Recomandare de lectura: Din carnetul unui medic de plasă: „Cine ești dumneata, de ai venit să ne strici obiceiurile păstrate din moși-strămoși?” (Mira Kaliani in editiadedimineata.ro).
Atitudinea anti-stiinta cu radacini in obscurantism religios din trecut - in cuvintele remarcabilului medic George Ulieru (1884-1943) "intunericul din lumea satelor" - prezinta, din pacate, similaritati ingrijoratoare cu situatia in care societatea romaneasca se afla azi, in prag de 2022.
“Don’t Look Up” - review by Michael E. Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University.
SOURCE: Red Green and Blue: Michael Mann on “Don’t Look Up”: DO see this film!
"I’ll be honest. “Don’t Look Up” had me at the opening scene. Leonardo DiCaprio as a low-level astrophysicist (Dr. Randall Mindy), Jennifer Lawrence as his talented graduate student (Kate Dibiasky) and a bobblehead of legendary science communicator, the late Carl Sagan (a personal hero of mine) visible on their lab desk.A comedy featuring chic geek scientists, one of the most visionary directors Adam McKay behind the camera, and a favorite actor (and friend) Leo DiCaprio in the lead role. A start-studded cast featuring many of today’s most featured actors: Jonah Hill, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchette (and for my 16 year old daughter’s generation, Timothee Chalamet and Ariane Grande). What—literally—is not to like here?But like many of McKay’s films, including Vice, The Big Short and The Campaign, there’s more than initially meets the eye here. For this isn’t just a funny film. It’s serious sociopolitical commentary posing as comedy. “Don’t Look Up” is indisputably a cautionary tale about the climate crisis in the form of an inventive and genre-bending (action/adventure/dystopia/satire) major motion picture. The biting McKay humor stiches it all together. It’s the spoonful of sugar that makes the medicine go down.McKay recognizes that hard truths are often difficult to deliver as straight-up commentary. People are resistant to messages they don’t want to hear, especially in the toxic political economy that prevails today. We can’t barge in through the front door. It’s locked. So we look for a another way in. Humor and satire provide just such a side door. (I’m a convert to this way of thinking—in “The Madhouse Effect” I partnered with Washington Post editorial cartoonist Tom Toles to use humor and satire to communicate the climate crisis). So do powerful metaphors. And that’s what this film really is: a powerful extended metaphor for the unfolding climate crisis.I don’t believe in spoilers, so I won’t unveil the film’s denouement. But I will unpack just enough of the plot to reveal the film’s larger message.Let’s start with the title of the film itself. “Just Look Up”—that’s all people need to do to see there’s an imminent crisis unfolding. But they won’t. It’s soothing and convenient to ignore the overwhelming evidence. Much like it’s become politically expedient for some (in particular, the Republican Party and the polluters they coddle) to ignore the overwhelming science behind human-caused climate change despite the fact that the impacts have become so obvious you just need to look at your television screens to see them playing out in real time (and yes, while the screenplay was written before the COVID-19 crisis, there are similar lessons here too when it comes to ideologically-motivated science denial).Now the story. It starts when the two astrophysicists (Dr. Mindy and Dibiasky) detect a Mt Everest-sized planet-killing comet hurdling toward Earth. Understandably horrified by what they’ve discovered, they set out to warn the world. And high jinks, naturally, ensue.Dr. Mindy is a typical scientist. His admonitions are muted, non-committal and laden in caveats. Dibiasky, on the other hand, is blunt. The two are invited to appear on The Daily Rip, an upbeat morning show hosted by Brie (Cate Blanchett) and Jack (Tyler Perry). Dr. Mindy describes what they’ve discovered in measured tones which mesh with the hosts light-hearted, whimsical take on their findings. Dibiasky, by contrast, literally screams at the top of her lungs, chiding the hosts—and the viewers--for dismissing the impending peril. At the end of the show, he’s invited back. She’s not. Could McKay be telling us that our mainstream media is much more willing to tolerate soft-peddled, wishy-washy characterizations of climate change than stark, blunt warnings of the impending climate crisis?Every tale needs a villain. Here it’s 60 something white male technocrat billionaire Peter Isherwell. He’s dismissive of a government plan to launch an array of missiles to destroy the comet now. Instead, he supports an alternative (rather risky) private sector effort to wait and send a fleet of space drones that will break up the comet into smaller pieces from which valuable ore can be mined and returned to Earth. And yes, he stands to profit greatly from the venture. Could this be a metaphor for tech billionaires who talk down the potential for rapid deployment of renewable energy today to decarbonize our economy quickly and safely, instead promoting future techno-fixes (geoengineering, carbon capture and “next generation” nuclear reactors) in which they are personally invested (yes, we’re looking at you Bill Gates)?I watched the film with my family in the comforts of our home. It resonated with each of us in different ways. A high-point for my daughter was the hilarious interaction between millenial superstar singer Riley Bina (Ariana Grande) and old-timer Dr. Mindy in The Daily Grip’s green room. I won’t spoil it for you, but my daughter, convinced that some aspects of Leo’s character might have been inspired by her Dad’s own quirks and foibles, felt it put me firmly in my place.See this film with your friends and family members this holiday season. And if you know someone who thinks that climate change either isn’t real, doesn’t constitute a crisis, or is beyond any hope, bring them with you."
