My students have had a hard time finding any errors in Wikipedia (one of their assignments). Of course there are plenty of errors in it, so why was it so hard to find them? I think the issue is that… Read More ›
Technology
Off by two ems
There’s a flaw in the typography of the sign outside my dentist’s office. It’s neatly lined up in two columns, starting something like this [names changed to preserve anonymity]: John Smith, DMDMary Jones, DDSJoe Gummer, DDSRhonda Radical, DDS General DentistryDental… Read More ›
Windows Vista
I’m shocked, shocked, to see Microsoft labeled as “imitator, not innovator” in the review of Windows Vista in the New York Times of all places.
Scheme overheard
This would be a pretty surprising remark to overhear at the next table at a random Chinese restaurant: I’m really enjoying programming in Scheme. At first I hated it, since it was so different, but now I really like it…. Read More ›
Using Scheme in the so-called real world?
This is a follow-up to yesterday’s post about replying to student questions concerning applicability of a math topic in the “real world.” At Weston we get a similar question with regard to our selection of Scheme as the Math Department’s… Read More ›
Mathematica and Maple
At Weston High School we’re considering the use of mathematical symbol-manipulation software such as Mathematica or Maple. Our theory is to pick one of these for a trial run for a year — just one copy per teacher, for use… Read More ›
Where have I been?
Oh no! A month and a half have gone by since I have last posted! I am determined to resume posting right away…
Hackers and Painters
You should definitely read Paul Graham’s highly opinionated book, the one with the unlikely title of Hackers and Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age. But the first thing you have to know, if you’re not a computer geek, is… Read More ›
TWiki
This was the last day of this year’s session of the Crimson Summer Academy, which has been the subject of various posts earlier in this blog. As always, it was an excellent session. As always, there were some glitches. But… Read More ›
Cell phones: good or bad?
It sounds like a silly question: “Are cell phones good or bad?” Clearly they’re good in emergencies, but bad when they ring in the classroom. Clearly they’re good when you’re on a bus and have to call to say you’ll… Read More ›
World's best version of Life
Check out the world’s best version of Conway’s Game of Life.
End of hiatus!
Finally back from a blog hiatus of almost three months! I am very much looking forward to the new vesion of Blogger, which will permit labels on posts to denote categories. This feature will help viewers who are interested in… Read More ›
The importance of blogging
“Blogging is good for your career,” said reporter Penelope Trunk in a Boston Globe article on April 16. This is a bit surprising, given all the stories about people who have been fired or not hired because of what they… Read More ›
Too much in your inbox?
Thanks to Diane Greco for pointing out this series of articles on “the skills, tools, and attitude needed to empty your email inbox — and then keep it that way.” Now all I have to do is implement the advice.
Who has time to read blogs?
“Who has time to read blogs?” asked one of my colleagues. She went on to guess that blogs can’t have very many readers, since no one has time to read them. “Actually,” I replied, “some blogs have large numbers of… Read More ›
Turning back the clock
One of the many virtues of writing in a wiki is that previous versions of a document are always readily available. I’m still trying to get used to this. Want to turn the clock back to the way your document… Read More ›
Wiki values & learning curves
Why am I finding it so difficult to get used to be a writer on a wiki, not merely a reader? There’s something about the whole process that still feels alien to me. Somehow the learning curve seems unnecessarily steep…. Read More ›
Problems in integrating programming into math
A month ago, I posted an entry that included the following bullet item: We’ve made a valiant effort in our project of integrating computer programming into the regular math curriculum, but we still have far to go. In particular, programming… Read More ›
Wikipedia and epistemology
There’s a fascinating article about Wikipedia in The Village Voice: … Larry Sanger, a philosophy grad student at Ohio State University, … acknowledges that the site is “very cool.” But as a philosophy professor with a specialty in epistemology, he… Read More ›
Graphing aids
There are several blogs that I read regularly. One of my favorites is Learning Curves, by the pseudonymous math professor Rudbeckia Hirta. She goes to some lengths to hide her real name, as well as the the name of the… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 