My insatiable curiosity is my giftBrief story of me and math and generally technology

By: Marjan BoorBoor

A little bit on my back ground• Electronic engineering, BSc physics, MSc technological Socio Economical

planning majoring in energy planning

• Top student in math and physics and computer• Mathematic and computer Olympiad• Artificial intelligence• Robotic • Winner of several award in Robocup which is one of the most prestigious

competition in the field of artificial intelligence (http://www.robocup.org ) in Iran, Germany, Netherland, Atlanta

• Developer energyplanner.dk (an intelligent software for tracing changes due to energy transition, change of fuel from fossil to renewable, improving system efficiency, heat recycling, energy saving )

• Working on several 100% renewable energy system design in different municipality in Denmark

My first role model

• My mother was my first role model• She was a woman in technology but• She was house wife, did lots of volunteer work and she

had a job for a while• However she was person of integrity in all the thing

that she has done, she always goes for 100%• She was hardly believe in limitation and always

questioned the ways that she thought was unfair • She object clearly when she believe something is

wrong

Insatiable curiosity is my gift

• That’s the gift that all of us share• I in love with my curiosity, I have taken care of it,

nourish it and keep it fresh all this years• That is the thing that everyone is able to do• So my curiosity grow bigger than my fear most of the

time• But sometimes also I let that to go other way around

but hopefully not in major part of my life• That is when thing that break down happen and we

decide to stop and feeling powerless to follow through

My hunger for mathematic

• In elementary school I loved math, that is more satisfying for my carious mind

• But not necessarily the way that it was taught in school• I developed my own way to study math• I had a way to make numbers and equation visualized

and full of feeling and emotion • With my way I learned so much faster• So my math book problem got boring and start solving

problems in my brother math book and sometime even doing his homework or the same for my friends in higher grades

My first break through

• I changed school and in the new one we had white board

• My first interaction with white board was absolute pleasure

• White board was free space and it was mine to create

• A way to communicating inner greatness and giving a physical form to it and see it without any limitation

• Play with my thought and draw what I see in things

My best hobby

• I stay late in the class and work on the mathematic problem that I found interesting

• White board was a theater platform, with actors• It was motion and involved• I had a lot of fun • After a while I was recognized by my school and

they sent me to mathematic Olympiad preparation course

• Then Computer Olymaid

Math and computer preparation course

• In this classes basically is not much teaching, the assumption is you are smart , there are a lot of introduction to different equation and mostly you need to do lots of self learning and problem solving

• So I still continued my way• I was a top student in one the class that many of my

fellow student find it unbelievably hard but the reason was that I was not rely on what was said in the class

• The class was much higher level than what we learned in school

• I got all this self-confidence

My way that mathematic was taught in school was irritating

• Till then most of the time I did not like the way math was taught by my math teachers

• Now I was in high school• I start to feel more how our teachers present math in an

unnecessary complicated way• That was the time that I felt I am expert expert enough to

speech up• First I try nicely tell my teachers how they can see an

equation and telling about alternative ways• Sometime arguing• And most often my teachers tell me, that am not allowed

to interfere their teaching method just because I am smart and I should be quiet and respect them instead

I became a popular math tutor• At that time many of my parents friends and neighbors asked me to help

their children with math. I could help many students successfully to get good grades in math courses and then in other courses too.

• One of the most impressive experiences was one our neighbor’son that was in first year of high school. He was about to drop school and he was labeled that he has learning disability. In first session he told me that he has no interest in math and generally to studying and he rather become a garbage man than stay in school, but his mother do not leave him alone.

• I just say that is fine, we just talked a little bit and if you did not like it, you can just go. I asked him about his hobbies and interests and sports that he likes. He told me that he liked soccer. So I began the first session and start talking about numbers and equations and explain all the image that see in each of these equations and then came up with examples and math problems related to soccer and he started to solve them and after 10 session he went to math final exam and got (B+). He had not got this grade in any of his courses until then. Their parents were shocked. He stayed my student and finished high school.

My experience with teaching math

• I have experience 8 years of teaching math to mostly so called problematic student who labeled to have learning disabilities or sever stress or anxiety toward mathematic. My experience with these students was that any student who is approved to be in school not only could learn math but also can be great in math and enjoy that, and factors such as gender, age, and race, background are not determining factors for being good at math and enjoy learning that. The starting point might be different or learning pattern might be different for some of them but after a while by creating a fun language and domain for math all of them can synchronize and learn together. Through all these years I never failed with any of them and see miracles in each of these students.

In the university• I was accepted in university in Electronic engineering and I was still got

irritated with the way math was taught in university level too, that made math trouble experience for most of student. I continued learning math and physics in my own way.

• As a student job I still taught math to high school students and my classmate. At that point I was more popular and could make more money. In second year of my engineering study I formed a robotic group and become the team leader. We built our first line follower robot and won the second place in the national competition 2004, after 3 month we built a fire fighter robot and won the first prize in the national competition. Then I applied for international artificial intelligent Robocup competition and participated in Iran, Germany, Netherland and Atlanta international Robocup competition and won several awards. Then I got married and moved to Denmark and studied Physics. Here in Denmark I also see many of my fellow student are frighten from mathematic and physics. Especially in my current major most of my colleagues also think that math is not for them.

My keys to success

• My curiosity did not give me much room and time for believing the existing constrain as a reality

• What I learned from my mother was that if I do not understand something it is possible that that is from the way that is presented and I should look for other ways

• Find my way to learned that anyway• I always go for new technology and was pioneer in many field • Most often my classmate and colleague were men • Most often I was selected as a leader • Then I felt confident to be a leader and in one Robotic group after one

competition that we won I went to receive the award, the conflict happened, they asked me to resign as leader because they did not like it, I was only girl and I represent the team, I resigned and stay but also left the group

• I started the next group, in my new group we won the first prize and defeating my previous team in the beginning of the competition

• I did not form a new group for just showing off• I know that no body else in the group can lead the

team and I believe that they ask for my resign for an unprofessional reason

• So if I am qualified for leadership why should I cave• For all of the rest of 5 member that was the end for

their robotic career• I was invited for international Robocup competitions • All coming success afterwards

My life is my game and I am the one who must set the game rules

• I just do not believe whatever you see around as reality, because as Steve Jobes say it might not be designed but some one who is smarter than you

• You define your way of learning• Your curiosity is your treasure take care of it

with all your power

Example of what I see in an equation diagram that explain Caos

My experience with car maintenance and How I see it

• I imagine car as a living creature • I think managing a baby and figuring out what she/he needs , that all

woman take care of that and make it look so easy is much harder than figuring out a car

• For instance for checking oil in the car I just add some motion to that• I imagine the car throat will be dry if I do not put oil in it and how it will go• Then I try to learn about its body and how it is work• All the sign that shows it is not well• Do not all of us do that in case of baby • There are many thing in a bay that we diagnose better than a doctor• We can fix many of the troble

My mission for future

• I do my best to reach as many as people as possible

• I will share my message with all women and men

• We all have our unique perspective • And that is what world missing now because

most of us have not offered it

Our plan for future

• Trough help of my dear friend Bonita I would like to design work shops for interaction with technology and Mathematics

• Where people have chance to experience and find a fun way to learn and work with technology and enjoying

• We will create the platform to share our vision and innovative ways, that technology can be experienced by them

• Also empowering them to be pioneer to create technology and way of learning for people with different prespective

Little assignment for you

The end

• Thank you