Right on the Winter solstice I got my Pfizer booster shot. Here I am back in my office. Below, an eerie image from Ada, the night before.
To Be Energy-Efficient, Brains Predict Their Perceptions
`Results from neural networks support the idea that brains are “prediction machines” — and that they work that way to conserve energy.'
Bodies pile up outside hospital morgue as Romania struggles with fourth wave of Covid
By Cristiana Moisescu and Ben Wedeman, CNN
Updated 6:27 AM ET, Mon November 22, 2021
"Look at the reality," said Col. Dr. Valeriu Gheorghita, an army doctor who runs the national vaccination campaign. "We have our intensive care units full of patients. We have lots of new cases. We have, unfortunately, hundreds of deaths every day. So this is the reality. And more than 90% of patients who died were unvaccinated."
A MUST READ.
Conspirationistii paraziteaza in egala masura (prin abundente "teorii" rogue - or shall I say dirty yet somewhat novel PR) comunicarea (outreach) atit dinspre stiintele climatice cit si cea dinspre biologie moleculara/virologie.
Through disinformation, conspiracists become themselves "viral agents" of an informational sort...
"How concerned should we be? Are vaccinated people just as contagious as unvaccinated? What does this mean for future plans for reopening?
These studies only show a similar peak viral load, which is the highest amount of virus in the system over the course of the study.
But vaccinated people clear the virus faster, with lower levels of virus overall, and have less time with very high levels of virus present.
Therefore, vaccinated people are, on average, likely to be less contagious."
For more details, check No, vaccinated people are not ‘just as infectious’ as unvaccinated people if they get COVID (The Conversation, November 17 2021)
That's why:
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out (Live in New York City)
"Only Bruce and E Street could:-Start a song-Go into a rendition of Take Me To The River-Lead into a gospel-like soul-searching sermon-Introduce the band-and then FINISH the song they started with...and make the whole thing work"
Fact checking the Romanian anti-vaccine propaganda (along the lines of Capsali - ActiveNews - as summarized in the mouthful garbage found here), in a moment when Romania faces a catastrophic number of COVID-19 deaths ("Romania Hits Pandemic Death Record of 591 as Vaccines Lag" - AP News).
So... here we go, debunking ActiveNews' "witnesses":
DEBUNKING WITNESS #1: "Michael Yeadon - fost cercetator sef Pfizer": „Acest sistem este construit folosind minciuni si este astfel modelat cu un scop si cred ca acest scop este controlul complet totalitar si mai cred ca scopul acestuia este depopularea lumii”.
DEBUNKING WITNESS #2 "Dr. Peter McCullough - medic epidemiolog": „Toate lucrurile au inceput sa se lege si am inceput sa avem sentimentul ca se intampla ceva rau…”
DEBUNKING WITNESS #3: "Dr. Ryan Cole - medic patolog"
DEBUNKING WITNESS #4: "Insusi inventatorul testului PCR, castigator al premiului Nobel, Kary Mullis, a declarat ca acest test nu este o metoda de diagnostic".
DEBUNKING WITNESS #5: "Dr. Dan Erickson - medic ATI": Au sustinut: „Am fost presati sa adaugam covid pe lista de diagnostice”, in timp ce noi credem ca nu are nici o legatura cu cauza reala a decesului.
DEBUNKING WITNESS #6: "Dr. Scott Jensen - medic de familie si senator": „Ca medic, am primit saptamana trecuta un email din partea Departamentului de Sanatate, in care sunt instruit cum sa completez certificatele de deces.”
