<div dir="ltr">2008/10/4 michel paul <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:mpaul213@gmail.com">mpaul213@gmail.com</a>></span><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div dir="ltr"><br>For math classes I think it's more pertinent to focus on functional interactions and not on IO issues, and that was what I was trying to get at.<br></div></blockquote><div><br><br></div></div>I'm enjoying this thread.<br>
<br>My spin in Pythonic Math has been to suggest "dot notation" become accepted as math notation, and with it the concept of namespaces, which I tell my students is one of the most important mathematical concepts they'll ever learn. We look at how several languages deal with the problem (of name collisions, of disambiguation), including Java's "reverse URL" strategy e.g. net.4dsolutions.mathobjects.vector or whatever.[1]<br>
<br>I tend to look at .py modules as "fish tanks" i.e. ecosystems, with both internal and external (import) dependencies, with the user of said fish tank being somewhat the biologist, in testing to find out what's in there, what the behaviors are. <br>
<br>Starting with the math module is of course apropos, discussing the functions, not shying away from trig even pre high school, no reason to withhold about cosine just because they're "young" (this is actually a prime time to gain exposure to these useful and time-tested ideas).<br>
<br>Because of my "fish tank" idea, and using the math module as a model, I don't encourage "self prompting" i.e. using raw_input for much of anything. We need to "feed the fish" directly, i.e. pass arguments directly to functions, with f ( ) looking like a creature with a mouth, ready to eat something. fish( ).<br>
<br>Regarding GOTO, sometime last month I think it was, I told the story of assembler (JMP) and spaghetti code, Djikstra to the rescue, further developments. It's through story telling that we get more of the nuance. I'm a big believer in using this "time dimension" even if not doing anything computer (hard to imagine) i.e. the lives of mathematicians, their historical context, why they did what they did -- critical content, not side-bar dispensible, not optional reading.[2]<br>
<br>Metaphor: education systems are like those old Heinlein moving sidewalks (science fiction), where you can't jump on the fast-moving one at the center from zero, have to slide from walk to walk, each one a little faster, and likewise when a approaching a destination, start to slow down. <br>
<br>By including more content from geek world, getting more of a footprint for the circus I work in, I'm giving a sense of one of those fast moving sidewalks at the core of our infrastructure (coded reflexes, superhumanly fast business processes). Math pre-college should be a door into all sorts of careers (starring roles) that include numerate activities. It's not about Ivory Tower PhD mathematicians having exclusive access to future recruits, shoving the rest of us aside because our skills are "impure" (not pure math). <br>
<br>What passes for "pure math" would be something to study in college, after getting a broad sampling ahead of time, good overview, the job of a pre-specializing curriculum. In the meantime, if your school doesn't give a clear window into computer science in over four years of numeracy training, then hey, its probably a *very* slow moving sidewalk (more 1900s pedantic and plodding than fast paced like TV).[3]<br>
<br>Kirby<br><br>[1] Like when I do the IEEE lecture on Nov 4 at the Armory (theater), I'll be talking about coxeter.4d versus einstein.4d versus bucky.4d -- three namespaces, named for thinkers, in which the concept of "four dimensional" makes sense -- but in quite different language games. (a) <br>
<br>[2] I like telling the story of those Italian Renaissance era polynomial solvers, a proprietary model in which mathematicians were like race horses, gained owner-patrons who would stable them, let them work out, then they'd have like "cock fights" in the village square, to see how could solve whatever third of fourth degree polynomial fastest. Without this kind of focus, polynomials wouldn't have the momentum they still have to this day, as a key math topic pre-college (and another kind of "math object" from a Pythonic math point of view).(b)<br>
