

Get ready for China's domination of science - ca98am79
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527426.900-get-ready-for-chinas-domination-of-science.html

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tokenadult
Point of agreement with the author: China is doing very well (in urban areas)
in the primary and secondary education that leads to sound knowledge of
mathematics and basic physical science such that Chinese researchers can make
many important observations in physical science, mathematics, and engineering.
I have a lot of Chinese-language secondary level textbooks at home, and they
are very good indeed.

Point of disagreement: "science" includes social science, particularly
economics, and it is not at all clear that China's current political situation
is congenial to further advances in precisely the "softer" sciences more
connected to human behavior that are likely to be the big areas of advancement
in the free world in coming years. As biology, sociology, economics, and other
disciplines all harden up as they become more mathematically rigorous, China
will be hobbled in advancing in those disciplines (compared to the West or to
India) by scientists having to follow the party line on many issues of social
policy.

~~~
est
> I have a lot of Chinese-language secondary level textbooks at home, and they
> are very good indeed.

Can you give a name or two? From my experience Chinese versions are often less
well written than some American ones. And some of the best Mathematics
textbook are Soviet Russia version

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tokenadult
The textbooks from the Hua Loo-keng School are very good indeed. I don't have
a convenient Web reference at hand, alas.

I agree with you that mathematics textbooks from the Soviet Union are often
excellent. I use two of those in my own supplemental math classes,

Mathematics 6 by Enn R. Nurk and Aksel E. Telgmaa

<http://www.perpendicularpress.com/math6.html>

(currently out of print, as explained on the webpage, as the second English
edition is being prepared)

and

Algebra by Israel Gelfand and Alexander Shen.

<http://www.amazon.com/Algebra-Israel-M-Gelfand/dp/0817636773>

Both are full of interesting problems and expect learners to be smart. I
particularly like Gelfand's views on mathematics education:

"I would like to make one comment here. Some of my American colleagues have
explained to me that American students are not really accustomed to thinking
and working hard, and for this reason we must make the material as attractive
as possible. Permit me to not completely agree with this opinion. From my long
experience with young students all over the world, I know that they are
curious and inquisitive and I believe that if they have some clear material
presented in a simple form, they will prefer this to all artificial means of
attracting their attention--much as one buys books for their content and not
for their dazzling jacket designs that engage only for the moment. The most
important thing a student can get from the study of mathematics is the
attainment of a higher intellectual level."

The late professor Gelfand was optimistic--based on long experience--that many
learners can attain a higher intellectual level in mathematics, perhaps
because of his flexibility as a teacher: "Students have no shortcomings, they
have only peculiarities. The job of a teacher is to turn these peculiarities
into advantages."

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colinplamondon
I just find it mindblowing that all of these ra ra China articles take for
granted that an enormous growth bubble will continue indefinitely despite a
huge bad debt rate and a shaky political situation.

~~~
voxcogitatio
Especially considering how many (and recent!) examples there are of that kind
of thinking leading to disaster in economics. I'd say those that don't learn
history are doomed to repeat it, but this barely qualifies as history.

------
est
> Get ready for China's _spam_ of science

FTFY

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tokipin
relatedly, i like how Obama has been pressing science education and education
in general

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33_nZaOUWYw>