DEBUNKING WITNESS #8: Ivory Hecker - "reporter denuntator": „M-au trimis acolo ca sa nu vorbesc despre tratamentul anticovid in acel spital. Nu trebuia sa pun acea intrebare. Privitorii sunt inselati cu o poveste fabricata cu multa atentie.’’
DEBUNKING WITNESS #9: "Prof. Dolores Cahill - biolog, imunolog" […]
DEBUNKING WITNESS #10: Dr. Robert Malone: „Cenzura este in derulare de mai bine de un an. Totul este bine documentat, foarte clar.”
DEBUNKING WITNESS #11: “Declaratia Great Barringhton, redactata si semnata de trei dintre cei mai mari experti mondiali in epidemiologie, boli infectioase si vaccinuri, zeci de mii de medici din intreaga lume si sute de mii de oameni. “
DEBUNKING WITNESS #12: "Dr. Byram Bridle - dr.imunologie virala": „Vreti ca vocea doctorilor si a oamenilor vostri de stiinta sa fie suprimata? Suntem impartiti in doua tabere acum, suntem polarizati.”
DEBUNKING WITNESS #13: "Dr. Patrick Phillips - medic de familie": „Se solicita investigarea si disciplinarea oricarui doctor care prezinta oricare din aspectele negative ale acestor interventii, indiferent de ce ar arata dovezile.”
DEBUNKING WITNESS #14: Dr. Sucharit Bhakdi: „Trebuie sa intelegeti ca numarul doctorilor si al oamenilor de stiinta care spun nu, tuturor (acestor politici) depaseste numarul celor care spun da.’’
DEBUNKING WITNESS #15: "Dr. Stella Immanuel - medic de familie" […]
DEBUNKING WITNESS #16: "Robert Kennedy Jr. - avoca"t: […]
DEBUNKING WITNESS #17: "Heiko Schoning – medic" […]
DEBUNKING WITNESS #18: "Dr. Andrew Kaufmann - medic biologie moleculara": „Suntem prizonierii din ce in ce mai multor mutatii care pot fi folosite pentru manipularea noastra continua si interzicerea libertatilor.’’
These health care workers shared their honest thoughts about anti-vaxxers in this hilarious PSA on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’’
'
Dōgen Zenji (1200 - 1253) was a Japanese Buddhist priest, writer, poet, philosopher, and founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan.
Originally ordained as a monk in the Tendai School in Kyoto, he was ultimately dissatisfied with its teaching and traveled to China to seek out what he believed to be a more authentic Buddhism. Upon his return to Japan, he began promoting the practice of zazen (sitting meditation) through literary works. He eventually left Kyoto for the mountainous countryside where he founded the monastery Eihei-ji, which remains the head temple of the Sōtō school today.
Art - Zen Circle by John Rossi
Music: Zen Shakuhachi - Kyotaku
Daylight - Shakuhachi, Hang and Gongs
"Sitting is the gateway of truth to total liberation" ~Dogen Zenji
Mick Jagger and Dave Grohl mock anti-vaxxers in new song
“Shooting the vaccine, Bill Gates is in my bloodstream. It’s mind control,”
“The Earth is flat and cold, it’s never warming up. The Arctic’s tundra turned to slush, the second coming’s late, there’s aliens in the Deep State.”
Ramona Băluțescu în infotimisoara.ro - 22 Octombrie:
Nebuloasa cu trei găuri din jurul brațului decedatului Gurie, al Devei
Autoarea spune:
"De ce? Pentru că e Romania, e BOR, pentru că la noi se poate orice, pentru că nu are nici dracu’ (so to say) încredere în ce fac și spun ăștia din BOR, inclusiv patriarh sau purtător de cuvânt, pentru că în acea instituție trebuie să te ascunzi de faci un lucru firesc și bun, chiar dacă tu însuți te-ai mai dovedit ipocrit, la rândul tău. Sau exact de aia."
