BadBadBadAstronomer: I wanted to be a physicist when I was young, later an astrophysicist. However, my wonderful physicist father talked me out of it by telling me about the terrible time women had in physics departments. I knew all about the realities of gender at that time and did not want to sit outside classrooms like Lise Meitner (taking notes without getting any credit and losing out on a Nobel). I decided that I could learn about science and mathematics on my own and enjoy it fully, if only vicariously. Times have somewhat changed, but women still have a hard time in the hard sciences. I feel it is easier to joke about it than to suffer. I belong to (and am very active in) what I consider to be the best astronomy club in my area and leave it at that. However, my interest in astronomy has never been strong in *find that star*. I like to know about the physics of it all, as well.

Actually, I enjoy the great *pleasure of finding things out* (Richard Feynman) on my own. So, everybody is happy. I would have given the poor male-chauvinist physicists headaches and heartburn if I had bucked the system. So everybody is happy. I did other fascinating things with my life and kept astronomy and physics as the great unrequited loves of my life.

ljbrs [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]

__________________
"There is in the universe neither center nor circumference." Giordano Bruno Born 1548. Torched 1600.