The Nature of Mathematical Thinking

The Nature of Mathematical Thinking
Author: Robert J. Sternberg
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 356
Release: 1996
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780805817997

First Published in 1996. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The Nature of Mathematical Thinking

The Nature of Mathematical Thinking
Author: Robert J. Sternberg
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2012-10-12
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1136487506

Why do some children seem to learn mathematics easily and others slave away at it, learning it only with great effort and apparent pain? Why are some people good at algebra but terrible at geometry? How can people who successfully run a business as adults have been failures at math in school? How come some professional mathematicians suffer terribly when trying to balance a checkbook? And why do school children in the United States perform so dismally in international comparisons? These are the kinds of real questions the editors set out to answer, or at least address, in editing this book on mathematical thinking. Their goal was to seek a diversity of contributors representing multiple viewpoints whose expertise might converge on the answers to these and other pressing and interesting questions regarding this subject. The chapter authors were asked to focus on their own approach to mathematical thinking, but also to address a common core of issues such as the nature of mathematical thinking, how it is similar to and different from other kinds of thinking, what makes some people or some groups better than others in this subject area, and how mathematical thinking can be assessed and taught. Their work is directed to a diverse audience -- psychologists interested in the nature of mathematical thinking and abilities, computer scientists who want to simulate mathematical thinking, educators involved in teaching and testing mathematical thinking, philosophers who need to understand the qualitative aspects of logical thinking, anthropologists and others interested in how and why mathematical thinking seems to differ in quality across cultures, and laypeople and others who have to think mathematically and want to understand how they are going to accomplish that feat.

The Nature of Mathematical Knowledge

The Nature of Mathematical Knowledge
Author: Philip Kitcher
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 300
Release: 1984
Genre: Electronic books
ISBN: 0195035410

This book argues against the view that mathematical knowledge is a priori, contending that mathematics is an empirical science and develops historically, just as natural sciences do. Kitcher presents a complete, systematic, and richly detailed account of the nature of mathematical knowledge and its historical development, focusing on such neglected issues as how and why mathematical language changes, why certain questions assume overriding importance, and how standards of proof are modified.

The Nature of Mathematical Modeling

The Nature of Mathematical Modeling
Author: Neil A. Gershenfeld
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 268
Release: 1999
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780521570954

This is a book about the nature of mathematical modeling, and about the kinds of techniques that are useful for modeling. The text is in four sections. The first covers exact and approximate analytical techniques; the second, numerical methods; the third, model inference based on observations; and the last, the special role of time in modeling. Each of the topics in the book would be the worthy subject of a dedicated text, but only by presenting the material in this way is it possible to make so much material accessible to so many people. Each chapter presents a concise summary of the core results in an area. The text is complemented by extensive worked problems.

Understanding Emotions in Mathematical Thinking and Learning

Understanding Emotions in Mathematical Thinking and Learning
Author: Ulises Xolocotzin
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 476
Release: 2017-05-12
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0128024895

Emotions play a critical role in mathematical cognition and learning. Understanding Emotions in Mathematical Thinking and Learning offers a multidisciplinary approach to the role of emotions in numerical cognition, mathematics education, learning sciences, and affective sciences. It addresses ways in which emotions relate to cognitive processes involved in learning and doing mathematics, including processing of numerical and physical magnitudes (e.g. time and space), performance in arithmetic and algebra, problem solving and reasoning attitudes, learning technologies, and mathematics achievement. Additionally, it covers social and affective issues such as identity and attitudes toward mathematics. Covers methodologies in studying emotion in mathematical knowledge Reflects the diverse and innovative nature of the methodological approaches and theoretical frameworks proposed by current investigations of emotions and mathematical cognition Includes perspectives from cognitive experimental psychology, neuroscience, and from sociocultural, semiotic, and discursive approaches Explores the role of anxiety in mathematical learning Synthesizes unifies the work of multiple sub-disciplines in one place

Introduction to Mathematical Thinking

Introduction to Mathematical Thinking
Author: Keith J. Devlin
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2012
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9780615653631

"Mathematical thinking is not the same as 'doing math'--unless you are a professional mathematician. For most people, 'doing math' means the application of procedures and symbolic manipulations. Mathematical thinking, in contrast, is what the name reflects, a way of thinking about things in the world that humans have developed over three thousand years. It does not have to be about mathematics at all, which means that many people can benefit from learning this powerful way of thinking, not just mathematicians and scientists."--Back cover.

