Math majors are cool

We're, like, commercially viable?

It's time for the back-to-school sales and the airwaves are full of commercials on that theme. Ross Dress for Less is running a typical offering. While a perky and pretty teenage model equips her room and her wardrobe with new items, the voice-over explains that you can avoid “department store prices” by shopping at Ross. The model plops onto her bed, smiles at the camera while she tucks back her long hair with one hand, and says, “I love saving money. After all, I am a math major!”

Well, hot damn and knock me over. Major majors can now be pretty and perky on TV? This is a long way from Barbie's “Math class is hard” whine. What a nice development! I'm not, however, going to get my hopes up too high. Perhaps we're on our way to being rehabilitated in the public eye, but I suspect the Ross spot is more a fluke than a harbinger of a new trend. Really, the odds are against it.

You could do the math.