wayne
At 11:51 AM 11/8/99 -1000, you wrote:
>I wonder if we are doing a disservice to our students if we insinuate,
>with our efforts to give a practical application to every math concept,
>that math is primarily, computational. Arithmetic is primarily
>computational. Math is primarily conceptual, relational, logical. Some
>time ago we started calling elementary arithmetic "math." More recently we
>have begun calling the calculation of area and volume "geometry." It's a
>bit like calling the study of personal hygiene "medicine." The part does
>not necessarily imply the whole.
>
>I believe that the greatest value of mathematics to the average individual
>lies not in its practical value, but in its appeal to the intellect. The
>contemplation of the logical wonders of analogy, of mathematical models
>and isomorphisms, of the realization that the conceptual universe of
>number has been constructed in such an orderly and logical fashion that it
>is not only useful in a practical sense, but is beautiful in itself. How
>sad if we should deny to our students the opportunity to experience this
>beauty by presenting math as a mere workaday tool.
>
>John M. Flanigan <johnf@hawaii.edu> The equation is the final arbiter.
>Assistant Professor, Mathematics --Werner Heisenberg
>Kapi'olani Community College The scoreboard is the final arbiter.
>4303 Diamond Head Road --Bill Walton
>Honolulu HI 96816 History is the final arbiter.
>(808) 734-9371 --Edward Gibbon
>
>
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>
Wayne F. Mackey
Director, MRTC
University of Arkansas
ScEn #301
Fayetteville, AR 72701
wmackey@comp.uark.edu
(501) 582-3764
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