For the record: Unvaccinated people were 11 times more likely to die of covid-19, CDC report finds
From the RECORDER investigative journalist:
"after 8 months of undercover investigation I discovered a secret network in which businessmen, politicians and prelates from the top of the Church work hand in hand in a mega-business: the construction and rehabilitation of churches with public money. All this network operates with the blessing of the most powerful person in the Romanian Orthodox Church, whom his people call the Great White"
Dr. Vasile Brinzanescu, former Director of the Institute of the Romanian Academy, has a right-wing itch that he cannot scratch often enough. Scratching that itch usually means sharing right wing opinion pieces, sometimes accompanied by his comments to the effect that “yes, I agree with that”, being at the same time careful with his image, so that he will not give the impression of right wing nut (so that if the shared opinion piece is too extreme, he would only say “they have a point” or "I'm just saying"...). But don’t take my word for it. Instead let’s listen to him…
• Arguing against what he calls the “Stupid protests of the anti-racists” that “have no reason” yet have “grave consequences against humanity” [!]:
• Finding (June 23, 2020) mitigating circumstances for a controversial project in the Romanian Senate that bars all references to gender identity in Romanian schools and universities (on the account that the movement for gender equality is “exaggerated”):
• Arguing (June 28, 2021) against the personal right to express the gender identity: “we don’t care how they see themselves; the problem is that they go public and boast with their options and with their unjustified requests, and then we are aggressed. They better mind their business and cease aggressing others” :
Coming from a university professor, the extremism is surreal. Who will drop a tear for the poor homophobes that “feel aggressed” (?!)
Last but not least, there is always Princeton’s Sergiu Klainerman, a sacred cow for many in the Romanian right. His politically charged opinion pieces (or, shall we say, strawmen) are often shared by Brinzanescu, who carefully never forgets to emphasize the mathematical prestige of Klainerman as an additional “weight”, just for good measure. Of course, any discussion on a topic of equity/equality/justice in/around Mathematics is dismissed summarily. For example, the mere reference to the book “Mathematics for Human Flourishing” by Harvey Mudd’s Francis Su (past President of the MAA), is furiously dismissed by a Jack-in-the-box Brinzanescu, who claims, just for good measure, “mathematical privilege” for the ICM invited speaker Klainerman, which would somehow “weaken” Su’s book (even if no mathematical comparison between Klainerman and Su was attempted!). In the end Brinzanescu would pompously and ceremoniously conclude: “There is no place for justice in Mathematics”. Intentionally missing Su’s point that Mathematics, being a human activity, is (and should be) used, with all its internal rules notwithstanding, to produce a multitude of resources FOR human flourishing (that’s too much for right-wing armchair ideologues, though). One can only wonder that, maybe, the same person who is afraid of and antagonistic towards, the “liberal” idea of mathematics for social justice would also be afraid of, say, the emergence of mathematical models and quantitative tools that quantify and fight gerrymandering (see “Republicans poised to rig the next election by gerrymandering electoral maps”)
God forbid that somebody like yours truly, who works at a small undergraduate college would criticize Brinzanescu’s views on his own Facebook page. In that case, if Brinzanescu’s bullying attempts (such that, “you are working at a seventh-rate school”, or “why aren’t you doing something else than Fibonacci numbers” – that is, sort of “yuck” coming from a furious Springer author) are unsuccessful, all messages of Brinzanescu’s opponent will be deleted (tell me more about cancel culture, Director!). Of course, Brinzanescu would also delete, in this context, his own aggressive (potentially self-damaging) messages. Like I said, he is a very careful propaganda guy - keeping his prestige intact requires him being a good manager of his sh#t. To their credit, some Romanian math professors working in the West at R1 Universities dared to argue (all too politely) against Vasile Brinzanescu’s views, occasionally schooling him free of charge.
“Not finding one who observes, your view is exhausted. This is the beginning of your lucidly clear Awareness.”
Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche)
Sequential Experiments with Primes made it to the 100 Best Number Theory Books of All Time @ https://bookauthority.org/books/best-number-theory-books. At least, an undergraduate math professor has been there! Thank you! :-)
`Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.' ~William Bruce Cameron... that's an appropriate motto for this most interesting opinion piece, indeed food for thought from The Conversation:
Our obsession with metrics is corrupting science
"Does the h-index indicate anything other than a high citation rate, whatever that may mean otherwise? Ironically, science and hypothesis testing is needed. For example: do researchers with high h-indices contribute anything of more significance than those with lower ones? Internationally, opposition has taken the form of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). Institutions are urged to acknowledge that the scientific content of a paper is more important than publication metrics or the identity of the journal in which it was published. Content rather than metrics is what ought to count."
