A new way to make quadratic equations easy

Re:A new way to make quadratic equations easy by czrnb on Friday December 06, 2019 @09:09AM (#21721842)

There is an error in the (pixelated) example that is given int the MIT tech review article (z² = 3 instead of -3). I think the fact that the author of the news missed this, that he probably took a screenshot of the formulas rewritten in Word, and that he was compelled to write such a long article on such a simple topic speaks for his level on the topic.

The fact that he only lists the formal article as a reference instead of the announcement, video, and accessible blog post by Po-Shen Loh really baffles me.

The original "disclosure" by Po-Shen Loh [0] is much less sensational and gives some context for his work (teaching middle school students). In the formal article, he is also stating that the method is very likely not __new__, but that he wants to popularize it in teaching.

I think, as many other commenters pointed out, that there is no great breakthrough here. However "his" method may have the advantage of training the intuition of young students, by helping them understand the concepts of average and "deviation" (I'm not really sure how to call it in that case), and maybe visualizing them.

[0]: https://www.poshenloh.com/quadratic

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Re:A new way to make quadratic equations easy by wrycoder on Friday December 06, 2019 @10:41AM (#21722725)

And the third pixelated equation has an error - the final term on the left side should be C, not Cx^2.

I think the point of the arXiv article is this is a more straightforward /proof/ of the quadratic formula. That article has some interesting historical commentary that shows exactly where the author thinks his contribution fits - he is not naively coming up with something "new".

As far as computation of the roots goes, it is a slightly streamlined approach:

First, put the quadratic into canonical form by dividing by A, if necessary.

Then, take B/2 into a new variable, call it F. Get F^2.

The roots are then -F +- sqrt(F^2 - C)

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Re:A new way to make quadratic equations easy by knolax on Friday December 06, 2019 @04:16PM (#21726061)

Why is MIT technology review on the front page so often. It's literally a student newspaper with the expected quality of one.

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Re:A new way to make quadratic equations easy by pfedak on Friday December 06, 2019 @06:18PM (#21727039)

Are you perhaps thinking of https://thetech.com/ ? I'm not sure in what sense the Technology Review is a student newspaper - to my knowledge (and checking a few bylines), the journalists are not students.

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Re:A new way to make quadratic equations easy by knolax on Sunday December 08, 2019 @08:14AM (#21735733)

Oh wow I just read their about page and I stand corrected. I'm not sure if the fact that they're a (supposedly) hundred year old newspaper makes me feel any better about the quality of their articles though.

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