> pumpkin =3D Icosa() # pumpkin names an Icosahedron
> icosaobj.facecolor =3D 'Orange' # ... with orange faces
> icosaobj.edgecolor =3D 'Black' # ... and black edges
I messed up my Halloween program here and have to debug. =20
Par for the course (I'm good at making careless errors):
<DEBUG>
pumpkin =3D Icosa() # pumpkin names an Icosahedron
pumpkin.facecolor =3D 'Orange' # ... with orange faces
pumpkin.edgecolor =3D 'Black' # ... and black edges
</DEBUG>
What's nice about Python (a computer language and development
environment) is that after making a change such as the above,
I could just go:
>>> reload("Halloween")
and re-execute the program. No need for a lot of compiling
and linking and all that jazz (handled automatically).
People sometimes ask me: yes, but is all this computer=20
stuff really relevant to _math class_??
My reply: look how much of your average math class is
_already_ wrapped up in technology, in the form of a=20
graphic calculator. Computers are actually _easier_
to program than programmable calculators. And, deeper
point, what "math class" is about in K-12 especially,
and to some extent even in college, is NOT training=20
students to be clones of PhD math professors. Rather,
we're exposing students to a broad range of disciplines
and applications which involve a lot of mathematics --
meaning it makes perfect sense to include a lot of
computer stuff.
=46or more regarding computers and the relevance of a
command line environment in math class, see the=20
NCTM Standards 2000 Discussion Area 1 at the=20
Swarthmore Math Forum:
http://forum.swarthmore.edu/nctm.standards.2000/index.html
Relevant Threads:
History of Mathematics
Diatribe (me being more polemical -- one of my "gifts"*)
Kirby
PS: happy halloween!
* see: http://www.teleport.com/~pdx4d/technoinvective.html
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