“Those of us who do math for a living actually are drawn to math often because of this exploratory nature, and we love the creativity,” Su said. “The argument that I make is that these virtues carry over to other areas of your life.”
Read Francis Su: How does mathematics contribute to human flourishing?
My book Sequential Experiments with Primes got past its 4th anniversary (it was released on July 3, 2017). This is a news story from the local (Ada OH) newspaper "Ada Icon" on 8/28/2017
Local problem group (ONU-SOLVE) working on a problem proposed by M. Tetiva (problem 12126, American Mathematical Monthly). That was a very nice evening!
Beautiful minds: gifted students participating in the 2015 ONU Summer Academic Honors Institute - Cryptography Camp
Barry Weiss (right wing commentator) quotes Sergiu Klainerman (“There is no such thing as “White” Math” – https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/there-is-no-such-thing-as-white-math): “The idea that focusing on getting the “right answer” is now considered among some self-described progressives a form of bias or racism is offensive and extraordinarily dangerous.”. Klainerman’s position was shared to a group which, even if democratic-leaning, frequently exhibits the inherent (albeit natural) tensions between “progressives” and “centrists”. Some reactions (out of many) below. First of all, the document on which Klainerman builds his strawman can be found at “A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction”, https://equitablemath.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/11/1_STRIDE1.pdf . Now, excerpts from the (many) group comments, and staying away from the few occasional clusters of nonsensical sarcasms and aggressive ad-hominem (yes, there were those too), but other than that, it was overall an interesting discussion.
“(to OP) Strawman after strawman. No, 2+2=4 is not "white math". The critique of how science has been instrumentalized to oppress people doesn't require that you take issue with the 2+2=4 convention. To harp on that is to miss the whole point - intentionally or unintentionally.” (RS)
“(to OP) The problem with this position is that it responds, like RS says, to straw men. And we rarely take the time to actually read the whole original document and we only remember these arguments. So what is wrong, for instance, with not focusing on the right answer but focusing instead on the understanding of concepts and reasoning? A change of focus doesn’t discard the importance of the right answer. Also, to compare the totalitarian regime with strong societal trends based on the science of learning and other types of research (because these people didn’t wake up one morning and dreamed all these plans) is to really misunderstand both totalitarianism and democracy. Also, math instruction is not the same as math as a discipline. If we want to have real debates in this group about these topics I say we consider the primary sources instead of articles like this one. We can do better, seriously.” (MLP)
“Again. It's not about math but math education (when people say "math" instead of "math education" think of it as a metonymy. When you look at the actual arguments you'll discover that the conversation is about math pedagogy).” (MLP)
“(to RS) yeah, I guess my argument was it's engineers that are guilty, not engineering per se. Math in a book is harmless, it's how we use the math. I guess I'm against the sensationalist articles that are like "math is white and evil", when math on its own is just science in a book.” (AV)
“(to AV) I understand. But I've really very, very rarely encountered an article in which someone argues that "math is white and evil". This is usually the caricature of a much more insightful argument (made along the lines I tried to lay out above), and is usually to be found in right-wing publications. No one has a problem with knowledge about the physical world in and of itself. But that's just it - knowledge is never in and of itself. And so its uses are legitimately open to criticism.” (RS)
“(to OP) I don't think anyone would debate the value of education in exact sciences, but the emphasis and the way it is applied in a mercantile world dominated by whites, male whites.” (BC)
“(to BC) Precisely. Things *in themselves* are useless and meaningless. They derive their utility and their meaning from their USE by people. So when you evaluate a *thing* (a technology, an ideology, etc.), you must look at how it's used. Simply saying "This thing is not racist ! It's just a thing!" is a simple strawman. No one ever means to say the thing itself is racist; rather its design facilitates oppressive practices. THAT's the discussion we always need to have about every technology we invent (from writing to clothes to buildings to plastic toy cars to, yes, math education).” (RS)
