Should We Form a New Mathematics Association?

And, prior to that, are we a “we”?

Long ago, before it became a gutless and utterly predictable rag, Crikey did valuable work by annoying a lot of people. Crikey‘s subscriptions were never high and the politicians and big media tried to pretend that the upstart mag didn’t matter, but it was never convincing. Crikey was smart and feisty, beholden to no one and with enough of an appreciative following to matter. The powers that be read it, even if they pretended otherwise.

In one article, Crikey‘s founder, Stephen Mayne, noted this clout by referring to “the Crikey army”. The affronted response from the subscribers was hilarious. Commenter after commenter declared forthrightly that they were part of no one’s army. Which was true and false. What united Crikey readers was probably much less a shared ideology than simply a deep dissatisfaction with politics as usual, and with media as usual. So, no shared positive agenda but, nonetheless, a strongly shared negative agenda.

Which brings us to this blog.

I have almost no idea who reads the blog or what readers think, of the blog or more generally. There are many more readers than commenters, and even of most commenters I know essentially nothing. I suspect, as with early-days Crikey, that readers are more aligned in negativity than positivity. Still, that is not nothing.

This silly, foul-mouthed blog has also had some effect. I do not know how large the readership is in comparison to other such sites but it is large enough. Education and bureaucratic big shots know of the blog, enough for some to complain and for others to pretend, unconvincingly, that they pay no attention. They do pay attention, because they know enough others do. The blog has at least widened the window for what is regarded as acceptable criticism. My question here is whether we, or “we”, can make better use of that widened window.

There is currently no association for Australian mathematics education that is worth a dime. MERGA is devoted to itself, to fringe academic fiddling and to toadying to the woeful status quo. AAMT is devoted to itself, to producing hack materials and to toadying to the woeful status quo. The MAV and the other state organisations are no different. AMSI is simply a joke, the flag bearer for nothing. Who else? There is not one association that can be trusted to think plain sense or to state plain sense.

So, should we, or “we”, form a new association?

To be absolutely clear, I am not at all looking for a larger platform for Marty; I am happy with what I have and I think the type of ridiculing criticism that I offer belongs where it is. But it seems that maybe the loose society of this blog could be used to launch an association dedicated to more sober criticism and advocacy, and perhaps some genuinely worthwhile PD.

I should also state that I know nothing about forming an association and have thought nothing about it beyond “I wonder …”. Still, the MAV was begun a bit over a century ago in some guy’s toolshed (and at this stage should be taken out to some guy’s toolshed). So, if they were able to do it, maybe we, or “we”, can as well.

So, up to you guys. I’m open to ideas. I do have a name in mind, however. How about, The Mathematicians’ Front of Judea?