Reaching for the Moon
The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson
Katherine Johnson
Having read it
★★★★★
A rather delightful read (even though it is primarily aimed at young readers to help inspire a new generation) written by Katherine Johnson. Her words weave in plenty of reality and context for the adversities she experienced and the achievements she earned. Seriously inspiring and really great computing – the book is pretty amazing for a 101-year-old as well!
A good passage
I taught my students to be curious. You see, if you lose curiosity, then you stop learning.
A second good passage
Having enough information to do my work accurately was essential, so I just ignored the social customs that told me to stay in my place. I would keep asking questions until I was satisfied with the results. Before long the guys began to understand the contribution that I was able to make when I had the answers to the questions that allowed me to think on their level. Quietly the quality of my contribution began to outweigh the arbitrary laws of racial segregation and the dictates that held back my gender.
A third good passage
My questions helped me understand better. They also helped the engineers understand better. Questions helped me to do an even better job and become an even more highly valued member of the team. I didn’t do anything alone; we did it together.