“(to RS) Simply saying "this thing is racist" is a strawman as well. Not focusing on the "woke" overreach is an enormous mistake in my view. […] Also, since when is math "white"? The Arabs invented place value and we owe them the numerical system we use. Indians and Arabs invented the numeral zero. Al Ghibran gave us algebra. What "oppressive practices" does math facilitate? None since it is essentially neutral. Seri Klainerman, who I know, was drawn in this precisely because of overreach. In the name of fighting racism and sexism we are racializing and gendering everything, even when it is not warranted.” (MD)
“(to MD) As I explained above, I would never say "this thing is racist." As for the "woke" overreach, I've seen it happen - but it doesn't happen when people discuss, IN GOOD FAITH, whether a brilliant female physicist could have attained Einstein's fame (or why Einstein had to come to the US to have his genius recognized), or the way math is taught in school or the way technology is designed and used (see my points above). I can't answer your question "What "oppressive practices" does math facilitate? None since it is essentially neutral" again - I already tackled that above. […]Again, no one is seriously saying that the thing itself (math) is racist. I don't know what we need to do to get beyond this strawman.” (RS)
“(to OP) More precisely, and to be fair, it says (https://equitablemath.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/11/1_STRIDE1.pdf page 66) "when the focus is ONLY (emphasis mine) on getting the right answer, the complexity of the mathematical concepts and reasoning may be underdeveloped, missing opportunities for deep learning". And later on the same page of the document "Of course, most math problems have correct answers, but sometimes there can be more than one way to interpret a problem, especially word problems, leading to more than one possible right answer. And teaching math isn't just about solving specific problems. It's about helping students understand the deeper mathematical concepts so that they can apply them throughout their lives. Students can arrive at the right answer without grasping the bigger concept; or they can have an “aha” moment when they see why they got an answer wrong. Sometimes a wrong answer sheds more light than a right answer." So the idea is actually that there often is MORE than the right answer (math modeling or multiple valid proofs, for example). Now about showing work. Again, whoever reads the document more carefully will get to page 55, where under "Ask yourself: How and why am I asking students to show their work?" it is said: "The point should be to have a dialogue about their process and their learning, not require every student to follow the exact same path to the right answer. The child of immigrants might have learned a different way to solve a problem because that’s how their parents were taught where they grew up. If we just tell that student their way is the wrong way, we risk turning them off to math for life. If we take the opportunity to explore why there are different ways to approach the same problem, it can be a learning moment for the entire class." There is nothing wrong with that. The problem with Klainerman's March 2, 2021 straw man (as rightfully called by RS, since nobody argues that math itself is "racist") is that it comes suspiciously soon after his infamous November 2, 2020 Newsweek article "Why I will vote for Trump". Clearly the author has a problem with the current inclusivity/equity ascending trend ("woke:" or whatever he calls it, who cares) in mathematics and mathematics education. Problems that received more formal and careful attention all around US (by the major Math organizations American Mathematics Society AMS and (especially) the Mathematical Association of America MAA - to say nothing by NCTM) than the rather marginal document https://equitablemath.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/11/1_STRIDE1.pdf sent to Oregon's Department of Education (so, just sent, that's all). But marginal is OK, for Klainerman since it's an easier prey and also an easier way to make his GOP buddies happy.” (MC)
“(to MC) God, I love that document! It sounds like it was written by my mother (if she would be abke to conceptualize the way she did and does teaching). By the, Romanian and Russian pupils do have problems in American school because they solve maath problems (different from Americans - more elegant and in a more abstract way). Myself, preferring algebra to arithmetic, and having an early tendency toward abstractization, I've ended more than once in a conflict with my teachers, as I've used a more algebraic solution to arithmetical problems.” (MB)
“(to MC) You mention Klainerman wrote about why he voted for Trump? How is that more relevant than who you or I voted for? We are back to imputing the motives of those who we don't agree with.” (MD)
