
The curious case of the number 3435 - wglb
http://www.blog.republicofmath.com/archives/4727
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Tiomaidh
Why the heck don't they teach interesting, non-plug-and-chug stuff like this
in high school math?

Every month, I get a little more resolute in my belief that the standard HS
math curriculum needs to include a semester or two on number theory, at least
for the honors track. If they're short on time, they could teach geometry in a
semester (as my school did), and/or teach Algebra II + Pre-Calc in two
semesters.

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jmatt
I agree.

I recommend "A Mathematician’s Lament" by Paul Lockhart. It's an excellent
essay on math education. The entire paper is long but even the first 5 pages
are great. It covers everything from the unacknowledged creativity that is
involved in math to the culture and curriculum.

<http://www.maa.org/devlin/devlin_03_08.html>

<http://www.maa.org/devlin/LockhartsLament.pdf>

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dwc
The entire paper is long, and I grumbled at that length. Then I began reading
it and couldn't stop. Now it's available in book form with the original
material expanded, plus a new section at the end. This book I ordered and read
quickly. This new material happens to be laying out some interesting math
ideas of the kind that could be used in teaching. Fascinating. If there were a
whole book of interesting ideas like that I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

EDIT: I should make clear that the second part of the book is _not_
coursework, but a brief taste of some ideas that capture the imagination. A
counterpoint to the _Lament_ portion, if you will.

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orborde
Care to post a link?

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martinkallstrom
Here you go:
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1934137170/ref=redir_mdp_mobil...](http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1934137170/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/180-9228552-5378018)

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nagrom
I very much enjoy this form of mathematics trivia and similarly interesting
toy maths problems. They're often posted at <http://www.futilitycloset.com> \-
not just interesting numbers, but interesting geometric proofs and so on.

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scythe
Also, 2592 = 2^5 * 9^2.

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JoeAltmaier
-1

