Margo's Musings: Math in Motion...

Sophie Germain wanted to learn more about math than the measurements in her father's dress shop. But being a young girl in Paris during the French Revolution made it difficult to explore her interest in numbers. After unsuccessfully trying to end their daughter's obsession with learning, Sophie's parents allowed her to work in private, believing it impossible for a woman to become a mathematician. After Sophie sees an experiment involving vibrations from a violin bow that causes sand to dance on a plate, her curiosity is sparked. She hones her craft, studying ancient Greek equations and submitting her work to scholars. When the Royal Academy of Sciences holds a contest to find a way to predict vibrational patterns, it's her aim to calculate the answer. Even with the odds against her, nothing stopped Sophie.

My little sister, Margo, picked out this children's picture book when we were visiting the Connecticut Children's Book Fair this year. We were lucky for the chance to chat with the illustrator, Barbara McClintock, and listen to her talk about her experience illustrating Nothing Stopped Sophie. During her presentation, Ms. McClintock explained how math could be intimidating for her, and as an artist taking on this project she felt nervous. But digging deeper into Sophie's story, the shady lines that twist math and art together came into focus, and she was able to zoom in on who Sophie was and what kept her going. For creators, passion drives the craft—that was their common ground.

Read about Barbara McClintock at the CT Children's Book Fair

Barbara McClintock & Jess Haight

Telling Sophie not to think about math was like telling a bird not to soar. 

Nothing Stopped Sophie by Cheryl Bardoe is an excellent book. The story paints a simple, though vivid picture of, what I'm sure was the very complex, life of Sophie Germain. Of course the illustrations are brilliant, and it was awesome to see Barbara McClintock speak at the book fair. I think the story is well written and shows how absurd it is to believe a person's work is any more or less significant depending on their gender, another reason Sophie loved math so much. To her the numbers were poetry in motion— they didn't care who was sorting them out. I thought it was interesting to see the problems through Sophie's eyes and, as an adverse-math person, I was able to appreciate them in a romantic way. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes math and history or if you appreciate the details in Barbara McClintock's excellent artwork. 👀 

Has anyone else read Nothing Stopped Sophie by Cheryl Bardoe? We'd love to hear your thoughts.

Happy Reading!

~ F