|
Post by itspenninah on Nov 4, 2005 9:56:26 GMT -5
Plane Euclidian geometry is the mathematics of logic and images. It is nearly number free and for those who enjoy it, it is a garden of unparalleled aesthetic and intellectual delight. Cracking proofs and working with diagrams strokes and presses mental buttons many students do not know they had.
Penninah's parents who went to high school before New York state integrated the Regents high school mathematics sequence, both had a year of geometry and remember it fondly. If someone were to tell them that New York State is now deemphasizing proofs, they might respond with real feeling: "how sad."
Penninah who found year one of New York State's integrated math sequence hard work with only brief respite, is now free to fall in love with mathematics' sweetest portion.
The geometry teacher, Mr. Gomez, is not as important as the subject. He does have the habbit of sending students to the board to display proofs, and he insists on tradition. In a formal proof (the only kind Mr. Gomez permits), the diagram and given information go on the top. The statements written out in full go on the left and the reasons for those statements also written in faull go on the right. A proof translates the nonlinear visual language of the diagram in to a sequential ladder of argument and words.
It is that first flush of nonverbal visual thought that gives geometry its deep, sweet, and sentimental appeal.
|
|