Notices by zak storer 🎡 (zacts@mastodon.social), page 9

Or at least it seems this way. Note: this is all me stream of consciousness while eating this spicy cuban dinner right now.

STEM throws a stereotype onto Mathematics. The curriculum layout then conforms to this stereotype, often financially via government funding that is structuring the entire thing.

This is one reason I don't like the overemphasis on STEM. Mathematics _must_ be engineering, so it must be taught as such. It's merely a tool for solving "complex" engineering problems and science. When in fact, Mathematics has such a rich philosophical and artistic tradition behind it. Really, I feel that it's difficult to separate it all.

I feel that proofs and philosophy of math, or at least a deeper look at everything, could be presented much earlier on.

@kai But overall, yes. I feel that mathematics is kind of taught like Tax Accounting or something. I hope to see something more like music or something. Don't know. (Note: stream of consciousness).

@kai He kind of reminds me of that guy who used to do math tutorials on PBS back in the 80s / 90s.

@kai Well yes, he is teaching syntax at this point.

Ok, I haven't posted much in a while, so it all happened just now. That's about it for today I think. 🐱

For me Mathematics should be so playful and musical perhaps. This is what Euclid's Elements is like to me, much more tinkering, thought, and playful free play. Just tinkering with what works, and learning from what doesn't. Also finding creative and cool applications for the ideas and concepts being explored. For me, I especially like abstract arts kinds of applications, but whatevers.

I kind of feel like much mathematics curriculum has degraded to be similar to Tax Accounting. I'm sorry but it seems this way to me, at least on the surface. The presentation of the material that is, not necessarily the content itself.

Next is a College Trigonometry review, this How to Prove It by Velleman, and then hopefully some Calculus. Also, the College Algebra lecturer has a series on introductory Calculus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFtn9zx6hwM <-- Apparently the Jazz great Tony Bennett was on the Muppets; I just discovered.

@luten For sure.

I'm making my friends contact me via email or other ways.

I have deleted FaceBook _FINALLY_. Officially my FaceBook will be fully gone permanently within about a week or so.

I'm also skimming this Ethics for Dummies with another online meetup; we may ditch it however.

On another note, I'm also about 1/2 way through Free Play by Nachmanovitch, just my favorite little book on spontaneous creativity and improvisation.

Next is a College Trigonometry review, this How to Prove It by Velleman, and then hopefully some Calculus. Also, the College Algebra lecturer also has a series on introductory Calculus.

http://www.stitz-zeager.com/ <-- This is the textbook I'm using to review my College Algebra right now. I'm about 1/2 way through it, and I've been doing it for a week with many of the exercises. It's been a while for me. It's an Ok book. I like it better than my in-print textbooks which are full of random images and filler material. This book gets much more to the point, which is what I need for a refresher.

There are some free public domain texts out there for 'College Algebra' that are Ok, not bad. And, of course, the lectures on College Algebra in my previous YouTube link are stellar.