Brainstorming about GNU Math
Of course "gnu math" is a pun on "new math", more formally known as SMSG, and designed to ride a tsunami of cold war paranoia, when the USA first started "falling behind" in science and technology, as evidenced by Sputnik. "New math" was supposed to turn out a new crop of eggheads, prepared to keep the USA in the game, and you can't say the effort failed entirely. We got NASA and Apollo, and later The Mouse in Orlando, all products of these post WWII curriculum reforms. However, there was never a huge buy-in among rank and file teachers, who felt left out of the loop. Plus SMSG had its own problems... Rolling the scenario forward several decades, we've had the GNU/Linux revolution and the advent of more generous licensing agreements, complete with a new business ethic that deals kids in at the outset, as wannabee space cadets, as junior engineers. They quickly start learning, and in a few short years are out of the gate as players, spinning their own networks and lighting up the boards with new high scores, news of old records broken and so forth. The next generation starts ahead of the previous one, if all goes according to plan. That's called a learning curve. That's called future shock (especially if folks can't handle it, and go flying into buildings or whatever terrifying thing -- The Power of Nightmares is worth seeing on this ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430484/ )). With GNU/Linux and falling hardware prices comes greater access to sophisticated computing environments, such as only a cast of high priests had known before. The age of Turing Machines for Everyone had arrived. We'd be needing programs like CP4E to spread the love. Guido came up with a great language. The die was cast. Rolling forward some more, we have a big literature on file, but it's not that well organized. Hypertext glues it together, more than book covers, although the shelf space devoted to Python and related topics is respectable. In the meantime, OO has become well-established, so even if Python isn't your final destination, it's within the right track system. Switching to Java or C# is pretty easy, especially given Jython and IronPython use these for guts. As a Silicon Forest exec, my question is why non-OO problem solving, as taught on the math track, has all this political clout, whereas would be computer geeks have to drop out of school or sneak knowledge when not in class. Sure, there's some leakage, some osmosis, but for the most part it seems there's a dike, a barrier, designed to keep computer programming from "polluting" some purist tradition. And it's not just programming that's kept at bay, but computer graphics and animation. The pre-college mainstream remains strangely bereft of serious-minded spatial geometry, even in districts that could afford the low-cost diskless workstations or hand-me-down Pentiums. No A & B modules. No hexapents. What's the story here? Well, I don't think here is the right place to recap my analysis, but in gist: overspecialization has bitten us in the rear. This isn't a new conclusion. Bucky Fuller came to the same result. Lack of cross-disciplinary communication has hampered our ability to evolve the curriculum at a sufficient rate. We've fallen way behind. Again. But this time, there's no "new math" to the rescue. There's "gnu math" instead. Kirby
-----Original Message----- From: edu-sig-bounces+ajsiegel=optonline.net@python.org [mailto:edu-sig-bounces+ajsiegel=optonline.net@python.org] On Behalf Of kirby urner Rolling the scenario forward several decades, we've had the GNU/Linux revolution and the advent of more generous licensing agreements, complete with a new business ethic that deals kids in at the outset, as wannabee space cadets, as junior engineers.
This is where I begin to lose you. Tell me more, if you could, about this new business ethic, as it relates to kids. Another memo I don't think got distributed on this Coast as of yet, perhaps. To put it in a more mundane manner - I don't have a clue what you are talking about. Art
-----Original Message----- From: kirby urner [mailto:kirby.urner@gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2006 9:29 PM To: Arthur; edu-sig@python.org Subject: Re: [Edu-sig] Brainstorming about GNU Math
Another memo I don't think got distributed on this Coast as of yet, perhaps.
Math Forum. Drexel closer to your coast I think.
Not sure how that helps. Let's just say that any part of your curriculum ideas that rely on the reality of new business ethic, for kids or anyone else, I am against - as being based on an illusion. A not undangerous one, at that. Art
That's an OK battle, as I think anything based in some "business ethic" is indeed a failure-prone model, and suspicious, vigilant opposition should be encouraged. We call that "a discerning customer". On the other hand, I think Stallman's Gnu revolution has sparked something new in the engineering world: a stronger sense of us all being in this together. Just the one planet, gotta make it work, and dealing in the kids is critical. Kirby On 3/21/06, Arthur <ajsiegel@optonline.net> wrote:
-----Original Message----- From: kirby urner [mailto:kirby.urner@gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2006 9:29 PM To: Arthur; edu-sig@python.org Subject: Re: [Edu-sig] Brainstorming about GNU Math
Another memo I don't think got distributed on this Coast as of yet, perhaps.
