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Comment by nxc18 | Hacker News Reader

This is amazing. I especially appreciate how broad and inclusive it is. I hate the idea that a bunch of girls are going to do 'girls who code' or similar things, not like it, and think STEM isn't for them. Coding sucks sometimes and it is so important that we include all of stem (personally I prefer STEAM, stem + art).

I don't like math, probably as a result of terrible scarring experiences in elementary school. But I still love technology and coding. We need to allow girls the flexibility to learn about all of stem and find out what will provide for 70+ years of happiness and productivity.

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I don't understand the point of STEAM. From what I can tell, the use of STEM is to describe the math-y type pursuits. Art, etc.. doesn't fit at all. It's not a bad thing to not be a STEM field, just different. I absolutely think that we should emphasize art more than we are now, but that doesn't make it STEM.

You could make a good philosophical argument that a significant portion of the technology industry for most workers today is art. Code structuring and design is art. Becoming a good leader is an art. Scientific research is an art form. Teaching properly is art. We should not discount the creative aspect in what we do.

Art is a form of expression.

Software is a form of expression.

The two are vastly different forms of expression.

Personally I don't think that Art should be part of the process for a STEM degree.

That said, it benefited Steve Jobs and Apple greatly to merge the two.

So if everything is already an art, why include it in the acronym?

> Code structuring and design is art

No, it's applied mathematics. You could argue that mathematics are "art" but then you would need a really wide and probably useless definition of "art" as almost everything would be art.

I see this a lot and never quite understand it. Code structuring to me seems more like a craft, something that is improved through experience and wisdom and not abstract rules.

> You could argue that mathematics are "art" but then you would need a really wide and probably useless definition of "art" as almost everything would be art.

I don't think that everyone (maybe not even every mathematician) would call math an art, but I think that it can be done without doing undue violence to the term. For me, what makes mathematics an art is its capability for creating and exploring unusual, surprising, sometimes delightful patterns, in visual and other senses of the term. I'm not sure I'd call that a definition of 'art', but I think that it's not so broad as to be meaningless.

(A quick Google for "math is art" turns up many other (probably better) arguments along the same theme. Here's one: https://hackernoon.com/mathematics-is-art-all-the-mathematic... .)

There is a useful distinction between art and craft. I'd argue that the things you mentioned can be crafts, but I don't think we should call them art.

Yes, I suppose if we redefine the word "art", then technology would be art.

Those "Beautiful APIs", though

I should think most great scientists had a good appreciation of the arts.

So what? You could equally well observe that most great scientists were men, but that doesn't mean that STEM education for women can be improved by sex reassignment surgery.

My point is that a well rounded education probably makes for a smarter person. If all you do is code or solve calculus your world view might end up being rather narrow.

If you go to Tech Shop or Maker Faire in the bay area, you'll see a lot of people doing art as an integral part of what they're doing with STEM.

Totally fine if that's not you.

Why not SSTEAMMG? Social studies, Science, Technology, Electronics, Art, Math, Music, Gym class?

I propose LUG. Life, the Universe, Everything.

if it's so inclusive why can't boys join huh. jokes aside this is good. we need to provide all skills to both gender for them to make their career choices.

The concept of STEAM is absurd and pointless unless your only concern is inclusion for the sake of inclusion.

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