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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Where did ten weeks go?
How did I manage to go ten weeks without blogging? Just overtaken by events, I guess. But I’m determined to resume my almost-daily posts, starting today. So stay tuned, as they used to say. (Does anyone actually say “stay tuned”… Read More ›
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Art or math?
What is this? Modern art? A lost work by Jackson Pollock? Actually, no. In my precalculus class this morning, we were using the Oscilloscope app on the iPad to produce real-time graphs of various musical tones. Students brought instruments into… Read More ›
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“What's Old Is New Again”
Be sure to read Boris Korsunsky’s short essay in Education Week. With his usual panache, my colleague tells us that “what’s old is new again” in the world of education. This observation comes from…no, I don’t think I’ll tell you, as spoilers… Read More ›
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Journey through Mathematics: Creative Episodes in its History
Original sources are key when studying the history of anything, including mathematics. Most readers, however, have neither the time nor the knowledge nor the access to be able to read original sources, so we rely on secondary works, such as Journey… Read More ›
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Of Dice and Men
Of Dice and Men is a great book for those who want to geek out for a few hours. I enjoyed it tremendously. It’s a sympathetic first-person overview of everything you wanted to know about Dungeons and Dragons, written by a Forbes… Read More ›
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The best schools?
The Boston Globe published a peculiar article the other day on “The top 15 high schools in Massachusetts.” It wasn’t exactly an article, being a slide show of 16 images, each with a bit of associated text. And it was… Read More ›
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Lexicon
Mixed feelings here about Maxx Barry’s science fiction secret-organization thriller, Lexicon. Actually, I’m not sure that science fiction is the right genre. To the extent that linguistics and psychology are sciences, I suppose this novel counts as science fiction, but it’s pretty… Read More ›
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iOS 7
As far as I’m concerned, the jury is still out on iOS 7. I’ve installed it on my iPhone and my iPad, and at this point I hate it. Well…that’s a bit too strong. But let’s say that the negatives… Read More ›
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Finding the beauty in math
In Finding the Beauty in Math, Holly Korbey writes about a recent essay in the New York Times. I would love to be convinced by Korbey’s article and by the essay she cites. I really would. But unfortunately I’m not…. Read More ›
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Calculating calories at Jake's
After visiting one of those railroad museums in Connecticut, Barbara and I were looking for a place to have lunch without having to drive around a lot to find a good restaurant. So we spotted Jake’s Wayback Burgers right there in… Read More ›
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Connecticut
October is always a good month for traveling within New England, and this past weekend (a long weekend!) was no exception. Barbara agreed to a mini-vacation that focused on railroad museums in Connecticut, so off we went, intending to visit four… Read More ›
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Grammar rules you can forget…according to The Guardian
The great science section in The Guardian is broadly conceived, sometimes including articles about math and linguistics in addition to the fields that more commonly fall under the category of “science.” Recently an article with the title “Ten grammar rules you… Read More ›
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Trust the math!
Bruce Schneier, America’s foremost expert on cryptography and security, is understandably concerned about the recent revelations concerning the NSA: By subverting the Internet at every level to make it a vast, multi-layered and robust surveillance platform, the NSA has undermined… Read More ›
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Oh no, not another Jeopardy book!
Just look at the title! That’s all you need to do in order to know that Prisoner of Trebekistan: A Decade in Jeopardy! is a quirky book. I think this is the fourth book that I’ve read about Jeopardy, but let… Read More ›
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Ask questions!
In most ways I have a great group of freshmen this year. I’m teaching two large sections of Honors Geometry — filled with bright, attentive, perfectly behaved freshmen who do their work and stay engaged in class! I suppose this… Read More ›
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Music strengthens the mind.
Music plays an important role in virtually all societies. Nevertheless, in times of economic hardship, funds for music education are often amongst the first to be cut…. This is particularly worrying given both anecdotal and limited research evidence suggesting that music… Read More ›
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Franklin Park Zoo
The Franklin Park Zoo is only two miles from my home, and I’m a member, but I don’t get there often enough. But I had a great time there yesterday — and how often does one get to visit a… Read More ›
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Peanut allergies
What can possibly be so controversial about peanut allergies? Plenty, apparently. According to an article in yesterday’s Jamaica Plain Patch, “peanut products are still served in many school cafeterias” and “almost half of children who have food allergies have been bullied.” This… Read More ›
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For life?
Overheard in the hallway: Two freshman girls are talking very seriously. “You know, freshman year is the most important,” says one. “If you mess it up, it will hurt you for the next three years.” “Yes,” says the other, “and… Read More ›
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Technology uses in education
The esteemed Diane Ravitch, who is always worth reading even when her focus can seem obsessed, wrote an article recently for Scientific American, reprinted today in Salon, entitled “Three Dubious Uses of Tech in Schools.” So what was I expecting? From my perspective, the… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 