Why you shouldn’t tell yourself you’re not a math person (8/20/14)
Stocks traded flat for most of the day, as investors sat on the sidelines prior to the release of the minutes from the July Federal Reserve meeting. The minutes didn’t contain much new insight for the markets to react negatively to, so stocks continued their upward trend.
The Dow gained 60 points, with 23 of its 30 components advancing; the S&P 500 Index added 4; and the Nasdaq fell 1. Advancers led decliners by nine to eight on the NYSE, but decliners outpaced advancers by three to two on the Nasdaq. The prices of Treasuries weakened. Gold futures lost $1.50 to close at $1,295.20 an ounce, and the price of crude oil increased $0.59 to settle at $93.45 a barrel.
In Earnings News:
- Target’s earnings fell to $234 million from $611 million a year ago, a decrease of 61%. The company announced at the beginning of the month that charges related to last year’s data breach would negatively impact this quarter’s earnings. In addition, Target reduced its full-year outlook to a range of $3.10 to $3.30 a share from $3.60 to $3.90. Same-store sales were flat. However, Target reported some improvements, including an increase in store traffic and digital sales growth of 30%. Shares of the retailer (TGT) gained 1%.
- Earnings of home improvement retailer Lowe’s increased 6% last quarter to $1.04 billion from $941 million, slightly higher than expectations. Revenue climbed 5.7%, and same-store sales rose 4.4%. The company reduced its sales growth outlook to 4.5% from 5%, and the stock (LOW) added 1%.
- Office supplies retailer Staples stock fell x% after the company reported its earnings fell to $82 million from $103 million last year. Same-store sales fell by 5.8%, but that decline was offset by an 8% jump in online sales. The company has struggled recently and is continuing with its plan to shut down underperforming stores, reduce store sizes, and increase online sales. Staples’ stock (SPLS) fell 2%.
In Other Business News:
- Mortgage applications fell by a seasonally-adjusted 0.4% last week to its lowest level since February, according to the Mortgage Banker’s Association. Even though rates remain low and the labor market is picking up steam, many would-be buyers are having a difficult time lining up financing and currently favor renting instead of buying.
- The Federal Reserve released minutes from their July meeting on Wednesday. According to the documents, officials debated whether or not to raise interest rates earlier than expected due to strength in the labor market and increased inflationary pressures. They concluded that more evidence was needed before deciding on a course of action. For more insight, see Dr. Brian Jacobsen’s analysis.
*****
A couple of weeks before I left for college, I marched into my dad’s office and told him I had decided not to pursue an engineering degree and wouldn’t be joining the family business. (Of course, as an 18-year-old girl, I did this with great drama, which was met with a simple, “Fine. Whatever makes you happy.” My ego took a hit after learning that he and the business would do just fine without me.)
My situation isn’t unique. Nearly 40% of women who show interest in the engineering field never complete their degree. Over the past 20 years, only 20% of engineering graduates were women, and currently just 11% of working engineers are women.
Some of the reasons cited for the low participation rate are non-diverse workforces, poor work/life balance, and a lack of female role models. None of those things intimidated me. What did? One little word: MATH. (Well, math and working with family. But mostly math. Just kidding family!)
“I’m not a math person.” Miles Kimball (the University of Michigan economics professor, not the shopping catalogue) doesn’t buy it. Last week, he wrote an article for Quartz.com called “How to turn every child into a ‘math person’”. In it, he claims that we’re not born with a math gene and that nurture plays more of a role in our academic success than nature. You have to love math (or learn to love it) to learn it.
Easier said than done. Love and math…two words you rarely see in the same sentence. But if your child doesn’t enjoy reading, do you drop it and say he or she isn’t a reading person? No. You try different books in order to find something that stimulates them. The same idea applies to math (or any subject, I suppose). You take different approaches to teaching and look for ways that will make the concepts more exciting. And the earlier it’s done, the better.
I’ve got a secret. I do enjoy math, just a little. But not calculus or trigonometry. Let’s not get crazy. I’m happy with the little bit of algebra that’s challenges my nine-year-old.
But wait…that’s part of the problem, too, isn’t it? I have to “admit” to enjoying math. That’s not setting a good example for the kids. So what does? I wish I had the answer so that my daughter could grow up to be the next Maryam Mirzakhani, the first woman to win the Fields Medal (the Nobel Prize of math). Or, I’d settle for her not being intimidated by math and having the confidence to choose whatever field of study she wanted. So for now, we’ll play “fun” adding games at the dinner table and see where that takes us. (Although I don’t know what makes it fun for them…getting answers right or just shouting “WRONG!” at each other.)
