Sunday, November 14, 2010
Math Class Needs a Makeover.
I wish I could be a high school student again just to take Dan Meyer's high school math classes. He gave a fantastic TED talk on what's wrong with math education in this country, echoing many of my own thoughts and experiences -- namely, that we focus on the computational aspect (numbers crunching), which most of us forget when we leave high school, but is easy enough to relearn as an adult -- provided you also have a solid grounding in reasoning ability. And that's what high school students aren't getting. Meyers is a funny man, admitting that as a high school math teacher, "I sell a product to a market that doesn't want it, but is forced by law to buy it." But as I learned while writing The Calculus Diaries, math is still relevant outside of high school -- and it's far, far cooler than I ever imagined it could be. Folks like Meyers could change our minds about math for the better.
about all things calculus
It's all in there: Archimedes and the method of exhaustion (pioneered by a Greek dude named Eudoxus, who studied under Plato), why killing Archimedes was "the Romans' greatest contribution to mathematics".
Watch Jennifer chat about the book on San Diego Living (airdate: September 16, 2010):
Watch Jennifer chat about the book on San Diego Living (airdate: September 16, 2010):
Calculus diary
Jennifer Ouellette was an English major who long “avoided all math,” as she put it. Today, the science writer and author of The Calculus Diaries: How Math Can Help You Lose Weight, Win in Vegas, and Survive a Zombie Apocalypse recalled asking her math teacher what every student wants to know: why does math matter in every day life? “He gave the usual stock answers,” she said. “But when you start to see where calculus is in the real world, that’s when you start to see where it’s useful.” Ouellette dropped by Zocalo’s offices to chat with Swati Pandey about how calculus can help you win in Vegas, anticipate the next dip or turn of a roller coaster, and why we should all aim for mathematical literacy to give us a richer view of the world around us.
Jennifer Ouellette: Matchmaker for Hollywood and science
Scientists: Don't ask what Hollywood can do for you, ask what you can do for Hollywood!
Jennifer Ouellette is the Director of The Science & Entertainment Exchange, and a popular science writer. She also writes for her blog - Cocktail Party Physics.
She spoke with The Plainspoken Scientist about how scientists can best help Hollywood.
Dr. James Kakalios!
University of Minnesota physicist and Watchmen consultant, Dr. James Kakalios, recently won an Emmy award for his video Science of Watchmen. Read more about the story behind Jim's experience working with the Exchange and the producers of Watchmen over at The X-Changes Files blog.
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