<br>[3] Marshall McLuhan wasn't just blowing smoke. People who grow up on a lot of TV are geared differently and in the early 21st century a lot of what "school" is about is asserting the value system of a pre-TV era (pre computer, pre calculator...). To "side with the kids" would be entirely subversive of traditional classroom thinking, would involve a lot more learning how to make televisions (multi-track) not just passively viewing it. In my model numeracy classes, making "math shorts" (like on Sesame Street) and uploading 'em to YouTube, for peers to admire (peers thousands of miles away perhaps -- no problemo) is a big part of the action.<br>
<br><br>(a) FYI here's the bio of Kirby that went out to subscribers:<br><br><div><span class="637391906-04102008">
<p><font size="2">An IEEE Oregon Section event</font></p>
<p><font size="2">"R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe"</font></p>
<p><font size="2">with exclusive presentation by local Buckminster scholar and consultant to the playwright<span class="637391906-04102008">,</span> Kirby Urner Tuesday, November 4, 2008 on the Mezzanine at Portland Center Stage Gerding Theater at the Armory</font></p>
<p><font size="2">128 NW Eleventh Avenue, Portland, OR 97209</font></p>
<p><font size="2">Hors d'oeuvres Reception: 5:30 p.m.</font></p>
<p><font size="2">Presentation and Discussion: 6:00 p.m.</font></p>
<p><font size="2">Theater Performance: 7:30 p.m.</font></p>
<p><font size="2">$49 per person. Tickets are limited.</font></p>
<p><font size="2">Please register by October 14, 2008. For more information and to register go to <link here>.</font></p>
<p><font size="2">We regret that we cannot offer refunds for cancellations received after October 14.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="2">-----</font></p>
<p><font size="2">R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe</font></p>
<p><font size="2">Written and directed by D.W. Jacobs from the life, work and writings of R. Buckminster Fuller</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="2">Play:</font></p>
<p><font size="2">"Everything you've learned in school as 'obvious'
becomes less and less obvious as you begin to study the universe." -
Buckminster Fuller</font></p>
<p><font size="2">Does humanity have the chance to endure successfully
on planet Earth, and if so, how? This is the question framed by
Buckminster Fuller, the engineer, designer, poet, and philosopher who,
among other things, was Mensa's second president and invented the
geodesic dome. Join us for an unforgettable journey inside one of the
most remarkable minds of the 20th century in a one-man show that blends
videos, lectures, poetry and a healthy dash of humanist humor. A hero
of the sustainability movement, Bucky framed many of the great ideas of
his time and ours. This is your chance to get to know the man behind
the world-saving mission.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="2">Presentation:</font></p>
<p><font size="2">How has the literature developed since the
publication of 'Grunch of Giants' in 1983 and what are likely outcomes
and future directions projects Fuller started over a lifetime of heavy
lifting?</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="2">Speaker:</font></p>
<p><font size="2">Kirby Urner started exploring Fuller's work in
earnest following his earning a BA in philosophy from Princeton
University, while serving as a high school math teacher in Jersey City.
He's served as a contributing editor for McGraw-Hill, Rockefeller
Center, political activist for Project VOTE! in Washington DC, and
computer programmer for myriad governmental and nonprofit organizations
in Greater Portland. Working in cahoots with Kiyoshi Kuromiya, Fuller's
lieutenant on a couple <span class="637391906-04102008">of </span>key
books, he snagged the domain name <a href="http://bfi.org">bfi.org</a> and served as the Buckminster
Fuller Institute's first web wrangler. His 'Synergetics on the Web' is
one of the main stops for Bucky scholars to this day (</font><a href="outbind://83/www.grunch.net/synergetics"><u><font color="#0000ff"><font size="2">www.grunch.net/synergetics</font></font></u></a><font size="2">). Kirby is an IEEE member.</font></p>
</span></div>
<br>(b) yes, tell them early that we have no "closed form algebraic solution" to fifth degree polynomials, but that doesn't keep Python from being useful in implementing some of the progessive approximations for root-finding, such as you get under the hood with Mathematica et al. I've got a prototypical Polynomial class out there somewhere that self solves pretty well, maybe others here do too.<br>
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