
The NASA women who inspired 'Hidden Figures' will get Congressional gold medals - ga-vu
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/09/us/hidden-figures-congressional-medals-trnd/index.html
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neilv
I saw the "Hidden Figures" film recently, and liked it. It seems like one of
those things that are good for a lot of people to see, especially in tech.

The still image that the CNN piece picked wasn't very representative of the
film, IMHO. The scene had a place in the context of the rest of the film, and
perhaps conveys some of the spirit that helped them through, but picking that
single still alone seemed to me (I could be mistaken) more likely a decision
of an advertiser than the director.

One thing the film didn't and couldn't do, though I wish it could've: in some
scenes, when one of the main characters is treated badly, I wish I could've
been there in the real world analogue of it, and seen how all the others
present reacted. The people who made the film convey a perspective on this,
using the tools of film, and it's believable and helpful. But no one actually
knows all of what everyone in the room was thinking and hinted at. What people
were actually thinking, and how they acted, as wrongs were happening, also
seems something important to learn from.

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officemonkey
I thought the film was good, but it simplified the story considerably. In
particular, the dramatic bits about racism were a lot more nuanced in the
book.

I recommend reading the book for the more accurate and complex reality these
women faced regarding race and sexism.

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ghaff
For folks who appreciated either reading or viewing Hidden Figures and are
interested in women in science history, you should keep an eye open for the
play: _The Women who Mapped the Stars_. It's about the investigation of the
cepheid variables which basically led to creating a yardstick for stellar
distances.

(There's also a couple plays about one of the women in particular, Henrietta
Swan Leavitt, although those are probably harder to come by.)

Added: Another very good play in this vein is Photograph 51 (centered on
Rosalind Franklin).

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officemonkey
Software Engineer Margaret Hamilton received the Congressional Medal of
Freedom in 2016.

Hooray for women in STEM.

~~~
skratchpixels
She also has her own Lego figurine.

[https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/women-of-
nasa-21312](https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/women-of-nasa-21312)

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mkesper
Please read the book, I found it to be a deep lesson of the history of black
female scientists.

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decasia
It really makes you wonder who else may be out there who deserves a medal for
their work, but was never properly recognized because of gender, race, or
other sociological reasons…

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belorn
A common critique of Thomas Edison is that a large part of invention that gets
attributed to him was the work of his employees who only got workmen's wages
in return. The idea of an industrial research laboratory where employees get
paid but in all other aspects get unrecognized is often attribute to have
started with him.

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jjeaff
My understanding of modern research labs is that the actual inventors put
their name on the patent, but the owner of the patent may be the company.

Is that not the case? Or is the inventor usually just the project leaders?

It seems very wrong that Edison would have put himself on the patent as the
inventor AND the owner of the patent.

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analog31
I'm not a lawyer, but my understanding is that the people named on the patent
have to be the actual inventors. A lawyer explained to me that you have to be
the inventor behind at least one of the claims. Of course that practice can be
abused.

A way to protect your inventorship is to write down what you think you
invented, and submit it in writing to your employer. I work for a F500, and we
have an official process for this, with a reward. It benefits the company to
get patent-able ideas documented.

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rolltiide
There are people that deeply resent the presence of black people in this
country, aimlessly wondering about STEM and inventive contributions to
American/Western society by people with African heritage and concluding there
aren't any, not realizing that there was a pattern of suppressing those
contributions by people just like them, amplified over the last century.

~~~
threatofrain
It's unfortunate because it appears that America is also losing its tolerance
for speech about racial injustice, responding with fatigue and incredulity.
The narrative of a racially equal country has lost its motivational energy,
and meanwhile I feel that the story of black 2030 in America is looking very
dim.

America needs a persuasive national story about how race is going to work from
2020 to 2030.

~~~
lolinder
The reason why I get fatigued when people bring up race and try to make
sweeping national changes is that I see it as counterproductive.

Until we stop dividing people into classes based on race these problems are
going to persist. Efforts that set out to bring about "racial justice"
actually compound the problem by reinforcing the idea that these artificial
divisions have any _meaning_ at all. The goal should not be a racially equal
country, the goal should be a country where people don't _think_ about race
any more.

By all means, let's work to lift the poor out of poverty and bring justice to
the prison system. But let's do it because they are poor and because it is
right, not because of the color of their skin.

~~~
cycrutchfield
It's such a privileged thing to say "Let's sweep over the horrendously long
history in this country of racial oppression and discrimination, such things
are not relevant to today's concerns. Everybody has equality of opportunity
now, so therefore racial inequities no longer exist and we should ignore race
entirely. This is post-racial America."

