

A better user interface for math (2011) - kevin
http://wabisabistartup.com/2011/07/21/a-better-user-interface-for-math/

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yang140
Thanks for sharing this post. Bret mentioned this in his "Media for thinking
unthinkable" talk that Mathematical notation itself is a great tool for making
mathematical structure visible. They are like user interface, it tell things
that language can't express. The birth of mathematical notation is considered
to be birth of modern mathematics. With dynamic media provided by computer,
there should be a better way to dynamically represent mathematical structure.
With that in mind, I would also recommend Evan Miller's comment's on Bret
Victor's "Kill Math" article called "Don't Kill Math". Evan empathize that
besides dynamic simulation, we should also embrace "theory and calculation" to
see the underlying structure.

[http://worrydream.com/MediaForThinkingTheUnthinkable/](http://worrydream.com/MediaForThinkingTheUnthinkable/)
[http://www.evanmiller.org/dont-kill-
math.html](http://www.evanmiller.org/dont-kill-math.html)

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jordigh
> The birth of mathematical notation is considered to be birth of modern
> mathematics.

What does this mean? We've had some kind of mathematical notation ever since
we've had mathematics. The Babylonian tablets with Pythagorean triplets had to
use some sort of notation for the actual numbers:

[http://www.researchhistory.org/2012/10/24/earliest-
evidence-...](http://www.researchhistory.org/2012/10/24/earliest-evidence-of-
pythagoras-theorem/)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonian_numerals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonian_numerals)
What do you consider notation and what is not notation?

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alphydan
I think you're right that there was always notation. But perhaps he is
referring to the birth of algebraic notation (the manipulation of symbols to
represent unknown quantities).

Although the roots of Algebra start in the middle east around the VIIIth
century, the current notation doesn't really develop until the XIIIth or XIVth
[0]

[0]
[http://cerebro.xu.edu/math/math147/02f/algebra/algebra.html](http://cerebro.xu.edu/math/math147/02f/algebra/algebra.html)

~~~
jordigh
I don't know, I think that dismissing Diophantus or the Greeks as not being
modern enough is a bit strange. After all, we still use the exact algorithm as
Euclid for finding gcds. We simply don't state it in geometric terms like he
did.

I suppose if by modern mathematics one means algebra, then it's fair to place
it somewhere in the 12th century.

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tomsmeding
Sounds like an awesome idea. I think that you're not the only one "good at
math" that "sucks at arithmetic"; I think it's a common thing. :) For this to
work out, there has to be someone with a real, intuitive vision on numbers who
can actually _explain_ it to someone else. I suppose that's the hard part. To
start something, we've been using the decimal system for such a long time;
would it maybe be interesting to research how other bases work out when taught
to people, preferably children? That would quite hinder their progression in
"normal", decimal arithmetic, though, so it would be quite unethical...

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mkesper
Maybe its effects would be vaguely comparable to bilinguality?

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pdm55
Nice video. I create similar diagrams with Geogebra,
[https://www.geogebra.org/](https://www.geogebra.org/). What I like about
Geogebra is (1) it's free and (2) I can build interactive diagrams without
having to do any computer coding. I encourage students in my Calculus and
Statistics classes to use it to explore ideas for themselves.

