Category Archives: link

Doubling Algebra? Or making it work?

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Dan

I’d call this article, about how doubling the time students spent studying algebra led them to do better in math and also reading and writing(!) a case of burying the lead. Why? Before anyone rushes to double the lengths of … Continue reading →

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Math and the Drug War

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Dan

The drug war is one issue that tends to be too hot for presidential politics. You won’t hear any questions at the debates about it, and you can be sure the candidates won’t be talking about it. But there’s a … Continue reading →

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Bill Clinton Teaches Arithmetic, Plus Exciting News on abc

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Dan

Last week was a very big week for mathematics. First of all, Bill Clinton made arithmetic the centerpiece of his speech at the DNC. While it may not be new to let arithmetic affect policy, it has been absent from … Continue reading →

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A Mathematician Profiled in Playboy

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Dan

When we’re talking about a cultural interest in mathematics and mathematicians, this seems like a sign of a sea change: the reclusive Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman profiled in none other than Playboy magazine. Not a lot on the math, and … Continue reading →

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What if?

Posted on August 9, 2012 by Dan

Take note: Randall Munroe, the genius behind xkcd.com, has launched a new public service: people ask questions, and he answers on Tuesday. You have to see it to understand how amazing this is: his answers are funny, illuminating, and totally … Continue reading →

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Bedtime Math

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Dan

At some point in the last several decades, people began to realize that reading to their children was a great way to help their children learn to read. “Read to your kids at bedtime!” experts and educators exhorted, and still … Continue reading →

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Nine Dangerous Things & Math Isn’t Necessary

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Dan

I like this little writeup on Nine Dangerous Things You Were Taught In School from Forbes. It pithily gets into the consequences of having a system that’s so standardized that is responsible for educating–a fundamentally intimate and nonstandard task, if … Continue reading →

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Forgot Algebra

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Dan

Things are crazy busy, and haven’t posted in too long. I’m not going to change that in any serious way at the moment, but when xkcd throws up something this topical, I have a duty to pass it along here.

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The Coolest New Thing on the Internet

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Dan

Two brief announcements. First, the coolest new thing on the internet. This is an interactive update to the old powers of 10 video, and the kind of thing you can spend a lot of time trying to get your brain … Continue reading →

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Wolfram, computer-based math, “and making maths beautiful”

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Dan

I’ve had Conrad Wolfram on my mind for some time. He gave a TED talk on computer-based math a while back, and just gave an updated talk at Learning Without Frontiers. Here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsWKyFg9IdM His premise is challengingly obvious: … Continue reading →

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