scholarly journals Does mathematics look certain in the front, but fallible in the back?

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 839-866 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Greiffenhagen ◽  
Wes Sharrock
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Logic ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Research Articles ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Writing Science ◽  
The Way

In this paper we re-examine the implications of the differences between ‘doing’ and ‘writing’ science and mathematics, questioning whether the way that science and mathematics are presented in textbooks or research articles creates a misleading picture of these differences. We focus our discussion on mathematics, in particular on Reuben Hersh’s formulation of the contrast in terms of Goffman’s dramaturgical frontstage–backstage analogy and his claim that various myths about mathematics only fit with how mathematics is presented in the ‘front’, but not with how it is practised in the ‘back’. By investigating examples of both the ‘front’ (graduate lectures in mathematical logic) and the ‘back’ (meetings between supervisor and doctoral students) we examine, first, whether the ‘front’ of mathematics presents a misleading picture of mathematics, and, second, whether the ‘front’ and ‘back’ of mathematics are so discrepant that mathematics really does look certain in the ‘front’, but fallible in the ‘back’.

scholarly journals What If Quantum Theory Violates All Mathematics?

Open Physics ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 598-602
Author(s):  
Elemér Elad Rosinger
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Logic ◽  
Quantum Theory ◽  
Bell Inequalities ◽  
List Type ◽  
Elementary Argument ◽  
And Mathematics

Abstract It is shown by using a rather elementary argument in Mathematical Logic that if indeed, quantum theory does violate the famous Bell Inequalities, then quantum theory must inevitably also violate all valid mathematical statements, and in particular, such basic algebraic relations like 0 = 0, 1 = 1, 2 = 2, 3 = 3, … and so on … An interest in that result is due to the following three alternatives which it imposes upon both Physics and Mathematics: Quantum Theory is inconsistent. Quantum Theory together with Mathematics are inconsistent. Mathematics is inconsistent. In this regard one should recall that, up until now, it is not known whether Mathematics is indeed consistent.

scholarly journals Desgarrandonos de Nuestra Lengua: Ripping Us from our Language

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lillian Ramos ◽  
Julia Ramirez
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Practices ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Language Ideologies ◽  
Classroom Teachers ◽  
Latina Teachers ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Language And Education ◽  
The Way

Using a testimonio methodology, this study provides insight on how language ideologies, family, and education in the Texas Borderlands impacted two Latina teachers’ view and understanding of their identity. Through our personal experiences as PK-16 students, classroom teachers, and doctoral students, we were able to understand the colonization of our language and the subsequent endangerment of our bilingualism, which upon reflecting, had an impact on how we see ourselves as individuals, bilinguals, teachers, and Latinas. Our experiences with our bilingualism affected the way in which we perceive ourselves and our community. The reflection and analysis of our experiences allowed us to adjust our mindset towards a culturally sustaining lens, to improve our instructional practices, and to accept ourselves for who we are and where we were raised. Findings reveal how others’ ideologies about language and education can have a lasting consequence on us as well as how we go about changing our mindset to one of acceptance and pride.

Women in science: the need for a global cultural change

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (S367) ◽  
pp. 281-285
Author(s):  
Karen Hallberg
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Change ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
Women In Science ◽  
Cultural Aspect ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Participation Of Women ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
New Generation ◽  
Cultural Maturity ◽  
The Way

AbstractThis paper summarizes the talk given at this conference in which the cultural aspect of the low participation of women in science, mainly in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) areas, is emphazised. A few personal recollections will be presented and some some striking numbers to illustrate the current situation will be given. In addition, some thought provoking ideas on what is known as “neurosexism” are explicited and a tribute is made to three women that overcame the challenges posed to them in different times in history (including current times) and helped paved the way to the new generation. However, there is still a long way to go. The inclusion of women and of other relegated sectors of society in scientific and technological activities is an important pending issue which will be achieved when our society as a whole reaches the necessary cultural maturity.

Reading with the Fingers: Tactile Signs and the Possibilities for a Language of Touch

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Paterson
Keyword(s):  
Writing Systems ◽  
Helen Keller ◽  
Blind Children ◽  
The Us ◽  
Literate Culture ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Reading System ◽  
The Way ◽  
Accidental Discovery

The accidental discovery in 1786 by Valentin Haüy that embossed script could be read by the fingers paved the way for the concrete development of a fully-fledged haptic reading system. The story of tactile writing systems is spurred in part by shame, a means to include the blind in literate culture. Haüy’s ‘An Essay on the Education of Blind Children’ of 1786 summarized his purpose: “to teach the blind reading, by the assistance of books, where the letters are rendered palpable by their elevation above the surface of the paper” (1894:9). Here the evolution of competing writing systems and their role in education and access to literature and mathematics is detailed, as Braille’s system spread to other countries including Britain and the US, and was famously endorsed by Helen Keller whose own remarkable story of reading and communicating through the skin is so compelling.

