The impossible monologue of Hypatia of Alexandria by Carlo A. Borghi – 2017
Description: Hypatia of Alexandria – Greek scientist and philosopher – is still today a symbol of freedom of thought and of the autonomy of women, 1600 years after her death, in 415 AD, at the hands of religious fanatics. She studied from a very young age in the most important cultural institution of the time, the huge library of Alexandria in Egypt and was the head of the Alexandrian School. She did not get married, already feeling “married to the truth”.
Few writings remain of her, but many philosophers of the time speak of her as one of the most advanced minds of the time. She came to formulate hypotheses about the movement of the Earth, she invented the astrolabe, the planisphere and the hydrometer, an instrument to measure the different specific weight of liquids.
In philosophy, she joined the Neoplatonic school. She divulged many Greek classics and it is thanks to her and her father that the works of Euclid, Archimedes and Diophanthus made their way to the East and returned to the West many centuries later. She taught and disseminated her mathematical, astronomical and philosophical knowledge among her disciples, in the streets and in the squares to anyone who wanted to listen. Her decision not to convert to Christianity and her convinced and free self-determination cost her her life at the hands of ferocious murderers.
The term STEM is an acronym formed from the initials of four different disciplines: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. In 2023, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) – which deals with global statistical research in the fields of education, science and technology – presented a report on women in the STEM professions, the research Women and Science.
The UIS found that women are about 30% of the world’s researchers and less than a third of female students choose to study STEM disciplines. Women working in STEM publish less and receive lower pay.
Averages of women working in the STEM field:
- 48.5% Central Asia
- 45.8% Latin America and the Caribbean
- 40.9% Arab States
- 39% Central & Eastern Europe
- 31.1% Sub-Saharan Africa
- 25% East Asia and the Pacific
- 23.1% South and West Asia