teacher couldn't figure it out. No one wanted to be my
badminton partner either. I have the same problem with tennis. I miss the
ball, and spin around from the force of my swing. Then they all laugh.
Julie
------
http://members.aol.com/ardenk42/index.html
"Everything I need is right here in my hands" - MF
Julie the MS
>This was a nightmare in elementary school. It's some kind of miracle I
>did not fail PE every year because after first grade or so, I gave up on
>trying to catch the balls and concentrated on not getting hit. Needless
>to say I was generally the last person picked for teams.
This is why you suck up to the gym teacher and be the scorekeeper whenever
possible.
Julie, always picked last too
rosa...@mindspring.com
Kiira Triea <tr...@qis.net> wrote in message news:1.x~h=_2...@panix.com...
> x-no-archive: yes
>
> Julie the MS (while...@aol.com) wrote:
> +------
> | Kiira laments
> | >I should have taken
> | >badminten.
> |
> | Oh, but this isn't always good WRT depth perception either. I can
generally hit
> | some pins while bowling, but I can't hit those badminton birdies to
save my
> | life. Especially serving. I drop it, and swing, and whiff the air.
> | Consistently. The gym teacher couldn't figure it out. No one wanted to
be my
> | badminton partner either. I have the same problem with tennis. I miss
the
> | ball, and spin around from the force of my swing. Then they all laugh.
>
> That laughing. The Gym Class Laughing. It's all the fault of those
> ball sports. I fixed them... I ran track. I got to hear that gym
> teacher say "If you beat Kiira you get an A". Ha! My 9:47 2 mile time at
> the Melrose Games stood for 12 years as a national record.
>
> Kiira - Finnish and proud
>
> --
Good going, Kiira.
I, alas, was never a runner.
But this reminds me how much, back in the dear dead days of my schooling, I
loved basketball. Would practice dribble-and-shoot making baskets from all
over the court for hours. But you know what we played? Warning: this will
date me -- and you'll gag. We played "girl's basketball." Basically we
politely passed the ball to one another. While standing -- *standing* as in
*not moving a step* -- facing one another in rows. How utterly lame can you
get???
It was horrible.
Horrible horrible horrible.
--RosieL, still mad 35+ yrs later
Julie the MS
>That laughing. The Gym Class Laughing. It's all the fault of those
>ball sports. I fixed them... I ran track. I got to hear that gym
>teacher say "If you beat Kiira you get an A". Ha! My 9:47 2 mile time at
>the Melrose Games stood for 12 years as a national record.
Very cool. :) I went into martial arts. When I was in sixth grade, a random
teacher at my school tried to start a Taekwon-Do club. It was dying, because
his teaching methods ran along the lines of bragging about his own abilities or
yelling at the littlest kids when they messed up. He begged me, and my little
brother, to help him out with the class. We refused, not wanting to be
associated with him. But it amused me a lot to be begged at.
Julie
------
http://members.aol.com/ardenk42/index.html
"Everything I need is right here in my hands" - MF
--
Julie the MS
>Me:
>| This is why you suck up to the gym teacher and be the scorekeeper whenever
>| possible.
>
>And make out with the gym teacher whenever possible too.
Ew. Maybe yours. My teacher was this rather slimy man who, rumor has it, once
wandered into the girls' locker room during passing period, carrying someone's
sweatshirt and loudly demanding, while walking up and down the aisles, whose it
was. The year before that, though, I had a very amusing gym teacher. She
played obvious favorites on all the girls, especially the ones who weren't
especially athetic, and always tried to push us harder. The boys got annoyed
and complained. No one listened to them. :>
Evil Smartass
>.... Why are PE classes so damn
>early? By Senior Year I had exceeded the allowable absences for several PE
>classes cause I couldn't get my lazy ass out of bed, so I had to take a
>three credit class second semester to get all my credits so I could
>graduate--Fitness for Life. I actually missed one too many classes then too,
>so I had to write a paper on the major aspects of "total body fitness." I've
>never been so glad for a class to be over.
So, what are the major aspects of "total body fitness"?
--
Piglet "But male conditioning, nonetheless. You
pig...@piglet.org were not treated like a woman." [to Julie H.]
Piglet Needs Programmers!! http://www.evolution.com/jobs
Alek Quinn
Kiira Triea wrote:
> I thought my bowling problems were because I am left eyed! I am also
> right footed.
I thought I was the only one with this problem!? I am right handed, but
left footed. This was a problem growing up because I was heavy into
dancing. I was always a little awkward on the right footed stuff which
appears to be predominantly where it is choreographed. Humph!
Alek
--
"My experience with getting hit was that it taught me to duck." BL
--