audio or pictures of children ’ s drawings to answering a simple daily question about their behavior or activities . In return , the MuseBot — billed as a parenting co-pilot — gives parents one simple action each day that they can then do to boost the child ’ s development . The goal is to help maximize a child ’ s life outcomes by providing simple , customized activities that can be performed every day .
“ My ultimate goal is that every single night , along with a question , we send a single message home with the parent : here ’ s one thing you can do that will have the biggest impact on your child ’ s outcome ,” Ming says . “ It ’ s the action you can take .”
The Muse and Socos team cite an intervention study done 20 years ago in Jamaica , in which researchers visited the homes of severely at-risk youth once a week for one hour only . They weren ’ t working with the children , but rather the parents — teaching them simple games they could play with their children . The study lasted for two years , then ran out of money .
“ Total loss , right ?” Ming asks with a gleam in her voice . “ Nothing could possibly happen .”
Twenty years passed , and researchers returned to the original children , now adults . They were earning 25 percent more income than their at-risk peers and are now economically indistinguishable from the general population . They see less time incarcerated , and even have lower levels of stress .
“ One hour a week , with little games , we have kids that are healthier and more productive ,” Ming said . “ Happy , healthy and more productive .”
The essence of Socos lies in the benefits of meta-learning , or learning how to learn . Far from textbook memorization or training someone to take a test , Ming is devoted to understanding how and why people learn , and maximizing the outcomes of this natural motivation . This kind of self-understanding is a cornerstone of the Socos philosophy , and the key to living what Ming calls “ an authentic life .”
“ So much of what we think about ourselves is tied up in our fears or beliefs about what other people think ,” Ming says . “ But authenticity is really about having the courage to understand yourself and then having the courage to be yourself . This was the case not only for me — there ’ s an entire body of research that shows that real happiness and accomplishment comes from the courage to be different and authentic , even if it sets you apart from others .”
Whittington also reiterates the importance of living an authentic life — which she learned via her unique experience as a parent . “ Ryland just fits what it means to be a little boy in our typical culture , and what our expectations are ,” Whittington says . “ It doesn ’ t have to be these typical gender roles and these rigid boxes . Ryland can be whatever he wants to be . He should know that he has the opportunity to do this .”
Ming , in her analytical way , has looked at this same sentiment through a much broader lens , one focused on the world of economics . Her recent research led to a robust database of lesbian , gay , bisexual and transgender ( LGBT ) entrepreneurs over the last 10 years . She looked at how much money their companies brought in , how many jobs were created by their work , where they were based and , importantly , where their founders were from . She found LGBT entrepreneurs created 3 million new jobs after moving from places that were not inclusive — locations that have anti-transgender bathroom laws , no LGBT representation in local politics , no other LGBT business owners , for example — to places that were more inclusive .
“ It ’ s exporting jobs — high-paying , high-skilled jobs — to other cities . And these people are thriving ,” Ming says .
Moving to areas like New York City and San Francisco to escape anti-LGBT attitudes is nothing new , but as Ming shows , promoting and living authentic lives is integral to being happy , healthy and productive , for an individual as well as a community .
Both Whittington and Ming have come back to the UC San Diego community as well . Whittington and her husband spoke on campus this past March for Transgender Day of Visibility , part of a talk organized by current School of Medicine student and undergraduate alumna Daniella McDonald , Muir ’ 11 , to provide visibility for transgender patients .
“ The Whittington ’ s story resonates so well because they too struggled , as many people do , with transgender issues ,”
What is it that we really want education to do ? Education should produce happy , healthy and productive lives . Then let society reap the benefits .”
— VIVIENNE MING , MUIR ’ 00
McDonald says . “ The family is warm and relatable … . They show that you don ’ t need to be ‘ radical parents ’ to accept your transgender child .”
Ming will also make a welcome return to the UC San Diego campus as the keynote speaker for the 2016 All-Campus Convocation . She returns this September with a far different perspective than when first on campus — no longer the quiet , lonely young man from before . In her trajectory since , she has found within herself a life that she calls a “ mashup ” of all her experiences : as a student , a neuroscientist , an education technologist , a labor economist , a cognitive scientist — and she talks about these mashups with ease and confidence , all contributing to a greater knowledge of who she is and what she ’ s capable of .
“ I refer to them as reincarnations ,” she says . “ You die and you start over again . And every time you start over again , you go all in .”
Learn more about gender identity and campus initiatives on inclusion at tritonmag . com / genderidentity
TRITONMAG . COM 45