So I first found out about this a few days ago: a researcher named Xi Zhang, at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, led a team that suggested a reason why hot water freezes faster than cold water. (It's called the Mpemba Effect, because it was first noted by the Tanzanian student Ernesto Mpemba.)
Awesome, right? I used to work at NTU, and while they're not a model for academic freedom in any way, it's great when any institution invests in science.
It's been reported in both Gizmodo and I fucking love science, which talk about "Xi Zhang and his team", "Xi Zhang and his colleagues".
The weird thing is, when I went to search for the face of this researcher, I found this:
She's a lady. Check the page. She's not just another scientist with the same name: her field of research and the university are the same.
Now, I'm not saying this was a deliberate attempt to whitewash women out of scientific history (although this has happened in the past). And of course, Xi was just one of several researchers, male and female, working on the discovery, which is the way science has often worked.
But journalists of the world: when you're dealing with foreign names, you really can't make assumptions about gender. Elise Andrew, the blogger behind I Fucking Love Science should know this - she's experienced that kind of sexism herself.
Awesome, right? I used to work at NTU, and while they're not a model for academic freedom in any way, it's great when any institution invests in science.
It's been reported in both Gizmodo and I fucking love science, which talk about "Xi Zhang and his team", "Xi Zhang and his colleagues".
The weird thing is, when I went to search for the face of this researcher, I found this:
She's a lady. Check the page. She's not just another scientist with the same name: her field of research and the university are the same.
Now, I'm not saying this was a deliberate attempt to whitewash women out of scientific history (although this has happened in the past). And of course, Xi was just one of several researchers, male and female, working on the discovery, which is the way science has often worked.
But journalists of the world: when you're dealing with foreign names, you really can't make assumptions about gender. Elise Andrew, the blogger behind I Fucking Love Science should know this - she's experienced that kind of sexism herself.
