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Jack Straw Inner circle Wichita 1020 Posts |
I can't claim this to be mine, because it's not.
The following examples may help to clarify the difference between the new and old math. 1965 (Old Math): A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of this price. What is his profit? 1975 (Traditional math): A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. What is his profit? 1985 (New Math): A logger exchanges a set "L" of lumber for a set "M" of money. The cardinality of set "M" is 100 and each element is worth $1. (a) make 100 dots representing the elements of the set "M" (b) The set "C" representing costs of production contains 20 fewer points than set "M". Represent the set "C" as a subset of the set "M". (c) What is the cardinality of the set "P" of profits? 2000 (Dumbed-down math): A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Underline the number 20. 2010 (Whole Math): By cutting down a forest full of beautiful trees, a logger makes $20. (a) What do you think of this way of making money? (b) How did the forest birds and squirrels feel? (c) Draw a picture of the forest as you'd like it to look
Jack Straw from Wichita, cut his buddy down
And dug for him a shallow grave, and laid his body down Half a mile from Tucson, by the morning light One man gone and another to go, my old buddy you're moving much too slow We can share the women, we can share the wine |
TonyB2009 Inner circle 5006 Posts |
1985 version appeals to me. Something beautiful in that way of looking at things.
Check out Tony's new thriller Dead or Alive http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alive-Varrick-Bo......n+carson
http://www.PartyMagic.ie |
tommy Eternal Order Devil's Island 16544 Posts |
Lewis Carroll made math amusing much like magicians make science experiments amusing.
If there is a single truth about Magic, it is that nothing on earth so efficiently evades it.
Tommy |
S2000magician Inner circle Yorba Linda, CA 3465 Posts |
New Math:
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Magnus Eisengrim Inner circle Sulla placed heads on 1053 Posts |
Sorry to be a pedant....
"New Math" was a phenomenon of the mid 1960s up to the late 1970s. It was long gone by 1985. Not sure what "Old Math" and "Traditional "Math" are supposed to be. Between 1989 and about 2000 and a couple, the emphasis in school math in North America was almost entirely on problem solving. The current trend is on "understanding" rather than computation. It's the most controversial shift since "New Math". And it's a really old joke.
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.--Yeats |
Chessmann Inner circle 4242 Posts |
I wasn't much with math in school. Didn't have to have it beyond 10th (of 12) grade, and that was ok by me! I was a C student in math. But what I do recall is that my mind always seemed to get to the answer in a different way - I often got the right answer (or near it), but I 'saw' the path to the solution in a different way than what I was supposed to be doing. I have seen this in other "learning" aspects of my life, as well - in a mild way - but mathematics was the one that was certainly the biggie
I never had a dislike for math. There was something about the concreteness of it that I liked, in some regards. When I went back to school to get a teacher's certificate (after graduating college with a theatre degree 7 years prior) I learned that I would have to take college algebra, as I failed a test that (potentially) may have let me opt out of it. It was the only "B" that I got in getting my certificate, and I was pretty content. Ok, sorry to derail - back to business!
My ex-cat was named "Muffin". "Vomit" would be a better name for her. AKA "The Evil Ball of Fur".
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Magnus Eisengrim Inner circle Sulla placed heads on 1053 Posts |
From the Feb. '96 Reader's Digest:
1960s arithmetic test: "A logger cuts and sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is four-fifths of that amount. What is his profit?" '70s new-math test: "A logger exchanges a set (L) of lumber for a set (M) of money. The cardinality of Set M is 100. The set C of production costs contains 20 fewer points. What is the cardinality of Set P of profits?" '80s "dumbed-down" version: "A logger cuts and sells a truckload of lumber for $100. Her cost is $80, her profit is $20. Find and circle the number 20." '90s version: "An unenlightened logger cuts down a beautiful stand of 100 trees in order to make a $20 profit. Write an essay explaining how you feel about this as a way to make money. Topic for discussion: How did the forest birds and squirrels feel?" The punch line is always, "Kids today aren't as awesome as I am."
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.--Yeats |
rockwall Special user 762 Posts |
I think the punch line of the last post is, "Jack straw isn't nearly as awesome as I am."
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Magnus Eisengrim Inner circle Sulla placed heads on 1053 Posts |
Quote:
On Feb 13, 2016, rockwall wrote: LOL
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.--Yeats |
balducci Loyal user Canada 227 Posts |
I can't be bothered to do it, but it might be interesting to list how mathematics really has changed in the last 50 years.
E.g. stuff like the development of Fuzzy set theory, solution of the Four Colour Problem, proving Poincaré's Conjecture, proof of Fermat's Theorem, and so forth.
Make America Great Again! - Trump in 2020 ... "We're a capitalistic society. I go into business, I don't make it, I go bankrupt. They're not going to bail me out. I've been on welfare and food stamps. Did anyone help me? No." - Craig T. Nelson, actor.
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The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Not very magical, still... » » How mathematics has changed in the last 50 years (1 Likes) |
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