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My computer can solve an arithmetic expression for me. I can write a parser for arithmetic expressions and will soon be able to prove it correct. The first 12
by superuser2 11y ago
My computer can solve an arithmetic expression for me. I can write a parser for arithmetic expressions and will soon be able to prove it correct.
The first 12 years of my education actively sabotaged the latter at the expense of the former. That was wrong. Humans are poor symbol-manipulation machines, and I'm ecstatic the math classes aren't treating them as such anymore.
- Jtsummers 11y ago> Humans are poor symbol-manipulation machines I have to question this. Humans seem to be natural symbol-manipulation machines. We use this skill all the time in language (spoken early in childhood, written later).
- bitwize 11y agoWithin certain constraints. We cannot take arbitrary symbols and apply arbitrary transformations to them without intensive training, whereas that's something computers are built to do. 100 years ago we were probably the best symbol-manipulation machines around. We learned to build better ones than us, and now we're pretty poor when compared to such machines.
- fromMars 11y agoI am not sure you can claim with any authority that what you learned in first grade sabotaged your ability to understand abstract concepts. My son has neither developed a solid understanding of the concepts that common core emphasizes nor a more mechanical ability to manipulate arithmetic expressions. My anecdotal observation is that most kids at that age are not quite ready to absorb many of the concepts emphasized. Instead they require gaining some familiarity of the basic elements of arithmetic and what they represent before pulling them apart more.