
How I Rewired My Brain to Become Fluent in Math - prajjwal
http://nautil.us/issue/17/big-bangs/how-i-rewired-my-brain-to-become-fluent-in-math
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j2kun
> And indeed, it's easier for teachers to induce students to discuss a
> mathematical subject (which, if done properly, can do much to help promote
> understanding) than it is for that teacher to tediously grade math homework.

It's much easier to give rote problems and grade them mindlessly because it
doesn't require you to engage the students in any way. Moreover, engaging your
students requires you to actually _know_ the mathematics more deeply than a
textbook, and most high school math teachers don't come close to this.

> ..., someone who dances daily with triple integrals, Fourier transforms, and
> that crown jewel of mathematics, Euler’s equation

I've met scores of engineers who can "dance" with triple integrals, and yet
are still terrible at formulating or understanding the most basic of
mathematical claims. But what do they do in their jobs? They certainly don't
compute integrals all day.

Being good at mathematics requires practice, as does every pursuit, nobody is
contending that. But what this author (and most critics of Common Core) don't
understand is that knowledge of mathematical facts and rote symbolic
manipulation skills is not equivalent to skill at mathematics. We do not teach
our students mathematics so they can swim in triple integrals. We teach them
mathematics to develop analytical minds. Rote computation does not do this,
and thank goodness the standards writers are finally starting to acknowledge
that.

~~~
endzone
"'ve met scores of engineers who can "dance" with triple integrals, and yet
are still terrible at formulating or understanding the most basic of
mathematical claims. But what do they do in their jobs? They certainly don't
compute integrals all day."

scores eh?

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j2kun
between tens and hundreds?

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jc123
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8402859](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8402859)

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harry8
It's just a damn teaser. :-( "The full article appears in the Fall 2014
Nautilus Quarterly. Subscribe today!"

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droope
How fucking annoying! :S

