Intellectuals
We got kicked out of the Pi Contest today. Not the yummy kind of pie, the number kind. (3.14.....) Tim suggested Peter should be exposed to the intellectual 'kind' of human beings. So off we went. And then got kicked out for being disruptive. Well, Peter wasn't whispering like I asked him to. He thought it was so fun -- all the clapping and the silence in between (during each numerical monologue). He kept saying 'light on' and 'picture'...and making other random noises. Until an older, bushy-bearded gentleman asked if he could take my child out! No, thank you. We'll both leave.
It all just made me think about the value and meaning in such things. Interestingly, most of the college-age contestants were girls! My first thought (after suffering from painful discrimination) was -- that girl won't even remember 10 digits of Pi after having a couple of kids. How not feminist of me to say. I just have a really hard time finding the value in memorizing 100+ digits in order to spout them off for the judges...or perhaps prove something to the opposite sex.
It's all a matter of priorities. If I were to say that higher education and intellectualism were not as important as being a wife and mother, I'd be very wrong. But sometimes when I'm in the throws of pregnancy and caring for an active and still-needing-to-be-trained toddler, I consider it the most important job in the world. HIGH above mastering infinite digits. I just didn't see the point this afternoon. Especially when my child and I were thrown out of what I thought was a fun college event open to all.
I will try not to let this leave a lasting impression. There are SOME nice nerds, I know.
It all just made me think about the value and meaning in such things. Interestingly, most of the college-age contestants were girls! My first thought (after suffering from painful discrimination) was -- that girl won't even remember 10 digits of Pi after having a couple of kids. How not feminist of me to say. I just have a really hard time finding the value in memorizing 100+ digits in order to spout them off for the judges...or perhaps prove something to the opposite sex.
It's all a matter of priorities. If I were to say that higher education and intellectualism were not as important as being a wife and mother, I'd be very wrong. But sometimes when I'm in the throws of pregnancy and caring for an active and still-needing-to-be-trained toddler, I consider it the most important job in the world. HIGH above mastering infinite digits. I just didn't see the point this afternoon. Especially when my child and I were thrown out of what I thought was a fun college event open to all.
I will try not to let this leave a lasting impression. There are SOME nice nerds, I know.