Lessons in Chemistry

I am in the middle of reading Lessons in Chemistry, a novel about a female chemist who faced awful, inexcusable sexism in STEM in the 1950's and after being fired for no good reason, became a well-known cooking show host in the 1960's. The book is a well written novel with some interesting and creative twists that make it difficult to put down, even for such a difficult and painful subject.  

Lessons in Chemistry has been and continues to be a global best seller and was published after the author was rejected 98 times in her attempts to publish her previous novel. The author, Bonnie Garmus, began writing the novel after a hard day in the office where she gave a presentation and watched her ideas get rejected... only for those ideas to be re-introduced by a man a short time later (as his ideas) and applauded as brilliant. That same day at the office (or close variation thereof) continues to play out for many women working in tech, science, and engineering.  

I have to wonder how many women scientists and engineers have read this book and reacted like I did.  The colors may have changed but the overall picture is pretty much the same.  

To be honest, though, I didn't pick up the book anticipating a deep dive into sexism in STEM. Instead, I picked it up because some thirty some odd years after graduating from college, I still feel guilty that I dislike chemistry with a passion; after all, I'm an engineer, in academia no less. Shouldn't I love chemistry alongside all the other sciences?

Alas, I don't.  And, the book hasn't changed my mind.  One of the premises for the main character's success in a cooking show is that she uses chemistry as the basis for making skills in cooking transparent and reachable for all.  Which brings me back to my irrational dislike for chemistry. 

When I cook, I could care less how "this" and "that", when combined in the right amounts, become "something other than this or that" which ultimately amounts to something very tasty. I also have an annoying habit of not following recipes which leads to frequent utterances of the following statement at the dinner table:  "I'm glad you enjoy it because you'll never have it again."  

I could fix that by writing down what I actually did rather than what the recipe called me to do, but then it would be a recipe, and I wouldn't follow it, so what's the point?

This attitude of course has led to my failure as a baker. Winging it in baking leads to a level of failure that I'm not willing to tolerate, particularly in the kitchen, where I'm supposed to actually be enjoying the task(s) at hand.   

So, while I'm enjoying the novel, it has reminded me that I will never be either a chemist or a baker.  Or for that matter, a cooking show host.  

I guess I'll just stay in academia.