Math Forum. Drexel closer to your coast I think.
Not sure how that helps.
Let's just say that any part of your curriculum ideas that rely on the reality of new business ethic, for kids or anyone else, I am against - as being based on an illusion.
A not undangerous one, at that.
Art
Hello kirby, Let's not overlook the efforts being made by the ACM and the Shodor Group (with NSF money). In this month's CACM there is an article on Computational Thinking, describing how it's everybody's business - the liberal arts education of this century, if you will. And the Shodor Group is trying to evangelize cross-disciplinary Computational Science everywhere (I'm attending their intro workshop in May). There is a matching grass-roots awakening throughout higher education as well. I think it's happening, albeit slowly (but that's typical of successful shifts). And the Math Crisis has everyone everywhere in Chicken Little mode. Something's happening. PS - I took those SMSG courses. They were good, IMO. They qualified me for a summer at Philips Academy to learn Calculus and Statistics after my junior of high school in 1968. If not for that I doubt I'd have 3 degrees in math right now. Tuesday, March 21, 2006, 6:10:19 PM, you wrote: ku> Of course "gnu math" is a pun on "new math", more formally known as ku> SMSG, and designed to ride a tsunami of cold war paranoia, when the ku> USA first started "falling behind" in science and technology, as ku> evidenced by Sputnik. "New math" was supposed to turn out a new crop ku> of eggheads, prepared to keep the USA in the game, and you can't say ku> the effort failed entirely. We got NASA and Apollo, and later The ku> Mouse in Orlando, all products of these post WWII curriculum reforms. ku> However, there was never a huge buy-in among rank and file teachers, ku> who felt left out of the loop. Plus SMSG had its own problems... ku> Rolling the scenario forward several decades, we've had the GNU/Linux ku> revolution and the advent of more generous licensing agreements, ku> complete with a new business ethic that deals kids in at the outset, ku> as wannabee space cadets, as junior engineers. They quickly start ku> learning, and in a few short years are out of the gate as players, ku> spinning their own networks and lighting up the boards with new high ku> scores, news of old records broken and so forth. The next generation ku> starts ahead of the previous one, if all goes according to plan. ku> That's called a learning curve. That's called future shock ku> (especially if folks can't handle it, and go flying into buildings or ku> whatever terrifying thing -- The Power of Nightmares is worth seeing ku> on this ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430484/ )). ku> With GNU/Linux and falling hardware prices comes greater access to ku> sophisticated computing environments, such as only a cast of high ku> priests had known before. The age of Turing Machines for Everyone had ku> arrived. We'd be needing programs like CP4E to spread the love. ku> Guido came up with a great language. The die was cast. ku> Rolling forward some more, we have a big literature on file, but it's ku> not that well organized. Hypertext glues it together, more than book ku> covers, although the shelf space devoted to Python and related topics ku> is respectable. In the meantime, OO has become well-established, so ku> even if Python isn't your final destination, it's within the right ku> track system. Switching to Java or C# is pretty easy, especially ku> given Jython and IronPython use these for guts. ku> As a Silicon Forest exec, my question is why non-OO problem solving, ku> as taught on the math track, has all this political clout, whereas ku> would be computer geeks have to drop out of school or sneak knowledge ku> when not in class. ku> Sure, there's some leakage, some osmosis, but for the most part it ku> seems there's a dike, a barrier, designed to keep computer programming ku> from "polluting" some purist tradition. And it's not just programming ku> that's kept at bay, but computer graphics and animation. The ku> pre-college mainstream remains strangely bereft of serious-minded ku> spatial geometry, even in districts that could afford the low-cost ku> diskless workstations or hand-me-down Pentiums. No A & B modules. No ku> hexapents. What's the story here? ku> Well, I don't think here is the right place to recap my analysis, but ku> in gist: overspecialization has bitten us in the rear. This isn't a ku> new conclusion. Bucky Fuller came to the same result. Lack of ku> cross-disciplinary communication has hampered our ability to evolve ku> the curriculum at a sufficient rate. We've fallen way behind. Again. ku> But this time, there's no "new math" to the rescue. There's "gnu ku> math" instead. ku> Kirby ku> _______________________________________________ ku> Edu-sig mailing list ku> Edu-sig@python.org ku> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig -- Best regards, Chuck
participants (3)
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Arthur -
Chuck Allison -
kirby urner