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But math is more than that. His argument is that analyzing a differential equation without exploring it in phase space was like analyzing a piece of sheet musi
by michael_dorfman 15y ago
But math is more than that.
His argument is that analyzing a differential equation without exploring it in phase space was like analyzing a piece of sheet music without actually hearing it.
And if music education were taught in that way-- by looking at music purely as the manipulation of concrete symbols-- I imagine some of us would be writing "kill music (as it is currently taught)" blog posts as well.
EDIT: minor grammar fix
- hammock 15y agoI doubt anyone here learned math (at least up through calculus) without concrete examples. They were called word problems and lab assignments.
- generalk 15y agoWord problems are still abstract manipulation of symbols, you just have to hunt around in the phrasing for the right operands or operations, which arguably makes it harder.
- fhars 15y agoBut the jury is still out on the question of whether concrete examples are usefull in maths education: http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/mathed.htm http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/mathed.htm
- hessenwolf 15y agoWeak study. They made some students learn something using concrete examples only, and then expected them to be able to abstract. That's just dumb. I learn the maths, and apply to various situations in my head to make sure I understand it.
- hessenwolf 15y agoI'll be honest; I absolute love graph theory. If I had a million lives and financial independence, I would spend several of them solving graph theory problems. I don't really give a shit what the nodes and edges are. Computer network? Rigid structure? Conditional independence of personality traits? I don't care!