Author Archives
In 2018 I semi-retired by retiring from Weston High School after my 21st year teaching mathematics there. This was also my 44th year as a teacher altogether. In 2023 I retired fully, adding in my 18 years at Harvard’s Crimson Summer Academy each summer. For 21 years I had taught at the Saturday Course in Milton, MA, and I used to serve on the board of the Dorchester Historical Society.
I read, cook, and spend a lot of time building my model railroad. For some reason I’m left with less free time than would be ideal, considering that I’m supposed to be retired, but somehow I also manage to devote time to my wife, Barbara, and to our varying number of cats (once up to six, but now sadly down to one).
Larry Davidson
ljd@larrydavidson.com
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Making a Point: The Persnickety Story of English Punctuation
If you use commas and periods, this book is for you. If you use semicolons and dashes; this book is still for you. And even if you use colons, hyphens, parentheses, and the dreaded apostrophes, this book is still for you. So, I… Read More ›
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Dorset Hall
Much too hot to cook dinner last night, so we decided to try Dorset Hall, a fairly new addition to our neighborhood. Overall verdict: meh. First the good news: My salad was crisp, fresh, and huge. Barbara’s steak tips were… Read More ›
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What!? We’re making fun of Comic Sans yet again???
Would be even better with Bart Simpson…
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Do teachers’ unions protect bad teachers?
Some significant fraction of the general public despises teachers. Everything that’s wrong with schools is our fault. And many of those who despise teachers place particular blame on teachers’ unions, which in their view serve to protect bad teachers (and… Read More ›
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A multi-calendar from a century ago
Wow! Look closely at this amazing image. What is it? Clearly [???] it’s an Ottoman calendar from a century ago. Fortunately, it has been annotated for our viewing pleasure. It shows the then current date — apparently April 20, 1911 —… Read More ›
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The Art of Language Invention
OK, let’s get a couple of things out of the way before we discuss this book: First of all, it is not a book for the general public. Despite its title, The Art of Language Invention is not a popularization. Yes, it looks like an ordinary trade… Read More ›
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88 Wharf (once again)
It was time for dinner yesterday, and what were we going to do? Clearly it was too hot to cook — at least with a kitchen and dining room that aren’t air-conditioned — so it must be time to try… Read More ›
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SMAPFY
“What,” you ask, “is SMAPFY?” I’m sure that is what you’re asking, isn’t it? SMAPFY stands for “Supreme Musical Artists of the Past Fifty Years”; it’s a voting simulation that we have been conducting at the Crimson Summer Academy for the past ten… Read More ›
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Henrietta’s Table…and a mysterious sign
Excellent dinner last night with Barbara, Ellen, Aviva, and Jake at Henrietta’s Table: I had smoked pastrami salmon, duck, broccoli, strawberry cream pie… Of course I had them remove the calories first. Haven’t had duck in months, so it was… Read More ›
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Back again…
I thought I had given up my blog forever. But apparently not. I’ve been persuaded to resume blogging, so stay tuned for further posts…
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The wrong way to teach math?
A headline writer attached this misleading title to an opinion piece in the New York Times last Sunday. My response (this post) is yet another follow-up to the follow-up I posted on February 18. Apparently the issue just won’t go away! Andrew Hacker continues to… Read More ›
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#JeSuisCirconflexe
Surprisingly (perhaps), The Economist is a great source for articles about linguistics. When an article is also about world politics, however, no one is surprised. Yesterday’s issue included a piece with the odd title of “Je suis circonflexe”; what could that possibly be… Read More ›
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Gaslight
Barbara and I just got back from an excellent dinner at Gaslight. Barbara started with a huge shredded beet salad, which she enjoyed but she had to take home more than half of it. I started with the traditional French… Read More ›
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Don’t do this!
So…don’t do this! From Sam Shah:
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Most
We’re having a dispute about the commonly understood meaning of the word “most.” Don’t look it up in a dictionary; just go by your own intuitive definition. Here’s a sample situation: You’re in a gathering of 12 people, with the following… Read More ›
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Why “x”?
If it’s in a TED talk, it’s got to be correct. Right? Actually, not so much. But when the talk is about both math and linguistics, how could I resist? So I just had to watch Terry Moore’s four-minute TED talk… Read More ›
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Why do you roll your eyes?
Don’t bother reading this post if you don’t know any teenagers — or if you never were one yourself. A recent column in the New York Times provides a perspective on understanding a common behavior of teenage girls (and boys…and tweens…). I… Read More ›
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Who needs algebra? — A follow-up
Lucy Brownstein, a high-school student from Brooklyn, wrote a fine response to Andrew Hacker (see my post of February 7). You noticed that I didn’t say something like “a fine response for a high-schooler.” It’s a fine response, period. But still, it’s especially… Read More ›
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Who needs an accountant?
So…why did Barbara and I see our accountant this afternoon, when all we had to do was routine income tax preparation? Several friends and students have asked me why I don’t just do my own tax prep? After all, I’m… Read More ›
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“Stop humiliating teachers!” writes David Denby.
This commentary by David Denby in the New Yorker shouldn’t even be necessary. But of course it is. As everyone knows, the general public (especially, but by no means exclusively, Republicans) have a negative view of public-school teachers. So-called reformers want to… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 