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yanqui
climber
Balcarce, Argentina
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One of my old roommates from when I was in graduate school posted an interesting talk by Francis Su about the meaning of teaching and learning mathematics. I'll link it down below
The article referenced in the OP is about using mathematics. In our specialized society it may be true that mathematics is an activity practised by a small group of experts and understood by few, then used by technocrats to conveniently (and unjustly) categorize people for a more efficient management. Taking a totally different point of view, Su considers the teaching of mathematics on a more universal level. He considers the possible benefits of doing mathematics and seems to think of it as an activity that, to some extent, can be learned and shared by anyone. Imagine a mathematics that is more analogous to a shared language: something that is learned and understood by everyone. Perhaps overly idealistic, but IMO Su offers some interesting ideas about what teaching and learning mathematics can mean.
https://mathyawp.wordpress.com/2017/01/08/mathematics-for-human-flourishing/
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jgill
Boulder climber
The high prairie of southern Colorado
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From Yanqui's link:
And yet he wrote me a letter after 7 years in prison. He said: “I’ve always had a proclivity for mathematics, but being in a very early stage of youth and also living in some adverse circumstances, I never came to understand the true meaning and benefit of pursuing an education… over the last 3 years I have purchased and studied a multitude of books to give me a profound and concrete understanding of Algebra I, Algebra II, College Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Calculus I and Calculus II.”
And from the autobiography of the famous gunslinger, John Wesley Hardin, a comment about his time in prison before receiving a pardon:
"I managed my work so as to make it very light, and took up arithmetic and mathematics as a study. I went through Stoddard's arithmetic and Davies' algebra & geometry"
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Convicted murderers improving their minds is so touching. Where's my kleenex?
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jgill
Boulder climber
The high prairie of southern Colorado
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I forgot to mention that John Wesley Hardin became a successful lawyer after his release.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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So he continued his life of crime?
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thebravecowboy
climber
The Good Places
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In a world where a bunch of old comfortable white guys can tease out the intricacies of race and inequality in America, anything is possible. Keep up the good work fellows.
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ms55401
Trad climber
minneapolis, mn
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Jan 23, 2017 - 05:12pm PT
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when would be a good age for my niece, now 8, to learn calculus? I'm thinking 15. I'd teach her in the summer between 9th and 10th grade.
she's in a hoity-toity school but unfortunately one that's a bit long on affirmation and a bit short on math and science
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