Antimony

I have been told I am a nerd when it comes to my obsession with reading about education (point taken). But here's a great example about the importance of being well versed in such knowledge. Did you know that students who are asked to draw a scientist almost always draw a white man with white hair? Does that description sound familiar (Hint: E=mc^2).

To further my point, I challenge you to name all the scientists that pop into your head. Ten to one, your list will include Albert Einstein. But how many other scientists can you name? 5, 10, 25, 50, 100? (even trickier...how many did you name that are women?). Try this for a different topic, such as historical figures or celebrities. How does your knowledge compare? Are the "Brangelina's" of our society more important than scientists who push our society forward with technological and medical advances?

Don't feel bad if you couldn't name too many scientists, even Google struggles. In wonderment of the children drawing Albert Einstein experiment, I decided to do an image search for "scientist." Here's what I found:

Hazmat suit and a microscope - at least the individual in this picture is real.

White man, white hair. But are all scientists mad?

Another Albert Einstein-like image. It's a wonder I haven't gone bald yet...

I love this one. Not only have we not progressed past Dick and Jane but clearly you should smile while holding poisonous acid. Yup, I love me some dangerous chemicals (at least Mr. Scientist is wearing proper safety attire).

My favorite - the modern day mad scientist + Albert Einstein. AWESOME (not).

This has to register some level of craziness, right? Why is there such a disconnect between science and society? Why do we only think of science in terms of old men? And even worse how many of you can recite "E equals m c squared" but have no idea what it means?

To be continued tomorrow...

Fun Fact: While antimony itself is brittle, it is used to harden other metals. For example, the molds in Johann Guttenberg's printing press were composed of a mixture of lead, tin, and antimony. Similarly, lead bullets and lead-acid car batteries have traces of antimony to strengthen bullets and electrodes, respectively.