11–20 of 41 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In history and pop-culture she's known as Marie Curie. Heck, she event has a SI unit named after her, the Curie.
Time to change that, then. She insisted on using both surnames and strongly emphasized her Polish roots throughout her life. Erasing her Polish maiden name clashes with her wishes and is only possible, because due to historical circumstances Poland had very limited impact on global popular culture.
Were men excluded from crowdfunding for Marie Curie? So bad.
Were men excluded from crowdfunding for Marie Curie? So bad.
Were men excluded from crowdfunding for Marie Curie? So bad.
Were men excluded from crowdfunding for Marie Curie? So bad.
When men do things, "we" did it, or "scientists" did it etc. When women do things "women" did it, or "female scientists" did it etc.
Scared of non ASCII characters? ;) It's Maria Skłodowska-Curie
This is kinda of sad, because wikipedia has her page titled as Marie Curie too. It is a bit ironic imo, because poles are very proud of her and yet at the time the country failed her, by not giving the possibility of attending university.
As if it is important from what nation a person is who gifted humanity with a piece of art, an invention or scientific breakthrough. I wonder why people are so eager to associate their nation with the results of individuals. I never felt the urge or understood the reasoning.
I would be very interested in knowing where did that radium come from? How was it produced at the time? The article says president Warren presented her with 1g of the element - how was it secured, in such a small quantity? Did she bring it back with her just in her purse? So many questions.
Yes, she did bring it back in her purse. As well she would keep a vial as a pocket toy to show off at parties (it ionizes the air and glows blue).
Her textbooks are still very radioactive.
Oh no, another thread that will bring the nationalists out (see the hundreds of Wikipedia fights about nationality and naming of famous people). The Wikipedia page of Curie had it's share. As if it is important from what nation a person is who gifted humanity with a piece of art, an invention or scientific breakthrough. I wonder why people are so eager to associate their nation with the results of individuals. I neve…
It's a component of tribalism (and neither inherently positive nor negative), probably deeply wired into humanity. It also happens around race, religion, politics and ideology broadly.
Why? Well, the answer is a mixed bag of positives and negatives. It's the same reason people obsess over celebrities (tabloids, fan groups, and so on). Their own lives are not very interesting, they lack/yearn for accomplishment, so they desperately seek to fill voids via the things they take an interest in, trying to grab hold of accomplishment elsewhere, slice off a tiny bit of that for themselves through distant association. It's why nations culturally revel in their historical accomplishments, even if they were 2,000 years ago. On the positive side, it probably helps create bonds between people socially, culturally, and is likely a requirement for the formation and sustainment of civilization (drawing pride from a thing, allocates self-interest in supporting/protecting the thing).