Any female engineers in San Diego interested in showing my daughter their work?

Normally we recuse ourselves from intervening when people are being critical of HN or YC, but here I think the community interest is clear: Snarky comments aren't welcome here. The only difference with HN itself as a topic is the strange fascination of meta.

So yes, gender matters. Kids want to be able to relate to their heroes, and gender is a deep part of identity. And admitting that gender matters isn't sexist.

I wouldn't assume that people know that. In fact if I hadn't read that particular post on that day I wouldn't know that.

I wouldn't also assume that any particular user will even click on your profile (which is another way of saying "don't just put it there").

When you see something provocative on HN, please reflect before responding. Fighting poison with poison makes things worse. Please either add comments that make things better, or no comments.

When responding to a toxic comment, re-read what you just posted to make sure that you didn't slip up and make a toxic comment yourself. If you did, edit out the acidity until your comment is neutral; or simply delete it. That's what I do, and I can tell you from long experience that this approach works.

there's certainly a balance to be had, and it isn't fully in favor of short term happiness, either.

Care to discuss the probability of that happening?

I know someone who got an NCAA (or similar) scholarship for swimming. The rest of the team didn't.

He also drank milk. I mean there is no way you are seriously suggesting logic like this are you?

"Gymnastics leads to becoming a well-rounded person"

I agree that Harvard and Stanford will choose only exceptional people (that is ones without other connections or advantages etc.) However even without doing any research, I somehow feel that there are quite a few people at all the IVY league schools who don't participate in sports at all. And never have. I went to one and I never did any sports. And I knew plenty of people that never did any sports. And I know that there is no checklist that says "reject if no sports" like there might be "reject if a felon".

For that matter what makes participating in any sport (gymnastics or otherwise) a pre for being well rounded? What about handicapped people?

Lastly it's obvious that there are many schools other than Harvard, Stanford or the usual suspects that allow people to lead exceptional careers.

So the question becomes to what extent are you going to play the game in high school with extra activities to try to get into a "top" school vs. a "really good school"

Not only that but some people actually can't handle academics and sport participation.

Somehow I feel that since it is well understood that grades and sat's are quite important (and there are clear demarcation points on those values) for some students it might actually pay to not do any sport or spend time learning to program.

But since you asked: I am female and did gymnastics as a kid. What has it led to? It has led to someone who knows how to fall without ending up in the ER. I have a serious medical condition which sometimes leaves me neurologically impaired. I sometimes fall down under circumstances where I really should be left bloody and with broken bones and the like. I am usually left with a few bruises and strains. That a) is worth big bucks in terms of money not spent on major medical care and b) priceless because god knows I have suffered enough from my medical condition, I don't need to be in the effin ER every time I turn around because I stupidly feel down. I have enough pain and physical limitations without it being constantly compounded by more scars and the like.

Gymnastics training is not just some frivolous indulgence.

How to work hard and improve at something through many small iterations.

Learning multiple events is tricky and useful.

Dealing with injuries is an important part of life. Nobody goes through their day to day at 100% all the time. Working through the challenges is part of life.

I think gymnastics is one of those 'learning to learn' activities like chess.

I would strongly recommend looking into BJJ when she wants to move on from gymnastics. It has very similar benefits and is substantially cheaper. It can also be done at a slower pace than gymnastics, you could take a few classes a week instead of 4 x 4 hours.

http://www.salk.edu/stepintodiscovery/exploresalk.php