Mathematics in Popular Culture
Mathematics in Popular Culture

Author: Jessica K. Sklar

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2014-01-10

Total Pages: 355

ISBN-13: 0786489944

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Mathematics has maintained a surprising presence in popular media for over a century. In recent years, the movies Good Will Hunting, A Beautiful Mind, and Stand and Deliver, the stage plays Breaking the Code and Proof, the novella Flatland and the hugely successful television crime series NUMB3RS all weave mathematics prominently into their storylines. Less obvious but pivotal references to the subject appear in the blockbuster TV show Lost, the cult movie The Princess Bride, and even Tolstoy's War and Peace. In this collection of new essays, contributors consider the role of math in everything from films, baseball, crossword puzzles, fantasy role-playing games, and television shows to science fiction tales, award-winning plays and classic works of literature. Revealing the broad range of intersections between mathematics and mainstream culture, this collection demonstrates that even "mass entertainment" can have a hidden depth.

Pi (π) in Nature, Art, and Culture
Pi (π) in Nature, Art, and Culture

Author: Marcel Danesi

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2020-12-07

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 9004433392

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In Pi (π) in Nature, Art, and Culture Marcel Danesi investigates the manifestations of π in science, nature, symbolism, and culture, arguing that these are intrinsically intertwined.

Introduction to Cultural Mathematics
Introduction to Cultural Mathematics

Author: Thomas E. Gilsdorf

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2012-04-17

Total Pages: 323

ISBN-13: 111811552X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL MATHEMATICS Challenges readers to think creatively about mathematics and ponder its role in their own daily lives Cultural mathematics, or ethnomathematics as it is also known, studies the relationship between mathematics and culture—with the ultimate goal of contributing to an appreciation of the connection between the two. Introduction to Cultural Mathematics: With Case Studies in the Otomies and Incas integrates both theoretical and applied aspects of the topic, promotes discussions on the development of mathematical concepts, and provides a comprehensive reference for teaching and learning about multicultural mathematical practices. This illuminating book provides a nontraditional, evidence-based approach to mathematics that promotes diversity and respect for cultural heritages. Part One covers such major concepts as cultural aspects of mathematics, numeration and number symbols, kinship relations, art and decoration, games, divination, and calendars. Part Two takes those concepts and applies them to fascinating case studies of both the Otomies of Central Mexico and the Incas of South America. Throughout the book, numerous illustrations, examples, and motivational questions promote an interactive understanding of the topic. Each chapter begins with questions that encourage a cooperative, inquiry-based approach to learning and concludes with a series of exercises that allow readers to test their understanding of the presented material. Introduction to Cultural Mathematics is an ideal book for courses on cultural mathematics, the history of mathematics, and cultural studies. The book is also a valuable resource and reference for anyone interested in the connections between mathematics, culture, anthropology, and history.

Visual Culture and Mathematics in the Early Modern Period
Visual Culture and Mathematics in the Early Modern Period

Author: Ingrid Alexander-Skipnes

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2017-01-06

Total Pages: 215

ISBN-13: 1317192060

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

During the early modern period there was a natural correspondence between how artists might benefit from the knowledge of mathematics and how mathematicians might explore, through advances in the study of visual culture, new areas of enquiry that would uncover the mysteries of the visible world. This volume makes its contribution by offering new interdisciplinary approaches that not only investigate perspective but also examine how mathematics enriched aesthetic theory and the human mind. The contributors explore the portrayal of mathematical activity and mathematicians as well as their ideas and instruments, how artists displayed their mathematical skills and the choices visual artists made between geometry and arithmetic, as well as Euclid’s impact on drawing, artistic practice and theory. These chapters cover a broad geographical area that includes Italy, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, France and England. The artists, philosophers and mathematicians whose work is discussed include Leon Battista Alberti, Nicholas Cusanus, Marsilio Ficino, Francesco di Giorgio, Leonardo da Vinci and Andrea del Verrocchio, as well as Michelangelo, Galileo, Piero della Francesca, Girard Desargues, William Hogarth, Albrecht Dürer, Luca Pacioli and Raphael.

5 Principles of the Modern Mathematics Classroom
5 Principles of the Modern Mathematics Classroom

Author: Gerald Aungst

Publisher: Corwin Press

Published: 2015-10-09

Total Pages: 141

ISBN-13: 1506322999

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Students pursue problems they’re curious about, not problems they’re told to solve. Creating a math classroom filled with confident problem solvers starts by introducing challenges discovered in the real world, not by presenting a sequence of prescribed problems, says Gerald Aungst. In this groundbreaking book, he offers a thoughtful approach for instilling a culture of learning in your classroom through five powerful, yet straightforward principles: Conjecture, Collaboration, Communication, Chaos, and Celebration. Aungst shows you how to Embrace collaboration and purposeful chaos to help students engage in productive struggle, using non-routine and unsolved problems Put each chapter’s principles into practice through a variety of strategies, activities, and by incorporating technology tools Introduce substantive, lasting cultural changes in your classroom through a manageable, gradual shift in processes and behaviors Five Principles of the Modern Mathematics Classroom offers new ideas for inspiring math students by building a more engaging and collaborative learning environment. "Bravo! This book brings a conceptual framework for K-12 mathematics to life. As a parent and as the executive director of Edutopia, I commend Aungst for sharing his 5 principles. This is a perfect blend of inspiring and practical. Highly recommended!" Cindy Johanson, Executive Director, Edutopia George Lucas Educational Foundation "Aungst ignites the magic of mathematics by reminding us what makes mathematicians so passionate about their subject matter. Grounded in research, his work takes us on a journey into classrooms so that we may take away tips to put into practice today." Erin Klein, Teacher, Speaker, and Author of Redesigning Learning Spaces

