Eccentric's Corner: Mathematical Model

I liked the challenge and the fact that everyone thought it would be too hard. When I'm told I can't do something, it makes me want to do it. I also love the logical, problem-solving aspects of math. And the power of it—you get to play with things like infinity.

What hole in math education do your books fill?

Middle school is a time when math gets a lot harder. It's also a time when life gets harder. Most math problems are geared toward boys, whether it's about train schedules or baseball statistics. I wanted to show math in the context of things that girls are already thinking about: You're going shopping for shoes. If you take 30 percent off the marked sale price, how much are you going to pay?

What about the social pressures on girls?

There are powerful stereotypes that girls aren't supposed to be good at math and that they don't need to learn math. They're bombarded by messages from billboards and magazines telling them that the most important thing is to be pretty and sexy, and that if they dumb themselves down, they'll be liked. By giving them something that's a challenge, that's typically very hard to do, and giving them tools to make it palatable and understandable—well, not only are they going to be better in their math classes, they're going to feel more capable in life.

When I Googled you, the top result was a lingerie photo of you from a men's magazine. Does that hurt your message?

I'm breaking a stereotype. The same month that issue of Stuff came out, The New York Times did a story on the math theorem I worked on. It was just perfect. Stuff magazine and the science section of The New York Times. I love that. That is my message: You can be everything you want to be. There's no reason to choose between the pretty thing and the smart thing. And truth be told, the pictures are classy. My mom was actually at the photo shoot making sure the cameras didn't go where we didn't want them to go.

I read that you did the Stuff shoot to get grittier acting roles.

I don't remember saying that. My year acting on The West Wing was the turning point for me. It was an amazing show with amazing writing. I had already rescued myself from myself by getting the math degree, which brought another kind of confidence. But the industry could care less about math. Currently, my challenge is to remember that I can do grittier roles now that I'm more conscious of being a role model.

Did playing a character during important developmental years shape your personality?

Probably. But the producers also wrote the characters to mimic who we were. They would listen to us talking, and dialogue would show up in the script. And my parents were really grounded, always telling me education came first. They never got into the whole Hollywood glamour thing. In fact, the year The Wonder Years won an Emmy, my dad and my sister and I had a river-rafting trip scheduled that conflicted with the ceremony. We went on our trip and had the time of our lives.

What kind of role would be a big stretch?

I'll never get cast as a bimbo. I've even tried out for those roles and they always say, "It must be something in your eyes. Sorry, we're not buying it." Which is fine with me, actually. I played a heroin addict once, but she was a bank vice-president. The roles need a vein through them of education or intellect.

Your books have little items on motivation and focus. You're an amateur psychologist.

I'm trying to attack all aspects of what's going on. I have a journal I wrote at that age so I'm very much in touch with what it feels like. I draw on things I was into, what I liked. Oh my gosh—the stress of whether a popular girl thinks you're cool....

I'm sure the slang has changed a bit.

Yeah, I try not to use too much slang in the books. I could just be seen as some sort of dork.