A Modest Inaccuracy

Mathematics is not for one type of person: not only for the nerdy and weird outcasts, not only for the white male, not only for those who are not targeted by the stereotypes prevalent in the field. Mathematics is not dry, nor boring, nor focused on inane solutions never to be used after the discovery. Mathematics is not what people think it is; it is not one field, one theme, one subject. Mathematics is everything. Look around, with clear eyes, and you will see the art of mathematics everywhere. Dr. Diana Gu, the founder of MTY Academy, an extremely successful institute in the Austin community, and long-time, inspirational professor at the Texas State University, looks at the world and sees numbers. She sees passion and dedication and motivation. She sees intensity and zeal and excitement. Explaining that mathematics is essential for everyone, she emphasizes an idea: innate skill matters little, while practice is what defines you.

Mathematics, as it relates to the Greek era and the present time, had created and still creates a very new approach to the thoughts of the mechanics of nature. For instance, Pythagoras, the Greek mathematician and philosopher, believed the physical world would be explained by numbers. He used his theory of numbers and applied them to

The book Mistakes Were Made by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson is mainly about cognitive dissonance, responsibility, and self-justification. People will not listen to someone telling them they are wrong because then they would have to change their mindset. This is basically what cognitive dissonance is people cannot have two conflicting thoughts. This is why people can sometimes be so wrong and not realize it because they were self-justifying the wrong answer.

Looking up the definition of mathematics you will get the simple definition, “the abstract science of number, quantity, and space”. I believe the definition of mathematics to be more than this. I believe mathematics is study of science using basic rules or truths, such as truth 1 + 1 = 2, applying these rules in different ways, since 1 + 1 = 2, we can expand on that and say 1 x 2 = 2, and then extrapolating upon those rules. We then can use these rules to apply and make models to represent the world we live in. Some of these models are used in engineering and physics where using these rules of mathematics to then design structures such as bridges, sky-scrapers, and roads.

Geometry and Algebra are so crucial to the development of the world it is taught to every public high school in the United States, around 14.8 million teenagers each year (National Center for Education Statistics). Mathematics is the engine powering our world; our stocks, economy, technology, and science are all based off from math. Math is our universal and definite language “I was especially delighted with the mathematics, on account of the certitude and evidence of their reasonings.” (Rene Descartes, 1637).

“Despite its importance, it is rarely included in high school mathematics. The American policy document, Principles and Standards for School Mathematics states that if students are to learn to “construct mathematical arguments and respond to others” arguments, then creating an environment that fosters these kinds of activities is essential (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2000, p. 18) Hansson (2009) gave five different definitions of risk: 1) risk as an unwanted event which may or may not occur, 2) unwanted event causing the risk may or may not have occurred, 3) probability of unwanted event might occur, 4) decisions made under these known probabilities is a fact, and 5) statistical expectation value of the unwanted events may occur. It is also noted that three, four and five occur most often in mathematics. Several studies have determined that reasoning at complex cognitive levels and risk taking with mathematical discourse is not easily achievable for students without adult intervention. (Anthony & Walshaw, 2007; Cobb & McClain, 2004; French, 2009; Hunter, 2010). Another study in Canada taught risk taking in mathematics in two different 11th grade settings. The pedagogy of risk model they used includes five components: 1) beliefs and values, 2) judgment of impact, 3) judgment of probabilities, 4) representations, 5) estimating the risk.

I decided to pick the chapter that stood out to me the most, chapter 2 Women and Gender on Plantations and in Factories, by Stephen L. Harp. I have always been interested in systems gender inequalities and how they were perpetuated and changed over time, so I thought that this was a very interesting chapter. Harp decided to make his point by reference a film, Indochine, throughout his argument and talked about the inaccuracies and the characters in the film, comparing them to the actual events and right facts of the time.

