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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“Solving” the Rubik’s Cube
Why is it that the phrase “solving the Rubik’s cube” has such a different meaning to me than it does to others? For a long time I was quite puzzled by people who made the implausible claim that they had… Read More ›
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Why 1 is not prime
At Saturday Course we were working with prime numbers, and one fifth-grader asked his classmates a question: Student A: Is 1 a prime number? Student B: No. Student A: So it’s composite? Student B: No, it isn’t prime and it… Read More ›
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The Corrections
Too often I expect to like a certain book and then I’m disappointed. Occasionally the opposite situation happens to me; such is the case with Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections. I tend to read so much genre fiction and non-fiction that… Read More ›
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Feeling like a community
A class ought to feel like a community. (Mathematically speaking, that’s what make it a class, rather than a set. Yes, it’s a slightly different meaning of the word “class,” but the resemblance is not a coincidence.) We’ve all been… Read More ›
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Weston’s Math Department on nation-wide TV
The Math Department of Weston High School & Middle School was featured in a report on last night’s NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams! Be sure to watch all the way to the end (it’s only two and half minutes), not… Read More ›
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Sel de la Terre (Back Bay)
As we had an about-to-expire Groupon for the Back Bay location of Sel de la Terre, Barbara and I had dinner there this evening. We’ve been to the original Long Wharf location many times, so it seemed appropriate to try… Read More ›
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Lost in Lexicon Launch Party
Yesterday I wrote about Penny Noyce’s new book, Lost in Lexicon. What prompted that post was that I was on my way to the official launch party for the book. It was a great success, and I saw a couple… Read More ›
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Lost in Lexicon
If you regularly see my Facebook status in your News Feed, you may have noticed that it said “I’m lost in Lexicon right now…” on October 17. This status confused some of my students. One of them asked, “How did… Read More ›
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Daylight saving time
Why is it that so many people say “daylight savings time” when the correct phrase so clearly is “daylight saving time”???? Do they think it’s like a savings account, where you put an hour of daylight in at one time… Read More ›
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Facebook “friends”
Listen in on this conversation: Teacher 1: I hear that you friend your students on Facebook. Teacher 2: Not exactly. I accept friend requests from current and former students. But I never initiate them. Teacher 1: Even so, it’s a… Read More ›
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Congratulations to the Math Team
Well done, Weston High School Math Team! Congratulations to Alexandra R., Andrew H., Andy Y., Blake W., Caleb T., Daniel P., Jason M., Jonathan B., Julia B., and Pravina S. for a fine performance at this afternoon’s meet at Lexington… Read More ›
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Get out the vote!
If you’re 18 or over, be sure to vote tomorrow! There’s a lot at stake. If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain.
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224 Boston St. restaurant
Barbara and I used to go to 224 a lot, but we haven’t been there very often in recent years. This is partly because of a couple of meals that were only OK (but overpriced), and partly because Ashmont Grill… Read More ›
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Why do we have to learn proofs?
Yes, some students enjoy writing proofs. They accept the task as a challenging puzzle, one that provides an agreeable sense of completion once you’ve successfully threaded a path from the given information to the conclusion. I was one of those… Read More ›
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Model railroad pix
I know, it’s been six months. Several of my sophomores persuaded me to post photos of my model railroad (in progress). So I did so (linked from my home page), but they’re photographically not very good. In particular, they’re too… Read More ›
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After a long hiatus…
…I am once again resuming posting in my blog…
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Closer connections with students?
In our department meeting today, we had a guest speaker from the Wellness Department* who talked with us about building closer connections with students, an atmosphere of trust, and greater engagement by our students. All good things, certainly. Part of… Read More ›
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Gaslight
Barbara and I just got back from our first time at Gaslight Brasserie du Coin, and it won’t be our last. Mostly excellent food, excellent service, and free parking — in the South End! — what more could one ask… Read More ›
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Betty Webb
Do read Betty Webb’s fascinating and informative “Desert” mysteries about the world of fundamental polygamists in the southwest. So far I’ve read Desert Wives, Desert Noir, and (most recently) Desert Lost, all of which I can recommend. Please note that the… Read More ›
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“When am I ever going to use this?” (a new response to an old question)
Bored math students often ask, “When am I ever going to use this stuff?” Even math students who are not bored often articulate the same question, albeit in a more polite phrasing, such as “Can you give us an example… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 