scholarly journals Editorial Board Thoughts: Arts into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics – STEAM, Creative Abrasion, and the Opportunity in Libraries Today

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Patrick Tod Colegrove
Keyword(s):  
Science Technology ◽  
The World ◽  
Jigsaw Puzzles ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The Way

By actively seeking out opportunities to bring art into traditionally STEM-focused activity, and vice-versa, we are deliberately increasing the diversity of the environment. Makerspace services and activities, to the extent they are open and visibly accessible to all, are a natural for the spontaneous development of trans-disciplinary collaboration. Within the spaces of the library, opportunities to connect individuals around shared avocational interest might range from music and spontaneous performance areas to spaces salted with LEGO bricks and jigsaw puzzles; the potential connections between our resources and the members of our communities are as diverse as their interests. Indeed, when a practitioner from one discipline can interact and engage with others from across the STEAM spectrum, the world becomes a richer place – and maybe, just maybe, we can fan the flames of curiosity along the way.

scholarly journals The foundational problem of logic

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gila Sher
Keyword(s):  
Difficult Problem ◽  
Philosophical Foundation ◽  
Formal Aspect ◽  
The World ◽  
The Common ◽  
Normativity Of Logic ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Foundational Problem ◽  
The Way

AbstractThe construction of a systematic philosophical foundation for logic is a notoriously difficult problem. In Part One I suggest that the problem is in large part methodological, having to do with the common philosophical conception of “providing a foundation”. I offer an alternative to the common methodology which combines a strong foundational requirement (veridical justification) with the use of non-traditional, holistic tools to achieve this result. In Part Two I delineate an outline of a foundation for logic, employing the new methodology. The outline is based on an investigation of why logic requires a veridical justification, i.e., a justification which involves the world and not just the mind, and what features or aspect of the world logic is grounded in. Logic, the investigation suggests, is grounded in the formal aspect of reality, and the outline proposes an account of this aspect, the way it both constrains and enables logic (gives rise to logical truths and consequences), logic's role in our overall system of knowledge, the relation between logic and mathematics, the normativity of logic, the characteristic traits of logic, and error and revision in logic.

Kripkenstein and Mathematics as the Language of Nature

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 130-140
Author(s):  
Nour Khairi ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Private Language ◽  
Mathematical Operation ◽  
Rule Following ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Skeptical Paradox ◽  
The Way

This paper addresses the skeptical paradox highlighted in Saul Kripke’s work Wittgenstein on Rules and Private Language. The skeptical paradox stands in the way of many attempts to fix meaning in the rule-following of a language. This paper closely assesses the ‘straight solutions’ to this problem with regards to another type of language; mathematics. A conclusion is made that if we cannot sufficiently locate where the meaning lies in a mathematical operation; if we cannot describe how it is that we follow a rule in mathematics, we ought to tread lightly in characterising it as the language of nature.

What makes physiology hard for students to learn? Results of a faculty survey

2007 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Michael
Keyword(s):  
Causal Reasoning ◽  
Written Comments ◽  
Faculty Survey ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Question Survey ◽  
The Way

Teachers of physiology at all postsecondary levels were asked to participate in a survey about the possible sources of students’ difficulty in learning physiology. Sixty-three physiology teachers responded to the 18-question survey; 35 of the respondents also responded to a request for written comments about this issue prior to taking the survey. Three categories of possible factors contributing to physiology being hard to learn were defined: 1) the nature of the discipline, 2) the way it is taught, and 3) what students bring to the task of learning physiology. Respondents thought that characteristics of the discipline (it requires causal reasoning, it uses graphs and mathematics, and it is highly integrative) and characteristics of students (they believe that learning and memorizing are the same thing, they cannot or will do attempt to integrate, and they compartmentalize) were significantly more important than any aspect of teaching in making physiology hard to learn. Recommendations are offered in this article to help students deal with the sources of difficulty that were identified.

Entrepreneurial Attitudes Among Romanian Doctoral Students: An Empirical Study

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-16
Author(s):  
Alina Badulescu ◽  
Daniel Badulescu
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Family Status ◽  
Entrepreneurial Attitudes ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
The Way

AbstractThe subject of entrepreneurial attitudes, orientation and potential of young students is one of great interest in approaching the way public policies can be designed in order to support and foster entrepreneurship among students. In addressing this need - with focus on doctoral students, and in the framework of other similar approaches in literature, we have conducted a survey in January 2012 and developed a sample-based study. The papers aims to present and defend the results of this study, by emphasizing Romanian doctoral students’ attitudes and facts concerning issues such as: entrepreneurial background, interest in entering entrepreneurship, on-going steps if any, factors and motivations driving the choice of an entrepreneurial career. There are also investigated some personal characteristics (age, gender, family status) in relation with entrepreneurial approaches and there are also presented concluding remarks and policy recommendations.

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