Asian tigers roar in the latest TIMSS math-science rankings

The latest international results comparing Grade 4 and Grade 8 students in mathematics and science are in, and, once again, the Asian tigers (China, Korea, Japan, and Singapore) are roaring, significantly leading major first-world nations such as the United States, England and Australia.

TIMSS results

The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is an international test to compare the achievement of fourth and eighth grade students in mathematics and science. It has been administered every four years since 1995, thus providing a 20-year period for study of educational trends around the world.

In November 2016, results for the

Continue reading Asian tigers roar in the latest TIMSS math-science rankings

March 23rd, 2017 | Category: Essays | Comments are closed

Are humans or computers better at mathematics?

Computer proofs

Considerable attention has been drawn to the discovery and proof of mathematical theorems by computer.

Perhaps the first major result by a computer came in 1976, with a proof of four-color theorem, namely the assertion that any map (with certain reasonable conditions) can be colored with just four distinct colors for individual states. This was first proved by computer in 1976, although flaws were later found, and a corrected proof was not completed until 1995.

In 2003, Thomas Hales of the University of Pittsburgh published a computer-based proof of Kepler’s conjecture, namely the assertion that the familiar method

Continue reading Are humans or computers better at mathematics?

March 23rd, 2017 | Category: Essays | Comments are closed

Why science needs the humanities

Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) awe-struck at a galaxy in “Contact”

Introduction

Earlier this year, Kentucky governor Matt Bevin declared that state colleges and universities should educate more electrical engineers and fewer French literature majors: “All the people in the world that want to study French literature can do so, they are just not going to be subsidized by the taxpayer.”

Other politicians have sounded a similar refrain. Governor Patrick McCroy of North Carolina suggested basing funding on post-graduate employment rather than enrollment, or, as he put it rather crudely, “It’s not based on butts in seats but on

Continue reading Why science needs the humanities

March 23rd, 2017 | Category: Essays | Comments are closed
« Newer Entries