arXiv:math/0503081math.HO
This essay, originally published in the Sept 1990 Notices of the AMS, discusses problems of our mathematical education system that often stem from widespread misconceptions by well-meaning people of the process of learning mathematics. The essay also discusses ideas for fixing some of the problems. Most of what I wrote in 1990 remains equally applicable today.
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Fields medalist Terence Tao writes about earlier Fields medalist William Thurston, "In addition to his direct mathematical research contributions, Thurston was also an amazing mathematical expositor, having the rare knack of being able to describe the process of mathematical…
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There was at least one famous mathematician that lamented this view and state of mathematics & mathematics education: "The acceleration of the curriculum has had its cost: there has been an accompanying trend to prune away side topics. When I was in high school, for instance, it…
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