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发表于 2012-3-15 10:29:50
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英文版:VOX POPULI: A sound knowledge of math can be a powerful weapon
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"Jusanri" (literally, 13 "ri," an old style of measurement) is another name for sweet potato. (One ri is slightly less than 4 kilometers.) The word is said to derive from the sales pitch "Kuri yori umai jusanri" (Jusanri is tastier than kuri) used by vendors of baked sweet potatoes during the Edo Period (1603-1867). Kuri means chestnut in Japanese. It can also mean 9 ri, and yori can mean 4 ri. Hence the pun. Thanks to the abacus and multiplication tables, the Japanese have traditionally been fairly adept at arithmetic.
Whether for that reason or not, I, too, enjoyed mathematics--setting aside my scores. No matter who solves a problem, there is only ever one answer. Once we understand the logic, all we have to do is track down the answer.As one who was attracted to the beauty of such simplicity, I am saddened whenever I hear about falling standards in students' mathematical ability.
The Mathematical Society of Japan, which comprises of math teachers, devised a test for 6,000 students from 48 universities. They were asked to solve problems designed for children in sixth grade at elementary school all the way up to first-year senior high school students. Most of the students were freshmen. The questions tested their knowledge on what they had learned not so long ago. But the results were dismal.
Take, for example, the question: "When an even number is added to an odd number, why is the sum always an odd number?" They must have learned it when they were second-year junior high school students. But only 34 percent could give reasonably logical explanations. Many of the answers were less than passable. One student wrote: "Because the answer always turned out to be odd when I added even and odd numbers that came to mind." In answer to the question: "What are the characteristics of a parabola of quadratic functions?" some students just wrote down their impressions; for example, "Things that are sort of curvy."
Many people say the math taught at school is not useful after students have ventured out into the real world. They probably say this because it makes them feel better. It is true that we are rarely required to use calculus in real life. Even so, knowledge of probability and sets is very useful in the field of business.A sound background in math also helps us to defend ourselves from information manipulation under the guise of statistics and fraud that uses "number magic."
Readers who do not like math, please remember that the habit of logical thinking can enrich your life. Why not think again on March 14, "pi day," that it is wiser to make friends with math than remain enemies. It is never too late to make amends.
--The Asahi Shimbun, March 14 |
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