Mathematics, study of relationships among quantities, magnitudes, and properties and of logical operations by which unknown quantities, magnitudes, and properties may be deduced. In the past, mathematics was regarded as the science of quantity, whether of magnitudes, as in geometry, or of numbers, as in arithmetic, or of the generalization of these two fields, as in algebra. Toward the middle of the 19th century, however, mathematics came to be regarded increasingly as the science of relations, or as the science that draws necessary conclusions. This latter view encompasses mathematical or symbolic logic, the science of using symbols to provide an exact theory of logical deduction and inference based on

In today’s society mathematics is a vital part of day-to-day life. No matter what a person is doing at home or at the workplace, he/she is constantly using different mathematics skills to simply function. Then what does this mean for mathematics education? When someone needs to utilize a skill every day then he/she needs a strong background in the skill. Therefore, today’s students need more than a just a working knowledge of mathematics or enough knowledge to pass a test. Today’s students need to understand how mathematics works and how to utilize mathematics skills in the best way possible.

Maths is ubiquitous in our lives, but depending on the learning received as a child it could inspire or frighten. If a child has a negative experience in mathematics, that experience has the ability to affect his/her attitude toward mathematics as an adult. Solso (2009) explains that math has the ability to confuse, frighten, and frustrate learners of all ages; Math also has the ability to inspire, encourage and achieve. Almost all daily activities include some form of mathematical procedure, whether people are aware of it or not. Possessing a solid learning foundation for math is vital to ensure a lifelong understanding of math. This essay will discuss why it is crucial to develop in children the ability to tackle problems with initiative and confidence (Anghileri, 2006, p. 2) and why mathematics has changed from careful rehearsal of standard procedures to a focus on mathematical thinking and communication to prepare them for the world of tomorrow (Anghileri).

What is mathematics? What is the distinct definition for it? Something that always has bewildered me is what maths really is.

Mathematics, like every creation of man, have evolved without really knowing how far you can get with them: the scope of the computer, physics, chemistry, algebra, all are evidence of this. Every aspect of our culture is based in some way or another in Mathematics: language, music, dance, art, sculpture, architecture, biology, daily life. All these areas of measurements and calculations are accurate. Even in nature, everything follows a precise pattern and a precise order: a flower, a shell, a butterfly, day and night, the seasons. All this makes mathematics essential for human life and they can not be limited only to a matter within the school curriculum; here lies the importance of teaching math in a pleasure, enjoyable and understandable way. Mathematics is an aid to the development of the child and should be seen as an aid to life and not as an obstacle in their lifes.

Mathematics has contributed to the alteration of technology over many years. The most noticeable mathematical technology is the evolution of the abacus to the many variations of the calculator. Some people argue that the changes in technology have been for the better while others argue they have been for the worse. While this paper does not address specifically technology, this paper rather addresses influential persons in philosophy to the field of mathematics. In order to understand the impact of mathematics, this paper will delve into the three philosophers of the past who have contributed to this academic. In this paper, I will cover the views of three philosophers of mathematics encompassing their

Mathematics is a type of reasoning. Thinking mathematically includes thinking in a rational way, developing and checking conjectures, understanding things, and forming and validating judgments, reasoning, and conclusions. We show mathematical habits when we acknowledge and explain patterns, build physical and theoretical models of sensations, develop sign systems to assist us stand for, control, and review concepts, and create treatments to address issues (Battista, 1999).

Mathematics is the one of the most important subjects in our daily life and in most human activities the knowledge of mathematics is important. In the rapidly changing world and in the era of technology, mathematics plays an essential role. To understand the mechanized world and match with the newly developing information technology knowledge in mathematics is vital. Mathematics is the mother of all sciences. Without the knowledge of mathematics, nothing is possible in the world. The world cannot progress without mathematics. Mathematics fulfills most of the human needs related to diverse aspects of everyday life. Mathematics has been accepted as significant element of formal education from ancient period to the present day. Mathematics has a very important role in the classroom not only because of the relevance of the syllabus material, but because of the reasoning processes the student can develop.