“(to MD) Not that Klainerman voted for Trump matters here, but the manner he keeps announcing this as a sort of war waged against the "woke people" (to be more precise, he means those who are looking for inclusiveness and equity in mathematics - this definitely clouds his judgement when it comes, for example, to the document sent to ODE, so that does matter and is relevant). Again, about "right answers", read the document sent to Oregon where it appears (page 66) "Of course, most math problems have correct answers [! no argument here], but sometimes there can be more than one way to interpret a problem, especially word problems, leading to more than one possible right answer. And teaching math isn't just about solving specific problems. It's about helping students understand the deeper mathematical concepts so that they can apply them throughout their lives. Students can arrive at the right answer without grasping the bigger concept; or they can have an “aha” moment when they see why they got an answer wrong. Sometimes a wrong answer sheds more light than a right answer.". I see nothing wrong in principle with that. Many reasonably complex problems (most math modeling don't have "complete answers", and there are multiple ways to derive a mathematical truth). Again, about "showing work", at page 55 you can find "The point should be to have a dialogue about their process and their learning, not require every student to follow the exact same path to the right answer.The child of immigrants might have learned a different way to solve a problem because that’s how their parents were taught where they grew up. If we just tell that student their way is the wrong way, we risk turning them off to math for life. If we take the opportunity to explore why there are different ways to approach the same problem, it can be a learning moment for the entire class.", Again, there is nothing particularly outrageous or controversial here, About the NYC Board of Education statements, let me spare you the effort and tell you that working as a College Math educator for 25 plus years (we even have a Math Education major here), I have seen it all, in particular I have seen many things issued by boards across the country of education I don't agree with, but it is not my intent to expand the playing field with issues unrelated to the original post, I simply don't have time for that - still, I can only say that in my experience the damage done by conservatives in the educational process exceeds by far the the damage done by so-called "woke". The document referred to in the OP is not particularly bad, and not the best either, and it would have remained a rather obscure document if it weren't for conservatives transforming it into a "major talking point" (may be a talking point for Sosoaca & co, by now, I guess :) ) in their fight against those who care about diversity and inclusion in math education (aka, the "woke"). Actually all of this is much ado about nothing - I just looked at the K-12 mathematics standards as listed by the Oregon Department of Education - they are strong and effective. So... math goes on :)” (MC)
“(to MC) you are making my argument." sometimes there can be more than one way to interpret a problem, especially word problems, leading to more than one possible right answer." Precisely. The wording is the problem, not the math. As it regards "showing your work" far from being racist, it helps and protects the student who may have found a different way to the CORRECT answer. It also helps in pointing out where, if that is the case, a mistake happened. In the 50's in Romania, when I was learning elementary arithmetic, you had to write the reasoning (judecata) . Then you did the operations. The reasoning was 75% of the credit. This, plus the inclusion of needed rote learning (the multiplication tables) and the scaffolding of skills (such as approximation and rounding off), plus the repetitive pages of calculations I hated at the time, helped build "number sense" something completely lacking in most US students. See "Innumeracy" for more on this.” (MD)
“(to MD) Yet, at least for more subtle modeling (optimization, simulation) problems, wording = math, as different ways to frame a problem could generate very different mathematical approaches (and with very different implications). At least you agree with authors of the document, who are against the "only one way" clause. Now let's get to "showing the work" clause, the authors of the document elaborated in the sense of not requiring the students to follow the *same* path It is *that* requirement they associate with racism, but if you agree with letting students follow other paths, then we have no disagreement (that's what the authors of the document say). With the proviso that an "ultimate correct answer" may not exist or not known (sometimes it is the case in various types of problems). Students must be allow to exercise and learn in an open ended inquiry mode (as it is the case for many reasonably complex modeling problems - that may be helpful for students in minority/tribal communities.” (MC)
“(to MD) Oh, I have no doubt that Klainerman and T[G] know their math. But I would claim a modicum of expertise, too, in the field of critical pedagogy. At the very least, I can explain the fundamental principles of the critical turn of social science, where this critique of the scientific narrative comes from. (And no, this critique has nothing to do with the Republicans' denial of natural phenomena. It's a VERY different kind of critique.)” (RS)
“(to OP) The moment we start arguing that math is racist everything is lost. Mathematicians can be racist, but math is NEVER racist.” (CA)
