The Art of Mathematics [Part 1 of 3] (by Carmen Parisi)
Some time ago while stumbling around online I came across a rather interesting essay about the state of mathematical education. Entitled A Mathematician’s Lament, it was written back in 2002 by Paul Lockhart who argues that there is next to no real math being taught at the K-12 level. His essay calls for a radical reform of the educational system to change the way the public perceives mathematics. Years later in 2009 Lockhart expanded the original 25 page essay into a 140 page book which is currently for sale. I find Lockhart’s essay to be thought provoking and though I agree with him on a few of his overall points, I take issue with a decent portion of his argument. In what’s to become a three part series I will discuss Lament and include my own objections to Lockhart’s argument. A Mathematician’s Lament opens with the hypothetical world wherein which…
Quitting engineering
Sometimes we go through an experience that makes us wonder if it’s really worth it to continue on our current path. I had one such experience when I was nearly done with my master’s. If I hadn’t been so close to finishing, I would have quit. That experience was a class. The worst part was that it was an undergraduate class. Going into engineering from physics, there are, as in any field, a few core classes I was lacking. I was not prevented from taking any grad classes due to this deficit, but I was required to take about four undergraduate classes before I could graduate. The third one of those was one that I felt reasonably good about. I had taken a couple upper-level math courses that were relevant. With that sort of preparation, significantly more than most undergrads in the course, I felt like the class shouldn’t be…