Semanlink - IREM de Paris Nord (Institut de Recherche en Enseignement des Mathématiques)

IREM de Paris Nord (Institut de Recherche en Enseignement des Mathématiques)

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sl:creationDate : 2009-06-01
sl:creationTime : 2009-06-01T14:12:25Z

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A Mathematician’s Lament

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I don’t see how it’s doing society any 
good to have its members walking around with vague memories of 
algebraic formulas and geometric diagrams, and clear memories of 
hating them.  It might do some good, though, to show them 
something beautiful and give them an opportunity to enjoy being 
creative, flexible, open-minded<br/>
You don’t need to make math interesting— it’s already more 
interesting than we can handle!  And the glory of it is its complete irrelevance to our lives.  <br/>
Mathematics is the music of reason.<br/>

We learn things because 
they interest us now, not because they might be useful later.<br/>
How many students taking literature classes will one day be writers? 
That is not why we teach literature, nor why students take it.  We 
teach to enlighten everyone, not to train only the future professionals.  
In any case, the most valuable skill for a scientist or engineer is being 
able to think creatively and independently.  The last thing anyone 
needs is to be trained.

2009-06-22 About

La Librairie des Maths

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2007-01-03 About