Questions tagged [philosophy-of-maths]
The philosophy-of-maths tag has no usage guidance.
8
questions
9
votes
2
answers
525
views
Native language, writing, and mathematical problem solving
This question is meant to explore the intuition that mathematical thought does not most naturally proceed from writing in one's native language. The hackneyed and not entirely satisfying slogan that ...
- 6,173
13
votes
3
answers
975
views
Why is modulo not an elementary operation?
Like it is just as primitive as makes intuitive sense in a way similar to division. I feel like teaching 4th graders the modulo function would complement learning division extremely well, as it helps ...
- 383
18
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Is metacognition ever bad?
Metacognition seems pretty universally positive. I'm wary of viewing it as such. Aside from the obvious criticisms like "you can't learn to ride a bicycle by thinking about and writing a 200 page ...
- 6,173
18
votes
1
answer
350
views
Impact of philosophy of mathematics upon effectiveness of instructor
Is there any research out there on how an instructor's philosophical beliefs about mathematics might affect some aspect of his or her impact as a teacher? My intended meaning of 'impact' is broad, ...
- 2,482
12
votes
2
answers
427
views
Mathematics and the hermeneutic circle
Many students, teachers and parents view problems as confrontational. Many students develop a self concept in mathematics based on failed attempts to easily win such confrontations.
This leads me to ...
- 6,173
15
votes
3
answers
543
views
Calculation versus writing in mathematics
Writing mathematics is an important activity of the mathematician. In trying to write one's mathematics, one finds ways to balance intuition and rigor and to efficiently communicate concepts and ideas ...
- 6,173
8
votes
1
answer
292
views
Answering the Diversity Question for Mathematics Instructor Applications
As I apply for several other colleges who are hiring part time math teachers, I find myself wondering about this question as it is asked on ALL college instruction applications. Some of the questions ...
20
votes
6
answers
1k
views
What is a number?
In a set theoretic point of view all mathematical objects are sets. We "call" some of them as numbers (e.g. sets in $\mathbb{N}$, $\mathbb{Q}$, $\mathbb{R}$, $\mathbb{C}$, $Ord$, $Card$) but what is ...
user230