Don't know much trigonometryDon't know much about algebraDon't know what a slide rule is forWonderful World - Sam Cooke Why should you read this article? You shouldn’t unless you want to become a lifelong learner. If you are a lifelong learner, you are to be commended. If you are not, then you should be commended... Continue Reading →
The Joy of Mathematics
“We are no longer the mathematicians who say Ni!We are now the mathematicians who say ekki-ekki-ekki-pitang-zoom-boing!”- The Knights Who Say Ni, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (with apologies) I was somewhat disturbed recently when I read three articles [1][2][AR6] about individuals who lost their joy of mathematics. Here are my thoughts about the joy... Continue Reading →
50 Ways to Learn Arithmetic (with apologies to Paul Simon)
“The problem is all inside your head”She said to me“The answer is easy if youTake it logicallyI’d like to help you in your struggleTo be freeThere must be fifty waysTo learn arithmetic” [1] New Math? According to the song 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover: She said, “It grieves me soTo see you in such... Continue Reading →
If You Want To Be Successful at Mathematics …
"IF YOU WANT TO BE SUCCESSFUL, FIND SOMEONE WHO HAS ACHIEVED THE RESULTS YOU WANT AND COPY WHAT THEY DO, AND YOU'LL ACHIEVE THE SAME RESULTS." ~ TONY ROBBINS In his article, 7 Communication Tips for Data Scientists, Shaw Talebi states, "The following are the communication tips I use most often. Although I’m focusing on... Continue Reading →
My Math Teacher/Professor is Terrible at Explaining
I often hear people say, "My math teacher/professor is terrible at explaining."Why does this seem to happen in math classes much more often than other classes? Stolen from Rebecca T. Some people want to be told step by step how to solve a math problem. These people memorize steps but don’t really understand conceptually what... Continue Reading →
It Is Not in Our Stars To Hold Our Mathematical Destiny but Ourselves
"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings." - Cassius, a Roman nobleman, talking with his friend Brutus in William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Julius Caesar. The line “The fault, dear Brutus” begins a longer speech that defines one’s to control their own fate and the influence that ordinary men, like Cesar, should or shouldn’t have in... Continue Reading →
“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible [mathematical] things before breakfast.”
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There - Lewis Carroll (Charles L. Dodgson) Most people know Lewis Carroll (Charles L. Dodgson) as the author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871). What many do not realize is that Charles Dodgson was primarily a mathematical lecturer at Oxford... Continue Reading →
Women in Mathematics
I would like you, the reader of this article, to reflect on the achievements of women in mathematics. We read about men such as Euler and Gauss, but not as much about the women and their contributions to mathematics. In the near future, we may not hear of any one mathematician and their achievements as... Continue Reading →
What we’ve got here is failure to communicate (mathematically).
The purpose of this explication (I just love to use sesquipedalian words.) is to alert you to the classroom problems I experience as a substitute teacher. I would hope that these issues may motivate some teachers to make changes in the way they teach, or parents to take action to help your student or school... Continue Reading →