Danica McKellar makes math sexy

Actress of “Wonder Years” fame and math whiz Danica McKellar speaks directly to the teen audience in her book “Kiss My Math.” She teaches math using topics like popularity, boys and self-image, and inspires girls with stories of fabulous women in fun careers that use math, showing them that “smart is sexy.” An excerpt.

Kiss My What?
Math? Are you kidding me?

In high school, a teacher once suggested that I be a math major in college. I thought, “Me? You’ve got to be joking!” I mean, in junior high, I used to come home and cry because I was so afraid of my math homework. Seriously, I was terrified of math.

Things had gotten better for me since then, but still — college math? That sounded really hard; I didn’t think I could hack it. Besides, who studies math in college other than people who want to be math teachers, right?

Boy, was I wrong. Just ask my friend Nina.

In college, Nina wanted to be a doctor more than anything in the world. She’d always wanted to deliver babies! She was smart, funny, and totally capable of doing whatever she set her mind to — until she found out that calculus was a required course. The idea of taking calculus scared her so much that she dropped out of the pre-med program and gave up her dream!

And Nina isn’t the only one. Believe it or not, lots of people change their majors and abandon their dreams just to avoid a couple of math classes in college.

So, what does “Kiss My Math” mean?

It means: “Um, excuse me, I’m going to do whatever I want with my life, and I’m sure as heck not going to let a little math get in my way.”

Who knows what you’ll do? Armed with math, you might become a cutting-edge scientist and develop your own line of all-natural makeup or therapeutic high heels. You might discover a cure for cancer or travel into space. You might create some cool engineering trick that destroys trash or creates super clean energy and saves the planet!

Something else, perhaps? Doctor, lawyer, clothing designer, architect? Maybe you’ll work for a big magazine or your favorite fashion line, or maybe you’ll start your own business.

Believe it or not, all of these fabulous careers use — that’s right — math.

Check out Stephanie Perry, Jane Davis, and Maria Quiban’s real-life testimonials on pp. 37, 71, and 128 to see how studying mathematics gave these ladies a leg up on their competition in the worlds of television, fashion, and magazines. Betcha never knew math could give you power and freedom in those areas.

And if anyone tells you it’s impossible to be fabulous and smart and make a ton of money using math, well, they can just get in line behind you — and kiss your math.

Math … in jobs you might never expect!
Knowing math can benefit you in a variety of jobs you might never imagine. I mean, who’d figure a lawyer would need to know math? And here are a bunch more jobs that use math! Do any of these jobs sound like you?

Actress: In the highly competitive world of entertainment — whether it be the bright lights of Hollywood or the glamour of the New York theater — being an actress is more than just performing. The camera fails to capture the “business” in show business! We typically will give 10 percent of our salary to the agent, 10 percent to the manager, and 5 percent to the lawyer, plus the publicist gets a flat fee, which needs to be budgeted for. Savvy actresses benefit from being able to read and understand the math in the contracts, or these people might rip them off! (And you can bet it happens, too.) I speak from experience when I say that a sharp brain is needed to memorize lots of lines, especially the rewrites that come in the night before, and math helps keep my brain sharp.

Interior designer: Are you addicted to those home decorating shows where they turn an old shack into a chic little apartment? Do you find yourself pushing furniture around in your bedroom, rearranging chairs, bookshelves, and paintings? As an interior designer, an empty room is your canvas! Though it plays a large part, creativity is not the only requirement for being a great interior designer. According to New York interior designer Cat Lindsay: “Math is used more often than one might think ... furniture layouts require dimensioning (this involves adding fractions). To obtain square footage of floor plates, we have to calculate areas of triangles, parallelograms, and other geometries. When designing for law firms, calculations are also required when comparing ratios — for instance, how many secretaries there are per lawyer — so we can figure out how to best arrange the offices. Also, if you want to design a fabulous curved sofa or chair, lots of geometry is needed!”

Veterinarian: If you’re like most people, you consider your pet to be a part of the family. Besides making excellent companions, animals often have therapeutic value for their owners. If you love animals, a career as a veterinarian might be for you! Choosing to be a veterinarian is a serious decision, but the rewards are countless. And there’s no question that you’ll need math: first to get your degree and then to care for the animals. According to Los Angeles veterinarian Tina Chang: “I love spending my days helping animals. Our job includes treating disease, alleviating pain and suffering, and saving lives. With that said, if we do not perfect our math skills, we can make mistakes and cause harm! Being a veterinarian requires the use of mathematics on a daily basis, from simple tasks like weighing an animal to more complex ones like using metric system unit conversions and math formulas to determine appropriate doses of lifesaving medication.”

Event planner: Have you ever been to a wedding or a huge party where everything seems perfect — right down to the candles, the music, and the flowers? If you’re the kind of girl who loves to arrange parties as much, if not more, than actually attending them, then event planning might be a good match for you, and it takes more math than you might guess. According to New York City event planner Allison Lafferty: “We use math all the time to calculate things like the square footage of the space where the events takes place to insure all of the tables, food, and DJ booth will fit. We also use math to determine the amount of decorations and food/beverage needed for the number of attendees. (For example, one gallon of coffee usually fills 15 cups, so depending on the time of day, we first estimate how many people will drink coffee.)” Chicago Social magazine event planner Kelly Berg adds: “As an event planner, I’m given a budget that I must work within, which means I need to track expenses for individual events and entire fiscal periods. For example, how much did I spend on catering and event décor at my past 10 events? What percent of the event décor cost was dedicated to flowers? Yep, behind every good party there are proportions, fractions, integers, you name it!”

MORE FROM TODAY BOOKS: MISCELLANEOUS

Racing to save Earth’s most endangered species

Racing to save Earth’s most endangered species Jimmy Carter: How volunteering gave me joy ‘K2’: Anatomy of a deadly climbing expedition R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Where has it gone? What do Americans really want? TV and sex Life lessons from childhood cancer survivors ‘Our Boys’ is a happier ‘Friday Night Lights’ How to assess your self-worth Two brothers, 12 months, one filmmaking dream No such thing as virginity, author says   Add Today Books: Miscellaneous headlines to your news reader: