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Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, April 16 2013 @ 08:55 PM EDT |
I sympathise with all that you say except for point 4. Students need to learn
how to problem solve, but there is great utility in those tables for later on. I
have a book "Mathematical Handbook of Formulas and Tables" (Murray R
Spiegel). When I am trying to solve particular problems these days, I will refer
to this book for any formulae I need, I have bigger fish to fry than solving
lower level problems. I do need to know and understand the principles but the
tedium of working out these formulae takes time away from the real problem.[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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- Re: I have not tutored, but I teach. - Authored by: PJ on Tuesday, April 16 2013 @ 10:26 PM EDT
- Re: I have not tutored, but I teach. - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, April 16 2013 @ 11:05 PM EDT
- Re: I have not tutored, but I teach. - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, April 17 2013 @ 01:11 AM EDT
- Re: I have not tutored, but I teach. - Authored by: mpellatt on Wednesday, April 17 2013 @ 07:12 AM EDT
- Re: I have not tutored, but I teach. - Authored by: lnuss on Wednesday, April 17 2013 @ 07:47 AM EDT
- Re: I have not tutored, but I teach. - Authored by: JamesK on Wednesday, April 17 2013 @ 11:49 AM EDT
- Amen. - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, April 17 2013 @ 12:50 PM EDT
- But, is it important to know how to set up the problem, or just that one can ... search - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, April 17 2013 @ 01:26 PM EDT
- Re: I have not tutored, but I teach. - Authored by: JamesK on Wednesday, April 17 2013 @ 11:43 AM EDT
- Math Skills Always Lag Current Course - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, April 17 2013 @ 01:02 PM EDT
- Re: I have not tutored, but I teach. - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, April 17 2013 @ 09:03 AM EDT
- Re: I have not tutored, but I teach. - Authored by: JamesK on Wednesday, April 17 2013 @ 01:37 PM EDT
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Authored by: Tolerance on Wednesday, April 17 2013 @ 02:00 AM EDT |
It's well known that Einstein skipped some of his more
boring Math lectures and recovered later using his friend
Marcel Grossmann's notes. He could have profited from some
of those tables of integrals, as de Sitter famously
exclaimed on having to correct one of poor Einstein's
dodgier integrals (reciprocal arctan).
Nonetheless, you are right on a deep level. It's better to
attack problems with a mental toolkit able to work its way
through simple derivations of trigonometric integrals.
---
Grumpy old man[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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Authored by: MadTom1999 on Wednesday, April 17 2013 @ 12:05 PM EDT |
Re 5 - can you make it available in free flowing HTML?
Seems to fit my computer screen better![ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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Authored by: OpenSourceFTW on Wednesday, April 17 2013 @ 01:36 PM EDT |
As a student, I am encouraged to see schools that care about us and that use
their heads when it comes to choosing course materials.
You've got my applause. :)[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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Authored by: artp on Wednesday, April 17 2013 @ 01:46 PM EDT |
Your topic has aroused argument in two other areas that are
hotly contested.
1) Some schools teach specific practical routines. Others
teach how to find those routines if you don't know them, or
have forgotten them. Hands on versus first principles.
2) The whole argument around granting Engineering degrees
versus granting Engineering Technology degrees. Professional
vs. practical.
There is room for both in the field. Having both opens up
engineering to more people, who can do more jobs better than
someone untrained in the science.
I graduated from a University which was firmly founded on
first principles. It also produced quite a few firsts in
applied principles, so the two are not mutually exclusive.
My son, OTOH, is one of those rare people who spans both
approaches. We recommended that he go to a more hands-on
school, as the one I went to had neglected its labs. He is
an autodidact, so he was able to have opportunities that
most students would not have. Then he switched from
Industrial Engineering to Mechanical Engineering for his
PhD, and taught himself Fluids so that he could take a
graduate level Fluids course.
Some people CAN pick up the first principles, and some CAN
do both, but for most people, a choice needs to be made on
which approach to follow. But they never tell you about that
when you enroll. The assumption is that "We've always done
it this way." so why should there be any other way?
You might keep that in mind while reading the arguments.
People are operating on different assumptions. There will be
no resolution of the disagreement.
---
Userfriendly on WGA server outage:
When you're chained to an oar you don't think you should go down when the galley
sinks ?[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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