sums

[peteblue]

OK. Who's hacked Peteblue's account and started typing serious stuff ?

To continue being serious ...

Take your point on the old "O" levels, but, when I did them back in 197*cough, a lot of it was about being able to reproduce stuff without necessarily understanding them. It might be because I'm getting old and my mind is naturally slowing down but it seems to me that the graduate entrants we're getting in at work, pick up on things that they've had no direct education / training in mighty quickly, which tends to suggest that their IQ is higher than the equivalent 20/30 years ago.

Slightly off-topic. There are also a lot more female graduates coming through in science and engineering, which is nice because, in a Heitmester moment, they smell nice and their hair feels good as it brushes your shoulder while you're ( more slowly than is strictly necessary ) explaining something to them ... or so a friend of mine told me

I definitely agree with your last point.....

 

[Namdrater]

Maths takes a load of practise. I think grinding out the times tables when you're young is important, but it's also noticing or being taught certain patterns that makes things easier, eg. anything multiplied by 10 = the same number with a 0 at the end. I think it's probably just difficult to get kids interested in maths when they think the only use of it is: If I buy a R20 burger and a R10 coke then I've spent R30. If you told them maths is responsible for every electronic device to work, then maybe they'd say that's cool and get more interested, but even then, they'd not get close to the stage of doing that sort of maths unless they're in university or something.

I'm at a stage now where I actually enjoy maths and trying to solve disgusting-looking problems that actually make sense in the real-world.

On the topic of maths... anyone know why mathematicians don't go to the beach? It's because sin and cos gives you a tan!

 

[Woolly Blue]

I definitely agree with your last point.....

Ah, it was you that told me then, that figures.
I swear one was flirting with me the other day. Well, when I say flirting, she laughed at one of my jokes and walked away, but I could tell !

Maths takes a load of practise. I think grinding out the times tables when you're young is important, but it's also noticing or being taught certain patterns that makes things easier, eg. anything multiplied by 10 = the same number with a 0 at the end. I think it's probably just difficult to get kids interested in maths when they think the only use of it is: If I buy a R20 burger and a R10 coke then I've spent R30. If you told them maths is responsible for every electronic device to work, then maybe they'd say that's cool and get more interested, but even then, they'd not get close to the stage of doing that sort of maths unless they're in university or something.

I'm at a stage now where I actually enjoy maths and trying to solve disgusting-looking problems that actually make sense in the real-world.

On the topic of maths... anyone know why mathematicians don't go to the beach? It's because sin and cos gives you a tan!

You're Pi-eyed lad and your Fourier analysis isn't all it's cracked up to be

Apologies if pi-eyed means nothing in South Africa.

 

[Nordecke]

You boys need to learn a bit of English before you worry about Math..


*gets coat

 

[Reidy's Bottle Of Grecian]

it's not about that x10 thing though, they do doubles and number bonds i.e. 20 is double 8 and double 2 so half of 20 = 8+2.

 

[Namdrater]

it's not about that x10 thing though, they do doubles and number bonds i.e. 20 is double 8 and double 2 so half of 20 = 8+2.

I think if I sat up all night trying to think of the most difficult way to teach maths, I wouldn't be able to come up with something worse than that lol.

 

[wm02]

it's not about that x10 thing though, they do doubles and number bonds i.e. 20 is double 8 and double 2 so half of 20 = 8+2.

Unfortunately, I see some of the same "methods" here in the States...actually, a big part of my job is with remedial students in mathematics and reading. They are so confused by the outlandish methods you described and lack a basic understanding of the four operations. It's really scary. In many ways, the problems are consistent throughout the various disciplines: poor textbooks (with shoddy logic), a system of education that does not value mastery learning (e.g. times tables as abstract thought and grammar as next year's problem).