Therese Huston - 2016-17 SPIE Women in Optics Planner
Writer; Faculty Development Consultant, Center for Faculty Development, Seattle University, USA
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Country of Birth: USA |
Data lured me into science. I love designing experiments, and I’m guilty of peeking at data before I’ve gathered it all. Up until fifth grade, I thought that science was about naming things—like naming planets and clouds and grasshoppers. When I learned it was actually about teasing apart truth from fiction, I was hooked.
I'm a writer on a mission to debunk myths about how women decide. All too often, women are seen as indecisive, emotional, or afraid to take a chance, and these perceptions create obstacles that men don’t face. The scientific research says that many of these assumptions are at best, exaggerated, and at worst, downright false. My book, How Women Decide, takes on these very real obstacles.
Sadly, “Mansplaining” happens, so practice saying, “Actually, I understand that, but here's what I'm really wondering.” I wish I had learned a nice way to get the men around me to stop explaining what I’d already figured out. (Maybe I should really work on my preoccupation with “nice,” but one cultural hurdle at a time).