x + y: A Mathematician's Manifesto for Rethinking Gender

by Eugenia Cheng

Overview

Shortlisted for the 2021 Phi Beta Kappa Book Award for Science
One of NPR's Best Books of 2020
One of the Most Fascinating Books WIRED Read in 2020

A brilliant mathematician examines the complexity of gender and society and forges a path out of inequality.
 
Why are men in charge? After years in the male-dominated field of mathematics and in the female-dominated field of art, Eugenia Cheng has heard the question many times. In x + y, Cheng argues that her mathematical specialty — category theory — reveals why. Category theory deals more with context, relationships, and nuanced versions of equality than with intrinsic characteristics. Category theory also emphasizes dimensionality: much as a cube can cast a square or diamond shadow, depending on your perspective, so too do gender politics appear to change with how we examine them. Because society often rewards traits that it associates with males, such as competitiveness, we treat the problems those traits can create as male. But putting competitive women in charge will leave many unjust relationships in place. If we want real change, we need to transform the contexts in which we all exist, and not simply who we think we are.
 
Praise for Eugenia Cheng
 
"[Eugenia Cheng's] tone is clear, clever and friendly . . . she is rigorous and insightful. . . . [She is] a lucid and nimble expositor."
— Alex Bellos, New York Times Book Review

"Dr. Cheng . . . has a knack for brushing aside conventions and edicts, like so many pie crumbs from a cutting board."
— Natalie Angier, New York Times
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781541646506
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	08/25/2020
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	497,324
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Eugenia Cheng is Scientist in Residence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an Honorary Visiting Fellow at City, University of London. She has authored numerous titles, including How to Bake Pi, Beyond Infinity, and x + y. Cheng lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Part I Gendered Thinking

1 Introduction 5

2 The Difficulties of Difference 39

3 The Problem with Leaning In 73

Part II Ungendered Thinking

4 A New Dimension 115

5 Structures and Society 145

6 Leaning Out 185

7 Dreams for the Future 215

Postscript 253

Appendix 257

Acknowledgments 265

Index 269

Editorial Reviews

"This book changed my life in the most beautiful way. Eugenia Cheng doesn't just explain why the way our society conceptualizes gender is all wrong — she proposes a new way of thinking about — and beyond — gender....Stunning."—Rebecca Ramirez, National Public Radio

"On yet another adventure in using the logic of math to address social and emotional issues, author Cheng takes on gender equality...She frames her thinking with relatable examples and anecdotes....Her arguments are both passionate and logical."—Booklist (starred review)

"This is an important topic and an important time to find better ways to have conversations."—New York Times

"A bold and optimistic theory of gender and cooperation, based on the insights of math"—Katy Guest, The Guardian

"Eugenia Cheng is on a mission to change the world for the better, using math.... It's another bold and optimistic thought...if we were ever going to imagine a whole new theory of people, now is as good a time as any to start."—Guardian

"x + y is a book very much designed to change the world."—Times Higher Education

"A carefully developed argument that urges us to discuss character traits without reference to gender."—Kirkus

From the Publisher

2020-06-26
Can mathematics break down barriers to entry—in markets, in society—imposed by gender? Mathematician and math popularizer Cheng takes a positive view.

“Math isn’t just about getting the right answers; it’s about dreaming up different worlds in which different things can be true.” The author writes inductively of her experiences as a woman in a field dominated by men to arrive at an alternate world in which gender is not a determinant in who fails, who succeeds, who has access, and who does not. A specialist in category theory—a branch of mathematics in which theories and not theorems govern—Cheng proposes that many arguments about supposed gender absolutes can be reframed. For example, she breaks down the logical implications in the syllogism that says that men are better at math than women, because they are better at systematizing—ergo, “being a man implies being better at math.” But what if the frame were moved to encourage decomposition of the terms? “Men have been observed to be statistically more likely to be stronger at systemizing than empathizing, for some very specific definitions of these words,” a strength that often resolves in ways such that “we might expect more men than women to become mathematicians.” The onus is not on numeracy but instead on structures that push people into different endeavors. In a spry—and not number-heavy—text, Cheng suggests that inherent ability is not as important as how math is generally taught: the ponderous lecturer at the front of the class, the mostly bewildered students trying to follow along. She proposes a “congressive,” group-oriented solution to problem-solving to replace the “ingressive” model, which presupposes that learning is a sort of Darwinian matter of survival of the fittest. Most truisms about gender difference, she notes, are “because of bias, not biology,” and the reframing she suggests makes this bias clear.

A carefully developed argument that urges us to discuss character traits without reference to gender.

Kirkus Reviews

Moira Quirk narrates this fascinating examination of society, gender, and mathematics. That may initially seem like an odd trio, but listeners quickly discover how author Eugenia Cheng’s mathematical specialty, called category theory, could break down barriers imposed by gender. Quirk immediately draws in listeners with an energetic and magnetic voice that makes what could be intimidating subject matter sound downright accessible—and entertaining. Quirk’s pacing and rhythm strike a good balance between allowing listeners to digest information and still delivering a brisk narrative that doesn’t get bogged down by information overload. In short, this audiobook is essential listening for anyone—mathematically inclined or not—who is interested in a unique point of view that convincingly challenges society’s long-standing gender biases. A.T.N. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

AUGUST 2020 - AudioFile

Moira Quirk narrates this fascinating examination of society, gender, and mathematics. That may initially seem like an odd trio, but listeners quickly discover how author Eugenia Cheng’s mathematical specialty, called category theory, could break down barriers imposed by gender. Quirk immediately draws in listeners with an energetic and magnetic voice that makes what could be intimidating subject matter sound downright accessible—and entertaining. Quirk’s pacing and rhythm strike a good balance between allowing listeners to digest information and still delivering a brisk narrative that doesn’t get bogged down by information overload. In short, this audiobook is essential listening for anyone—mathematically inclined or not—who is interested in a unique point of view that convincingly challenges society’s long-standing gender biases. A.T.N. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

AUGUST 2020 - AudioFile