Growing up in Hampton, the face of science was brown like mine.
Interpretation
Margot Lee Shetterly reflects on her experience of seeing diverse representation in the field of science during her upbringing.
In this quote, Margot Lee Shetterly emphasizes the importance of representation in the sciences, particularly for people of color. Growing up in Hampton, she was surrounded by scientists who looked like her, which played a crucial role in shaping her identity and encouraging her aspirations in a field where diversity has often been lacking. This statement affirms that seeing oneself represented can inspire individuals to pursue careers in fields they may have thought were inaccessible to them.
In practice
In a speech addressing young students, this quote can inspire them to pursue careers in STEM fields.
A lot of times, we talk about black people as if being black is all they are. They get up, go to work... and are as complex and interesting and variable as any other group of people. We don't often capture that or write about it.
I feel like, in a lot of ways, 'Hidden Figures' is the book that I wrote and have been waiting to read since I learned to read.
For too long, history has imposed a binary condition on its black citizens: either nameless or renowned, menial or exceptional, passive recipients of the forces of history or superheroes who acquire mythic status not just because of their deeds but because of their scarcity.
Back in my days as a chemistry student, I used to be quite a technocrat. I was firmly convinced that scientists would have cornered God and photographed Him in color by 1951.
Evolution is a fact. It is the best explanation of what is known from observations. It's a theory as powerful as the theory of gravity.
Inside of a living cell there are thousands of proteins that enable it to make more of itself and make your malaria drug, for instance. We don't understand those. We don't understand how they work together.
I often compare open source to science. To where science took this whole notion of developing ideas in the open and improving on other peoples' ideas and making it into what science is today and the incredible advances that we have had. And I compare that to witchcraft and alchemy, where openness was something you didn't do.
Mitt Romney's energy policy is a relic of the 19th century. We need a 21st century plan. The fate of the planet is at stake.
If the experience of science teaches anything, it's that the world is very strange and surprising. The many revolutions in science have certainly shown that.
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