tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5811124440838283502.post4836132313620881553..comments2024-03-02T07:28:06.384+00:00Comments on Tony's Maths Blog: Maths and technology - from the HE Maths Ideas ExchangeTonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08832715837375830128noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5811124440838283502.post-81987484778710956652012-07-19T11:16:37.535+01:002012-07-19T11:16:37.535+01:00@Tony: I appreciate your "provocation" t...@Tony: I appreciate your "provocation" technique! Provocative is good!<br /><br />But will a course in "how new technology will change this subject" be *able* to "give graduates skills that will make them employable"?<br /><br />By all means offer courses on how to apply computer techniques to the various problems they will be expected to solve (whether this be offering practical courses on how to teach yourself a programming language in a day or two so as to be able to code up a widget to demonstrate something or other), but any such courses will necessarily not be "mathematics" courses as such, but plain-and-simple "technology" courses, and will of course be optional: maths graduates will generally (one hopes!) be savvy enough to have learned how to use technology independently of a university course.<br /><br />However, suggesting that a course in futurology (which your suggestion seems to be) will make such a mathematician more employable (except perhaps as a journalist) does not ring true to me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5811124440838283502.post-73966897310137425042012-07-19T10:45:53.274+01:002012-07-19T10:45:53.274+01:00donotwash - thanks for commenting. I appreciate y...donotwash - thanks for commenting. I appreciate your views (and will check out the wiki). I do feel the compulsory module idea is a provocation rather than a serious expectation. In the end it depends what one thinks a maths degree is for - if one thinks it's for learning as much maths as possible and cultivating rigorous mathematical thinking then one wouldn't want a module like this. If one thinks it's to give graduates skills that will make them employable in a wide range of professions most of which do not used advanced pure mathematics, then one might.Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08832715837375830128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5811124440838283502.post-64418993480134409682012-07-19T10:35:47.734+01:002012-07-19T10:35:47.734+01:00My view: No, they should not. Certainly make such ...My view: No, they should not. Certainly make such a module optional, for the students who are finding formal mathematics courses a bit of a challenge, and want something nice and lightweight to ease their burden, but compulsory? Heck no.<br /><br />Any mathematician worth his/her salt would be able to make their own way through the field of glorified science fiction which is futurology. Of course mathematicians should be thinking about how technology will change mathematics - but rather than be required to sit in pointless lectures and seminars, then write a vapid essay on the subject, they will (if they have any drive in that direction at all) be actively involved in *making those very changes themselves*.<br /><br />My own contributions towards this drive - I hang out a lot at: www (dot) proofwiki (dot) org, which a few people here and there believe is worth taking a glance at.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5811124440838283502.post-22621678882654875382012-07-17T09:54:07.787+01:002012-07-17T09:54:07.787+01:00I am grateful to Peter Rowlett for pointing out a ...I am grateful to Peter Rowlett for pointing out a number of typos in the original post. The historical record now shows that these typos never existed.Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08832715837375830128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5811124440838283502.post-16113916785065467652012-07-17T09:43:59.890+01:002012-07-17T09:43:59.890+01:00Thank you for the kind comments Tony.
I'm no...Thank you for the kind comments Tony. <br /><br />I'm not sure Wiles is a great example. My memory is fairly sketchy and I have lend out my copy of Singh's FLT but, although he famously locked himself away, I think he build on the work of many other mathematicians and didn't the solution really start to progress when he confided in another mathematician at his university? Furthermore, validation of his work came was via a conference presentation and peer review and further collaboration tightened up the non-proof into a proof. <br /><br />Anyway, I was really commenting to point out something I said at the weekend: I feel that a mathematics education at university should prepare students for future challenges as the discipline develops and if our graduates are going to continue for 40 years or more, they will certainly experience more than can be imagined at present. This sort of course and the creative thinking and awareness of uncertainty it encourages would seem to be better preparation than most. I mentioned a 1960 advert I had seen for Burroughs Adding Machines. This reads: "The ever increasing demands for Burroughs equipment assures your students of going from graduation to good jobs fast when you train them on Burroughs machines!" (<a href="http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=PhcVAAAAIAAJ&q=burroughs#search_anchor" rel="nofollow">Business education world, 41, p. 6</a>). I enjoy this as a warning against being too specific in your idea of what graduates need.Peter Rowletthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05352923128514059385noreply@blogger.com