A Mathematician's Lament

[jrtom]

http://www.metafilter.com/70699/A-Mathematicians-Lament

Haven't read it yet (placeholder) but it looks interesting. (And I agree that mathematics is often taught poorly, e.g., the curricula are generally structured so that unless you go to a lot of trouble (i.e., take math in college) you get the impression that math is limited to arithmetic, geometry, algebra, trigonometry, and calculus..._none_ of which are what I spend most of my time doing when I'm doing mathematics. Probability and statistics? Graph theory? Combinatorics? Algorithm design, analysis, and optimization? Yes, some of these require some bits of the others as prerequisites...but seriously, let's at least give HS students a _taste_ of what else is out there.)

Comments

[hypgnosis.livejournal.com]

OK, I just followed the link, and read the entire PDF. It's a very good critique (if a bit intense and ranty) of the modern American K-12 mathematics curriculum. I certainly do not agree with everything that the author is saying, but he makes several good points that any good math teacher already knows, and almost no one else does. Worth a read for any mathematician or educator. (Plus, hey, heaping abuse on overly-formal proofs!)

[danyeke.livejournal.com]

I haven't read it yet either, but I did skim the Metafilter comments (BTW, I love to read Metafilter)! The author is quoted as follows:

"...do you really think kids even want something that is relevant to their daily lives? You think something practical like compound interest is going to get them excited?"

Well, I can't speak for "kids these days," but FWIW, compound interest definitely gets me excited...and this was true when I was younger, too, even before I started studying accounting and became a Serious Finance Geek. Heh.

In any case, I agree with you that the general perception seems to be that mathematics is limited to arithmetic, geometry, algebra, trig, & calculus, and that a broader perspective on the field might very well fire up a few fledgling math geeks. Just a sampling would probably have made a difference for me, at least. I loved my probability class, and I often wished I'd had time while I was a math major to take classes in number theory, ring theory, group theory, etc.

[jrtom.livejournal.com]

I suspect that there are probably a fair number of kids these days--these days in particular--that would be easily motivated to learn about compound interest (and related topics such as variable interest rates). Such as some of the kids whose parents have recently had to move their families out of the houses that they couldn't afford any more. *rueful smile*