How Mathematicians Think

How Mathematicians Think
Author: William Byers
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 424
Release: 2010-05-02
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0691145997

To many outsiders, mathematicians appear to think like computers, grimly grinding away with a strict formal logic and moving methodically--even algorithmically--from one black-and-white deduction to another. Yet mathematicians often describe their most important breakthroughs as creative, intuitive responses to ambiguity, contradiction, and paradox. A unique examination of this less-familiar aspect of mathematics, How Mathematicians Think reveals that mathematics is a profoundly creative activity and not just a body of formalized rules and results. Nonlogical qualities, William Byers shows, play an essential role in mathematics. Ambiguities, contradictions, and paradoxes can arise when ideas developed in different contexts come into contact. Uncertainties and conflicts do not impede but rather spur the development of mathematics. Creativity often means bringing apparently incompatible perspectives together as complementary aspects of a new, more subtle theory. The secret of mathematics is not to be found only in its logical structure. The creative dimensions of mathematical work have great implications for our notions of mathematical and scientific truth, and How Mathematicians Think provides a novel approach to many fundamental questions. Is mathematics objectively true? Is it discovered or invented? And is there such a thing as a "final" scientific theory? Ultimately, How Mathematicians Think shows that the nature of mathematical thinking can teach us a great deal about the human condition itself.

How Not to Be Wrong

How Not to Be Wrong
Author: Jordan Ellenberg
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 482
Release: 2015-05-26
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0143127535

“Witty, compelling, and just plain fun to read . . ." —Evelyn Lamb, Scientific American The Freakonomics of math—a math-world superstar unveils the hidden beauty and logic of the world and puts its power in our hands The math we learn in school can seem like a dull set of rules, laid down by the ancients and not to be questioned. In How Not to Be Wrong, Jordan Ellenberg shows us how terribly limiting this view is: Math isn’t confined to abstract incidents that never occur in real life, but rather touches everything we do—the whole world is shot through with it. Math allows us to see the hidden structures underneath the messy and chaotic surface of our world. It’s a science of not being wrong, hammered out by centuries of hard work and argument. Armed with the tools of mathematics, we can see through to the true meaning of information we take for granted: How early should you get to the airport? What does “public opinion” really represent? Why do tall parents have shorter children? Who really won Florida in 2000? And how likely are you, really, to develop cancer? How Not to Be Wrong presents the surprising revelations behind all of these questions and many more, using the mathematician’s method of analyzing life and exposing the hard-won insights of the academic community to the layman—minus the jargon. Ellenberg chases mathematical threads through a vast range of time and space, from the everyday to the cosmic, encountering, among other things, baseball, Reaganomics, daring lottery schemes, Voltaire, the replicability crisis in psychology, Italian Renaissance painting, artificial languages, the development of non-Euclidean geometry, the coming obesity apocalypse, Antonin Scalia’s views on crime and punishment, the psychology of slime molds, what Facebook can and can’t figure out about you, and the existence of God. Ellenberg pulls from history as well as from the latest theoretical developments to provide those not trained in math with the knowledge they need. Math, as Ellenberg says, is “an atomic-powered prosthesis that you attach to your common sense, vastly multiplying its reach and strength.” With the tools of mathematics in hand, you can understand the world in a deeper, more meaningful way. How Not to Be Wrong will show you how.

Mathematical Reasoning

Mathematical Reasoning
Author: Lyn D. English
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 393
Release: 2013-04-03
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1136491074

How we reason with mathematical ideas continues to be a fascinating and challenging topic of research--particularly with the rapid and diverse developments in the field of cognitive science that have taken place in recent years. Because it draws on multiple disciplines, including psychology, philosophy, computer science, linguistics, and anthropology, cognitive science provides rich scope for addressing issues that are at the core of mathematical learning. Drawing upon the interdisciplinary nature of cognitive science, this book presents a broadened perspective on mathematics and mathematical reasoning. It represents a move away from the traditional notion of reasoning as "abstract" and "disembodied", to the contemporary view that it is "embodied" and "imaginative." From this perspective, mathematical reasoning involves reasoning with structures that emerge from our bodily experiences as we interact with the environment; these structures extend beyond finitary propositional representations. Mathematical reasoning is imaginative in the sense that it utilizes a number of powerful, illuminating devices that structure these concrete experiences and transform them into models for abstract thought. These "thinking tools"--analogy, metaphor, metonymy, and imagery--play an important role in mathematical reasoning, as the chapters in this book demonstrate, yet their potential for enhancing learning in the domain has received little recognition. This book is an attempt to fill this void. Drawing upon backgrounds in mathematics education, educational psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and cognitive science, the chapter authors provide a rich and comprehensive analysis of mathematical reasoning. New and exciting perspectives are presented on the nature of mathematics (e.g., "mind-based mathematics"), on the array of powerful cognitive tools for reasoning (e.g., "analogy and metaphor"), and on the different ways these tools can facilitate mathematical reasoning. Examples are drawn from the reasoning of the preschool child to that of the adult learner.

Advanced Mathematical Thinking

Advanced Mathematical Thinking
Author: David Tall
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2006-04-11
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0306472031

This book is the first major study of advanced mathematical thinking as performed by mathematicians and taught to students in senior high school and university. Topics covered include the psychology of advanced mathematical thinking, the processes involved, mathematical creativity, proof, the role of definitions, symbols, and reflective abstraction. It is highly appropriate for the college professor in mathematics or the general mathematics educator.