hidden figures
Obscured numerical data
Hidden figures are people whose important contributions have been overlooked or obscured, typically due to prejudice or historical bias.
The phrase gained currency from the 2016 book and film about Black women mathematicians at NASA whose work was long unacknowledged: The conference highlighted hidden figures in the civil rights movement.
Now used broadly for any underrecognized contributors to history or achievement.
- NASAFederal space exploration bureau
- Mercury programFirst US crewed spaceflight initiative
- segregationForced separation by group
- Jim CrowRacial separation laws
- mathematiciansThose who study numbers
Katherine Johnson · calculations · computers · space race · right stuff · discrimination · glass ceiling · breaking barriers · brilliance · overlooked · behind the scenes · pioneers · unsung heroes · civil rights · genius · trajectories · rocket science · unsung
- secrecy in art
- surrealismdreamscapes, Rene Magritte, Max Ernst, automatic writing, automatism
- Unknown Peoplestrangers, unknowns, John Doe, Jane Doe, nobodies
- cognitive testsStanford-Binet, IQ test, cognitive test, intelligence test, memory test
hidden figuresfamous faces
public figures · household names · celebrities · icons · prominent figures
hidden, figures, hide, hides, hiding, figure, figured, figuring, figuration