Re:Learning algebra in my 60s
by jrmg on Monday August 08, 2022 @11:08AM
(#32386343)
This is addressed in the article - just after the ‘(7/2) / 2 = 7’ misunderstanding:
[I called] Deane Yang, my friend who is a mathematics professor at NYU.
“The way you remember procedures is you remember why,” he said.
“Because?”
“Because people learn math as a collection of procedures,” he said. “When things get difficult, they’re lost, and math becomes religion class. The teacher says what’s right and wrong, and for all you know math came out of the sky, and some prophet told you how to do it, and it’s just blind belief then.
Interesting that he wants to know _why_ knowing why helps too!
I do wonder if this is covered more in-depth in his book.
[I called] Deane Yang, my friend who is a mathematics professor at NYU.
“The way you remember procedures is you remember why,” he said.
“Because?”
“Because people learn math as a collection of procedures,” he said. “When things get difficult, they’re lost, and math becomes religion class. The teacher says what’s right and wrong, and for all you know math came out of the sky, and some prophet told you how to do it, and it’s just blind belief then.
Interesting that he wants to know _why_ knowing why helps too!
I do wonder if this is covered more in-depth in his book.