but,
far
by
No. My wife doesn't. My mother and father never did. They did arithmetic. They never wrote or solved symbolic equations.
Algebra involves manipulating non-numeric symbols as representations of as-yet-unknown numbers. Not many people do that in daily life.
If catching a fly ball is algebra, then everything is algebra. I suppose sleeping is algebra. Chimpanzees and seagulls do algebra. How lame.
So if kids do algebra already, we don't have to teach it.
John
Possibly. Sometimes the reaction is not what you expect...
Filled dorm room, of student away on Easter break, with wadded newspapers.
When he was finally able to force door open he stared at it for a minute, then tossed a lighted match into it... he was expelled.
I did one time fill a fellow students room with expandable foam... they had to saw it out in chunks ;-)
...Jim Thompson
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| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
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A new market for: Wireless Power Noise Cancellation Devices! Yes!
Oh wait, those will probably require power too... NOOOO!!!!
M
Yeah, that's the sort of thing I thought back there in the '80s. I couldn't think of exactly how to build a sure-fire version of such a gadget though... although I never actually got as far as, e.g., sketching up some plans or finding a flag pole to experiment on! :-)
"Jim Thompson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...
Where did you obtain a sufficient quantity of foam on a student's generally limited budget from??? I'm just thinking that, these days, with a single can of expanding foam being $5/can...
Some of that linked article do tend to suggest this, with their "cell phones use algebra to process signals, blah, blah" bit... True, I suppose, but suggesting someone with only a high school algebraic background is fully equipped nderstand all the fancy encoding and error correction schemes used in a contemporary cell phone is nuts.
1959, from "lab stores", before MIT laboratory administration got wise and limited quantities on foam, rubber tubing (*), etc ;-)
After we flooded the fifth floor of Burton House during a water fight ;-)
...Jim Thompson
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| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
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What I take offense at is "teaching" Calculus in high school. With no need for application, none of it sticks.
I prefer MIT's method of teaching it _exactly_ in parallel with the need for it in Physics.
I do take note that this morning's news says SAT scores are at their lowest in history :-(
...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |
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"Jim Thompson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...
Cool. I definitely was born a bit too late for some of those sorts of shenanigans. :-)
Of course, plenty of new forms have sprung up over the years...
What would have been even more fun would to have a radio controlled latch & spring to fling it off the pole when they went to get help to remove it. That way you could put it back as often as you wanted to. ;-)
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Sleeping: Z = 0
Programmers probably use algebra less often than plumbers.
John
They put it on TOP of the flag pole. I can understand how to just hoist it up... but on TOP ????
...Jim Thompson
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| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
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On a sunny day (Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:09:21 -0700) it happened John Larkin wrote in :
You should be careful not to play the nutcase too often, else you could be mistaken for one.
Any time you declare a variable, and do some operation on it is algebra. Even the registers in you pre-historic CPU are the incarnation of variables.
Absurd. Look up the definition of algebra.
But there's not a lot of point in arguing definitions. Nor is there a lot of point in calling practically everything that deals with numbers "algebra."
John
"Jim Thompson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...
Stuck on the top, upside-down. Supposedly a regular trash can (e.g., 30 gallons).
Perhaps some college buddy of his was in the national guard and had access to a chopper? :-)
On a sunny day (Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:52:31 -0700) it happened John Larkin wrote in :
So: int a;
a = b * CONSTANT;
is algebra;
If your registers are called R1, R2, etc.. then any opertion on thsoe is pure algebra.
For example add r1 to r2 and out the results in r3, is THE SAME as r3 = r1 + r2, is the same as c = b + a;
Come on, Jim. There is always a way, when a good practical joke is at stake. It wouldn't be much different than one of the telescoping pole saws.
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John Larkin wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
What does that have to do with science illiteracy? It sounds like you're proposing that students should be taught even less. The point his nto at all wheterh "too many" kids go to college, the point is that students are just taught to memorize'n'regurgitate, rather than examine and analyze. ((And since I'm sure thre will be something brought up regarding students with limitations: even students with limitations should IMO be taught to make the best of their abilities.))
One deos not have to be college bound to be taught the basics of how the world works. A mechanic, for example, has to have an understanding that things work for a reason. IOW, even vocations require skills, including thinking skills.
An understanding of how to solve certain problems is not useless. The only problem with teaching math is that it's almost never applied to real-life situations, but instead is presented as nothing more than "you're taking this because we tell you to", as nothign more tahn a theoretical exercise, some abstract bit of nonsense. That illustrates the almost-never-mentioned difference between teaching, and educating. A teacher stands up in front of the class and basically gives speeches, whereas an educator shows students (of any age!) how the topic at hand ties in with real life.
So sorry, but I don't think it's "bad" to introduce 8th graders to algebra (heck, when I was a kid, they started with teh basic concepts of equations in 6th grade). What's "bad" is when math is treated as being "just one more BS thing to deal with so as to get through school".
Speaking of pole saws, I have a new gadget... an electric chain saw (battery-powered, Black & Decker) on a pole. Now I can trim my own trees with minimal climbing. Really easy to use and it's light weight.
...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |
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