Category: Education

In casual discussions with scientists and engineers, I’m sometimes surprised at how poorly understood the concept of an eigenvalue is. Eigenvalues are sometimes viewed as exotic or suspicious, when in reality they are fundamental to comprehending many basic facts in applied mathematics. For English speakers, maybe part of it is the name. In the context… Read more

A very long time ago, the United States and several other countries set out to completely reform primary mathematics education. Initial planning was already happening in the 1950s, with wide adoption in public grade schools taking place by the 1960s through 1970s. This effort, eventually branded as “The New Math”, met with widespread, often harsh… Read more