Re: Constraints and Functional Dependencies

From: Cimode <cimode_at_hotmail.com>
Date: 1 Mar 2007 10:59:20 -0800
Message-ID: <1172775560.768824.266700_at_h3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com>


On 1 mar, 18:44, "Marshall" <marshall.spi..._at_gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mar 1, 6:58 am, "Walt" <wami..._at_verizon.net> wrote:
>
>
>
> > I believe you are correct, but I think the syndrome goes far deeper than you
> > have said. Basically, the US educational system has evolved a mthodology in
> > which theory is quite simply not taught at all. What passes for
> > "theoretical discussion" in an American classroom is really and extended
> > introduction to the subject matter. The subject matter itself is embodied
> > in a series of examples, that illustrate the real meat of what is being
> > taught.
>
> OT Free associating:
>
> Conversations with Vadim and others from his part of the world
> have convinced me that the point at which the average Russian
> student achieves US-graduate-student level mathematical
> education is approximately the third grade.
>
> US schools are firmly committed to single-streaming everyone.
> (This is a clear reflection of otherwise-admirable US social
> values of equality of opportunity.) This is done to an extreme:
> the *most* gifted students in a district will literally be put
> in the same class with moderately retarded students.
> My seven year old son is constantly telling me how
> school is "BO RING"; exactly my experience with public
> school, and apparently I went to unusually good
> public schools.
>
> I was in my forties before I figured out the relationship
> between mathematics and computer science. Up until
> my late thirties they seemed only vaguely related.
> I can put a modest amount of the blame for this on
> my university, however; they pushed calculus and
> more calculus at me, which I have never found an
> application for, and ignored logic, statistics, set
> theory, and most of abstract algebra. I suppose this
> in part derives from the perception of computer
> science as being closely related to other engineering
> fields where I believe calculus is more relevant.
>
> Barbie says "math is hard."
>
> Marshall

I confirm all your observations. Having experienced both university systems France first then US, I use to create programs in american graduate math classes to prepare for next tests planned and most of all not to get bored to death by the lecturer...I would add to it that the span of math concepts taught is wider. To algebra and calculus, europeans give equal importance to geometry, Imaginary Numbers, Vectorial are much more other domains (resolution of equations and inequations in N-ary dimensions) Received on Thu Mar 01 2007 - 19:59:20 CET

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