“(to CA) Pentru ca insisti sa crezi ca discutia se poarta intre cei care zic ca "Math is racist" si cei care zic ca nu e. Stiu ca e intellectually satisfying sa te bati cu idioti care spun ca teorema lui Pitagora e rasista, dar pur si simplu nu asta e discutia - nici aici, nici in general in spatiul public (mai putin in mass-medoa conservatoare, vezi Bari Weiss mai sus, care loves making a caricature of progressive arguments).” (RS)
“(to RS) Check Francis Su (past President of the Mathematical Association of America), from Harvey Mudd College, he is a central force in the long overdue drive towards inclusivity (he would say Math for Human Flourishing as in the title of his recent award winning book)” (MC)
“(to OP) Si Sergiu Nu-Stiu-Cum comite o greseala esentiala - de identificare a domeniului de cunoastere. Problema pe care incearca el sa o abordeze nu tine de matematica, ci de sociologie. Si nu cunoaste nici macar atata sociologie cat sa inteleaga asta. [...] "Communism had a strong sense of objective reality anchored in the belief that humans are capable of discovering universal truths" - nu asa functioneaza stiinta.... Omul asta ar trebui sa invete niste epistemologie a fizicii (ca sa pornim de la stiinta cea mai simpla). "And it was a great equalizer: those from socioeconomically disadvantaged families had a chance to compete on equal footing with those from privileged ones" - asta nu e adevarat nici macar azi. Cel mai puternic predictor al rezultatelor la testele PISA la matematica, in Romania, e numarul de carti aflate in casa in care a crescut elevul.... Si ponderea elevilor din mediul rural care ajungeau sa faca liceul varia undeva intre 10% si 20% (fiind considerabil mai ridicat in mediul urban) - despre ce vorbim aici?!? Ii recomand sa studieze niste rapoarte ale Indicelui Dezvoltarii Umane - asa, cronologic si transversal. "Those born in poor, uneducated families have clear educational disadvantages relative to others. But mathematics can act as a powerful equalizer. Maica-mea a avut unele rezultate cu mine invatandu-ma matematica - si cu totul altele in scoala ei sateasca. Asta desi metoda ei a fost aceeasi (si desi rezultatele ei au fost peste medie in ambele cazuri). Dar egalizator? Mnu. Si nu cred ca sunt mai inteligentx decat toti acei elevi de la sat - dar ma fost mai bine hranitx, am avut timp exclusiv pt invatatura si am avut parinti de la care sa invat, incepand din primele luni de viata. Recomand articolele si cartea lui Sebastian Toc despre educatie in Romania: www.iccv.ro/en/staff/researchers/sebastian-toc-en/ [...] In concluzie, slab text. Omul are nevoie sa ia niste cursuri 101 de stiinte sociale. O fi bun el la matematici superioare, dar in intelegerea societatii e praf. E ok, nu e niciodata prea tarziu pt A Doua Sansa! [...] Si ca sa inchei: din experienta mea de om care a trait intre persoane care chiar stiau matematica, si realmente o intelegeau si practicau, la un nivel care mie mi-e inaccesibil (in ciuda gandirii mele logice si a coeficientului meu ridicat de inteligenta) - de fapt, matematica e mul[t] mai aproape de poezie decat de stiintele naturii (fizica avansata ii seamna, iarasi, intr-o anumita masura). Rezultatul corect conteaza in matematica - dar, din cate am vazut eu, eleganta conteaza si mai mult. Unii oameni "vad" matematica, asa cum unii oameni (inclusiv eu?) vad poezia, iar altii "vad" muzica. E o zona extrem de rarefiata, matematica avansata, care nu are mare lucru in comun cu ingineria si tehnologia (care de obicei se bazeaza pe matematica de un nivel mult mai inferior). Are mult mai multa treaba cu inspiratia decat cu rationalul. Asta de la mine, ca om care a crescut admirand oameni care aveau darul asta.” (MB)
“(to OP) Si acum, dupa toata batalia, ramane o curiozitate: cati au citit documentul la care se face referire in text (Pathway...) si de la care s-au inflamat spiritele (si ma refer la citit cu atentie, toate cele 83 de pagini) si cine a citit cel putin o evaluare critica a acestuia. Cred astfel se puteau evita multe neintelegeri. Documentul merita citit pentru ca are o multime de puncte valide care nu au fost luate in seama. Merita si criticat pentru ca are si exagerari si nu e o enciclica papala pe care trebuie sa o inghitim cu evlavie pe nerasuflate.” (ACU)
“(to ACU) Bineînțeles că documentul e nuanțat. They always are. Doar o parte a criticilor insistă pe o simplificare caricaturală a mesajului.” (RS)
“(to ACU) Chestia e ca postarea nu e despre documentul acela, ci despre abureala de articol din OP.” (MB)
“(to MB, RS) I definitely learned quite a bit, and even changed my mind a little *gasp*! I think this was pretty well moderated for a facebook "debate" and at least for me, rather productive. I enjoyed your resources and the time you put in!” (AV)
“(to AV) yes, it wasn't as bad as I expected. Only one person was inexplicably aggressive.” (MB)
_________
Note: after the fact, but largely on topic: The right wing itch of a Romanian math leader
https://mihaicaragiu.blogspot.com/2021/10/the-ring-wing-itch-of-romanian-math.html
(no, this is not SK)
