Thank Christ. Continue reading “Phew!”
Month: May 2022
Eddie Woo and Greg Ashman
A few days ago, the Centre of Independent Studies held a forum, Ensuring Australia’s Maths Teaching Adds up to Success. The stars of the show were Eddie Woo and Greg Ashman, and the video of the forum has now been posted.
Of course the main thing to note about this forum was the astonishing decision to not include any women. But, ignoring that disgraceful aspect, the forum is well worth watching. We have our thoughts (of course), but we’ll save them until after people have had a chance to watch and to comment.
WitCH 79: Cos Why Not?
Yeah, we’re busy, but this one has been bugging us. It is an exercise and solution from Cambridge Specialist Mathematics 3&4. It’s basically a PoSWW, or we could simply let it pass as a textbook glitch. But we think there’s more than the obvious to say.
Marty’s Don’s Party Party
Don’s Party is a great Australian movie. It is set entirely on the night of the 1969 Federal election, when Gough Whitlam was destined to lead Labor to victory for the first time in twenty years. David Denby wrote,
Don’s Party is derivative of Pinter, Fellini, Antonioni, Albee, and about a dozen others, and it’s a dispiriting, ugly experience, cliche’d rather than illuminating, smarmy rather than funny.
As we said, a great movie. Continue reading “Marty’s Don’s Party Party”
RatS 23: David Karoly – CSIRO and the Suppression of Science
So much crap, so little time. We’re desperately trying to get to the Australian Curriculum. Courtesy of the Evil Mathologre, however, we have about 2000 essays to grade. And, due to “must be done” renovations, The Boss is demanding that the massive Everything in our garage be moved two meters to the left. (We suggested it’d just be easier to move the garage two meters to the right, but The Boss didn’t buy it.) Before all that, however, there are a couple posts that really need to be done, including this one, on CSIRO.
Continue reading “RatS 23: David Karoly – CSIRO and the Suppression of Science”
Yet More Mathematics Books, Free to More Homes
Same as last time, and last last time. This pile is mostly graduate texts, with quite a few classics, but there are also some excellent undergraduate texts, and some oddballs.
Please comment below or email me if you have any interest in any of the books or if you have any questions. Quickly. I’m happy to consider meeting up here or there in Melbourne, but I definitely won’t be mailing any books this time. I’m tired of people not saying thanks.
Continue reading “Yet More Mathematics Books, Free to More Homes”
The Australian Curriculum is Up
The new mathematics curriculum can be viewed here, and you can “understand this learning area” here. The various documents can be downloaded here (Word documents, because ACARA is run by idiots). Direct links are below. Continue reading “The Australian Curriculum is Up”
RatS 22: Taibbi – PayPal’s IndyMedia Wipeout
Matt Taibbi has another in his infinite series of posts on powerful and sanctimonious thugs, this one free to the public. This time it’s PayPal doing the thugging, and thieving, and not for the first time, or second time, all the while preening as the defender of Truth, Justice and the American Way. A nice touch is that this time the thugging seems to be in partnership with the Anti-Defamation League. Proving, as if it were needed, that the Old Jews can be just as much assholes as the New Jews.
Read Taibbi’s post, and then scream.
Continue reading “RatS 22: Taibbi – PayPal’s IndyMedia Wipeout”
Brian Conrad Rips into the California Mathematics Framework
We haven’t paid all that much attention to the California Mathematics Framework, except for noting Jo Boaler (and Keith Devlin) making an idiot of herself again (ditto Devlin). We’re too busy with the local clowns. Greg Ashman, however, has noted a remarkable new front in the war over CMF, and it is worth highlighting. Continue reading “Brian Conrad Rips into the California Mathematics Framework”
The State of Declining Mathematics Enrolments
This post, as indicated by the title, is ostensibly about the State of declining enrolments in mathematics subjects. That State, as we shall see, turns out to be Queensland. But, first things first.
Last week, AMSI released its annual Mathematics Participation Report Card, complete with a media release and a media notice of an Australian story on the report (Murdoch, paywalled). Begun in 2008, AMSI’s report has become a tradition of sorts, kind of an Australian Groundhog Day. Each year, mathematicians poke out their heads, look at the darker maths ed skies, mutter “Bugger this, it’s worse”, and go back inside. This year is no different. Except, it turns out to be different. Continue reading “The State of Declining Mathematics Enrolments”