Mathematics as a Cultural System
Mathematics as a Cultural System

Author: Raymond L. Wilder

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2014-05-20

Total Pages: 195

ISBN-13: 1483100618

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Mathematics as a Cultural System discusses the relationship between mathematics and culture. The book is comprised of eight chapters discussing topics that support the concept of mathematics as a cultural system. Chapter I deals with the nature of culture and cultural systems, while Chapter 2 provides examples of cultural patterns observable in the evolution of mechanics. Chapter III treats historical episodes as a laboratory for the illustration of patterns and forces that have been operative in cultural change. Chapter IV covers hereditary stress, and Chapter V discusses consolidation as a force and process. Chapter VI talks about the singularities in the evolution of mechanics, while Chapter 7 deals with the laws governing the evolution of mathematics. Chapter VIII tackles the role and future of mathematics. The book will be of great interest to readers who are curious about how mathematics relates to culture.

Mathematics in Western Culture
Mathematics in Western Culture

Author: Morris Kline

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 1964-12-31

Total Pages: 513

ISBN-13: 0195345452

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book gives a remarkably fine account of the influences mathematics has exerted on the development of philosophy, the physical sciences, religion, and the arts in Western life.

Popular Culture, Educational Discourse, and Mathematics
Popular Culture, Educational Discourse, and Mathematics

Author: Peter Michael Appelbaum

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 1995-01-01

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 9780791422694

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This ground-breaking book analyzes contemporary education discourse in the light of curriculum politics and popular culture, using sources ranging from academic scholarship to popular magazines, music video, film and television game shows. Mathematics is used as an "extreme case," since it is a discipline so easily accepted as separable from politics, ethics or the social construction of knowledge. Appelbaum's juxtaposition of popular culture, public debate and professional practice enables an examination of the production and mediation of "common sense" distinctions between school mathematics and the world outside of schools. Terrain ordinarily displaced or excluded by traditional education literature becomes the pendulum for a new conversation which merges research and practice while discarding pre-conceived categories of understanding. The book also serves as an entertaining introduction to emerging theories in cultural studies, progressively illustrating the uses of discourse analysis for comprehending ideology, the implications of power/knowledge links, professional practice as a technology of power, and curriculum as at once commodities and cultural resources. In this way, Appelbaum effectively reveals a direction for teachers, students and researchers to cooperatively form a community attentive to the politics of curriculum and popular culture.

Mathematical Metaphors, Memories, and Mindsets
Mathematical Metaphors, Memories, and Mindsets

Author: Carmen M. Latterell

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2020-04-10

Total Pages: 163

ISBN-13: 1475853483

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

United States’ students continue to have difficulties with the subject of mathematics. Sometimes it is believed that students aren’t smart enough to master mathematics or that mathematics is just too difficult for all but the chosen few. This book offers an alternative explanation: Students’ difficulties in mathematics can best be understood and explained social scientifically. That is, Learning Theories, Agents of Socialization, and more generally, cultural and social milieu, are relevant in trying to understand individuals’ ideas about mathematics. The book begins by providing an overview of the current status in mathematics education. Popular cultural portrayals of mathematics and mathematicians are examined. The book, then, delves deeper into how students perceive mathematics and mathematicians by examining how students view mathematicians, how students define mathematics, and what themes emerge from students’ mathematical autobiographies and their metaphors. The book describes a semantic differential, in an effort to ascertain the meanings of math that people hold and shows the different patterns of responses among various groups of people. Finally, the book delves into mathematical mindsets, a current approach to understanding mathematical identities, as well as success and failure in mathematics.

The Artist and the Mathematician
The Artist and the Mathematician

Author: Amir D Aczel

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2009-04-29

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 0786732881

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Nicolas Bourbaki, whose mathematical publications began to appear in the late 1930s and continued to be published through most of the twentieth century, was a direct product as well as a major force behind an important revolution that took place in the early decades of the twentieth century that completely changed Western culture. Pure mathematics, the area of Bourbaki's work, seems on the surface to be an abstract field of human study with no direct connection with the real world. In reality, however, it is closely intertwined with the general culture that surrounds it. Major developments in mathematics have often followed important trends in popular culture; developments in mathematics have acted as harbingers of change in the surrounding human culture. The seeds of change, the beginnings of the revolution that swept the Western world in the early decades of the twentieth century -- both in mathematics and in other areas -- were sown late in the previous century. This is the story both of Bourbaki and the world that created him in that time. It is the story of an elaborate intellectual joke -- because Bourbaki, one of the foremost mathematicians of his day -- never existed.