Carnival of . . . Mathematics?


Divest yourself of that tired and false notion that you’re bad at math. That’s hooey, though it probably sets your self-expectations low enough that it damages your math performance. Don’t make it a self-fulfilling prophecy.

New Carnival on the block: Carnival of Mathematics at Alon Levy’s Abstract Nonsense. It’s got some good stuff there for math teachers, and I suspect people with other interests will find something of interest, too. For me, for example, there is the link to the post that Fisks arguments of some of the more unsuspecting intelligent design fogmeisters. More pure historians may like the history of algebra post. There’s a lot more history and controversy in a post about why students should study math at all:

Biographical history, as taught in our public schools, is still largely a history of boneheads: ridiculous kings and queens, paranoid political leaders, compulsive voyagers, ignorant generals—the flotsam and jetsam of historical currents. The men who radically altered history, the great scientists and mathematicians, are seldom mentioned, if at all.

—Martin Gardner
quoted by G. Simmons, Calculus Gems

(Take THAT you creators of state history standards!)

Hmmm. I’m teaching algebra and geometry this week (“go figure!”). I may use some of that stuff.

Tip of the old scrub brush to JD2718.

2 Responses to Carnival of . . . Mathematics?

  1. sarsen56's avatar sarsen56 says:

    One of most remarkable exercises is to look at how prehistoric communities experimented with geometry, those interested in this fascinating topic, and how it may be used to enthuse students today may like to look at : http://sarsen56.wordpress.com/solve-this

    Like

  2. bernarda's avatar bernarda says:

    The problem is not just the teachers. It is also decisions by school boards. Here is an explanation of the disaster of some decisions.

    Like

Please play nice in the Bathtub -- splash no soap in anyone's eyes. While your e-mail will not show with comments, note that it is our policy not to allow false e-mail addresses. Comments with non-working e-mail addresses may be deleted.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.