Man Smart, Woman Smarter

Let's set the mood as you read: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqun85HYsVk

I started Mega Smart Entertainment after meeting an expert host for a major TV network who told me a story about how the network and a Fortune 50 forced her to wear a wig because she “didn’t look smart enough.”

Having worked on the launch of Dove ’s Campaign for Real Beauty, this triggered something deep inside me. My anger turned into months of fervent research. I was appalled, at every turn, by how women were treated throughout science, from childhood to employment, and how female scientists were represented (if ever) across media — factual or otherwise.

(All of this applies to historically oppressed groups as well, but I will share those insights in a separate post.)

On our first test shoot (if you want to call it that) in early 2018, when Mega Smart TV was little more than an MCN concept for popular but grossly underrepresented and under-monetized science communicators, we brought in a woman who was working on her PhD with a specialty and intense passion for Dark Matter. If I’m not mistaken, she was also Egyptian-Muslim/Polish-Jewish. A fascinating and brilliant woman. We brought her in for a female-expert-only talk show pilot, and as I listened to her talk about all of the atrocities she faced just in pursuit of her doctorate — from tenured men at a major university — and how the woman who discovered dark matter and essentially developed the science that drives all research today has never really been recognized… thanks to men…

I caught myself crying as she continued.

That's when I knew I had something big and meaningful. I’ve dedicated virtually every hour of every day of my life to this company ever since.

I wasn’t able to quantify it until I discovered one of the most compelling insights: Jurassic Park was released in June of 1993. It featured a badass female Paleontologist, and every kid suddenly wanted to be a paleontologist. A little over a year later, in September of 1994, Friends hit the air, and a paleontologist/professor at a Top 50 university was the butt of a disproportionate amount of jokes — just for being a paleontologist.

Interest in the field of paleontology has been decimated ever since. And who knows how many other fields have been impacted.

One other discovery that blew my mind was that Lisa Kudrow, the actress who plays the ditsy blonde on the show, is a published neuroscientist. Migraines, if I recall.

Imagine if she had been cast as the scientist. She could have authentically and globally, on the biggest stage in TV, advocated for girls and women to pursue a career in science — even one in TV.

Instead, the nerdy, studio-manufactured Science Guy took over the aesthetic of science in popular culture, and science quickly fell from being “cool!” to being “lame." (It’s also worth noting that his show hit the air between the release of Jurassic Park and Friends.)

Schools had to invent nonsense terms like “STEM” and later “STEAM” because “Science” alone became so unappealing. Many kids from that era are now parents who can't help their kids with their homework. Others became teachers who are among the ~50% that the NTSA report are unqualified to teach the high school science classes they now teach.

Just look at our education statistics to see how well that has worked…

My rage climaxed in a meeting with a major shipping company. After my brief intro about what we are doing and why, the all-male conference room literally laughed at me.

“What do we have to do with science?”

I listed off a half dozen business-critical functions, like the data science and meteorology they use to route vehicles, the robots they had roaming the streets thanks to satellites, AI, and other sciences, and, as I was about to explode, the ???????vital medicine and life-saving organs they deliver to hospitals!!!!

I told them they should learn more about their business and give me a call when they figure it out, ending the meeting then and there.

Even as a man who looks the way I look and has had the career that I’ve had, I have been forced to battle an endless array of inept men in high positions who control the majority of budgets and decision-making for the Fortune 1000 and beyond. It's ridiculous how often I've had to explain the importance of rethinking science in media and even science at large to make it more inclusive and, for lack of a better word, authentically “cool” again.

Virtually every society-level issue and opportunity is rooted in science.

Half of students lose interest in science while in high school (I think it's safe to assume the aforementioned men are among those students). It’s so much worse for girls who often don’t retain interest going into middle school. Is it any wonder? Ignoring the failures of our education system — I’ll save that for another rant — media has beaten science to a pulp and has somehow made it the least compelling component of the pop culture landscape. It‘s a common plot device to ignore and mock the scientists even though the richest people in the world come from science backgrounds. I have often joked that kids in high school wouldn’t sacrifice their bodies if every NFL player was a Michael Cera-type person.

I have also said women in power will help us bring this company, this studio, to the market. Our first major win and many after that have been thanks to women.

Fast forward to today: I resurfaced a couple of weeks ago with this post after years in development (some due to Covid, but primarily due to men in power). The first person to share it was a woman, to a chat group of 10k+ female executives. And my inbox has been inundated with truly amazing women asking how they can help. At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if our staff will be 75%+ women and LGBTQI+ by the time we launch early next year.

So, if you’re a male leader of a major company, first of all, check your email, texts, DMs, etc. I bet you have a note from me that you’ve ignored. Second, you might want to pay attention. If I have anything to do with it, the Mega Smart Generation that’s coming will force you to recognize that women are not only as capable as you, they care about more than money and power.

See also: this election.

P.S. I sent a blunt email to a man with a CXO title just yesterday, after attempting dozens of times over more than four months and sending multiple women, including his right hand (who deferred to him), explaining that he is the bottleneck for his organization receiving millions. The first thing he said: "I don't know what you are talking about." Yeah...

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