(pub. 3.3.2020)
32 pages
C haracter: Sophie KowalevskiO verview:
T antalizing taste:
"As a young girl, Sophie paid little attention to the toys scattered about her bedroom. Instead, she spent hours staring at pages and pages of math problems covering her walls from floor to ceiling. When her father had run out of wallpaper for their new home, he had pasted his old college math notes on her walls instead.
With her finger, Sophie traced the mysterious numbers and symbols, searching for patterns. She was fascinated by the secret language of calculus. Although she couldn't yet understand it, that didn't matter. It was if the concepts were entering through her fingertips, travelling up her arm, and finding a home deep inside her brain."
And something more: The Author's Note explains that "Sophie was the first woman to be a professional mathematician since Hypatia in fifth century Egypt." And "while teaching and doing mathematical research, Sophie still found the time to write a memoir, novel, short stories, newspaper articles, two plays, and hundreds of poems. Her most famous work, Nihilist Girl, is a novel about a young aristocratic woman who wants to devote her life to social justice. Through this story, Sophie made the argument that women should have the same opportunities and freedoms as men."
Happy International Women's Day!
4 comments:
I will look for this one, Jeanne. It sounds like a great story & is perfect for today, our International Women's Day! Thanks!
Hi Linda,
Yes, it's a wonderful story! And thanks for the reminder about International Women's Day -- I added it the blog,.
Darn! I wish my library had this book. I think I will have to suggest it as a purchase.
This book sounds great! I wasn't familiar with Sophie Kowalevski, but she sounds fascinating! Thanks for the great post!
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