Danica McKellar on the power and beauty of math

Actor, screenwriter, producer and director Danica McKellar also graduated summa cum laude from UCLA, majoring in mathematics.

As an undergrad, she coauthored a scientific paper proving a theorem in mathematical physics. Her new book “Math Doesn’t Suck..” is especially written to inspire middle school girls.

In a Sirens Magazine article, she talks about her appreciation for the field.

“The structure of math has a beauty, a harmony and symmetry to it. Essentially math is a tool that humans created in order to understand the world. It’s almost a coincidence that it happens to work out.

“When I entered UCLA, I thought majoring in film would be the natural course for someone like me, since I’d spent my teenage years in front of a camera. … Then fate intervened. I took a math class on a whim one semester… I liked how it felt when my mind opened up and started churning to solve a tough problem…

“Problems with math education tend to stem from middle school. Young girls sometimes think that they have to act ditzy in order for guys to like them, which in turns makes them shy away from math.

“I’ve made it a personal mission of sorts to show girls, through my textbook and my website, that math can not only be fun but can prepare you for a job in any field.

“All jobs require logic and problem-solving skills. Most importantly, doing math can make a girl feel smart, and math actually does make you smarter. The brain is a muscle and it has to be worked out just like any other muscle.”

[From sirensmag.com article]

Her site is danicamckellar.com

Math Doesn’t Suck: How to Survive Middle-School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail, by Danica McKellar.