Re: gender mix

Joseph N. Hall [[email protected]] quoth:
*>Eek.  Please tell me this list hasn't turned into Mars Needs Women.
*>I guess for the moment it has.

The question of women in Perl classes is an interesting one and, since
trainers are at the front line getting people interested in and trained in
Perl, they bear a unique role in observing trends and possibly helping to
change them. It is germane to Perl as a whole unless the flock that Larry
wishes to assemble is almost all male. 

*>Donna, for example, is a very skilled and clear-thinking programmer.
*>But she doesn't seem to come up with the Big Ideas.  She takes bits
*>and pieces and fits them together, mutates them, writes whatever is
*>needed to fill in the gaps.  She doesn't visualize and create whole 
*>new things as a rule.

I recently read Richard Feynman's "The Pleasure of Finding Things Out"
which is a collection of his interviews and short works. In one of the
interviews he was asked why there weren't more women in science to which
he related a delightful story of how when his son was little he enjoyed
being told bedtime stories which he embellished upon whereas his daughter
would become petulant if he strayed from the book. I found that brilliant,
not only because he didn't answer the question directly, but that it
speaks volumes in what it doesn't say.

There are lots of aspects of the computing field that could appeal to
women and I think Perl is one of them....but I'll get off my soapbox.

e.