Re: The state of education in the USA.

On Apr 14, 6:54�am, tgdenn...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
On Apr 13, 2:31�pm, Cory Albrecht <coryalbre...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Tim Norfolk wrote, on 2008/04/12 23:10:

I must ask, since it is germane to the discussion, if you have ever
had to set up a Differential Equation (or set thereof) to solve a
physical problem? Simply doing that set-up requires a lot of tedious
algebra, which can be extremely enlightening, in terms of noting signs
and sizes of the terms involved. I will still claim, until evidence is
provided to the contrary, that those skills are not acquired by simply
teaching how to use software.

My mother, a retired high school mathematics teacher, has always said
this about calculators: If you don't know how to work it out with a
pencil & paper how are you going to know how to do it with a calculator?

I never learned how to find square roots by hand. Does that mean I
can't find square roots with a calculator?

-tg



The same thing undoubtedly holds true with software like MathCad, MatLab
or Mathematica.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

No, but if you were like many of the high school students that I am my
friends have tutored, you would reach for your calculator to compute
the square root of 9.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: The state of education in the USA.
    ... had to set up a Differential Equation (or set thereof) to solve a ... My mother, a retired high school mathematics teacher, has always said ... pencil & paper how are you going to know how to do it with a calculator? ... I never learned how to find square roots by hand. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: No Scientific Calculator in XP??
    ... The standard Windows calculator can be either a Standard ... calculator or a fairly modest Scientific calculator. ... Square Roots. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: The state of education in the USA.
    ... had to set up a Differential Equation (or set thereof) to solve a ... pencil & paper how are you going to know how to do it with a calculator? ... basic rule that the sqrt should be smaller than 9 not larger. ... wanted the square root of a number, but didn't have a calculator handy ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Graphical Ray tracing on Hangar Floor
    ... mechanical desk calculator. ... calculator like a Marchant or a Frieden. ... Square roots we performed ... In 1947, or before, smart lens designers in England had discarded trig ...
    (sci.optics)
  • Re: The state of education in the USA.
    ... had to set up a Differential Equation (or set thereof) to solve a ... pencil & paper how are you going to know how to do it with a calculator? ... for an answer (as often sqrt and x^2 are the same key, ... wanted the square root of a number, but didn't have a calculator handy ...
    (talk.origins)