Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Lockharts Lament

Lockharts Lament is a very interesting and worthwhile read. It is about mathematics, art, society and education. Especially education. A few interesting quotes and ones that made me laugh:


"The only people who understand what is going on are the ones most often blamed and least often heard: the students. They say, “math class is stupid and boring,” and they are right."

"High School Geometry: Instrument of the Devil"

"We’re killing people’s interest in circles for god’s sake!"

"The first thing to understand is that mathematics is an art."

It is a about 25 pages long, at least read the conclusion (the last two pages).

Via Enfranchised Mind.

2 comments:

Brad Clow said...

Chris Okasaki had some interesting comments about Lockarts Lament here.

Brad Clow said...

Lockhart's Lament - The Sequel contains some feedback to Paul's essay and his response.