Translating math into code with examples in Java, Racket, Haskell, Python (2011)

Re:Translating math into code with examples in Java, Racket,... by jerf on Tuesday May 28, 2019 @01:13PM (#20032113)

I'm not seeking abstract philosophical purity, or trying to make the mistake of including a complete transitive concept closure in every equation [1]. I'm seeking pragmatic high-quality education that doesn't blow our student's cognitive resources on stupid shit instead of the stuff I want them to learn. By the time they get to physics, they know what multiplication and equality are. It's just the "force", "mass", and "acceleration" that they don't know yet, so we don't abbreviate them until they do.

[1]: AIUI, the actual problem the original "New Math" had. The original "New Math" tried to start students with set theory, because that was the foundations of mathematics, so obviously, the best place to start an education, right? (Hint: No.) This is why parents said they didn't understand "New Math". By comparison "Common Core" math is all-but-identical to what I learned in school 30 years ago.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Translating math into code with examples in Java, Racket,... by enriquto on Tuesday May 28, 2019 @01:20PM (#20032185)

I do not disagree with you. When you learn the stuff, it is perfectly OK to explain equations with words and even write equations with words. But this is akin to the comments of a program. Once you get down to work, in a professional setting, all mathematics uses single-letter variables

(and I may add that all programming should do the same).

I also agree with you that starting math with set theory is utterly ridiculous and even harmful. You should start with arithmetic and with geometry (obviously, using single-letter variables when needed).

[ Parent | on HN ]