By qualification I meant explanation. My doctorate is irrelevant to the truth.
Since you asked, my larger point was about the unhelpful nature of this content, which makes students of math feel inordinately inferior or superior hinged entirely on a single point of familiarity. I don’t handle early math education, but many of my students arrive with baggage from it that hinders their progress, leading me to suspect that early math education sometimes discourages students unnecessarily. In particular, these gotcha-style math memes IMO deepen students’ belief that they’re just bad at math. Hence my dislike of them.
Re: Dave Peterson, I’ll need to read more about this debate regarding the history of notation and I’ll search for the “proven rules” you mentioned (proofs mean something very specific to me and I can’t yet imagine what that looks like WRT order of operations).
If what riled you up was my use of the word “conventions” I can use another, but note that conventions aren’t necessarily “optional” when being understood is essential. Where one places a comma in writing can radically change the meaning of a sentence, for example. My greater point however has nothing to do with that. Here I am only concerned about the next generation of maths student and how viral content like this can discourage them unnecessarily.
It sure is. I’ve seen a PhD who didn’t read the only textbook he had referenced in his thesis, which proved his idea that teachers were doing it wrong and he wasn’t, was wrong. 😂 Should’ve listened to the people who teach it (or actually read the textbook he referenced 🙄 ).
which makes students of math feel inordinately inferior
They don’t. All students get this correct. It’s only adults who have forgotten the rules that get it wrong.
these gotcha-style math memes IMO deepen students’ belief that they’re just bad at math
Nope. Students never get these wrong.
proofs mean something very specific to me and I can’t yet imagine what that looks like WRT order of operations
All you have to do is see which way gives wrong answers for 2+3x4 and you’ve proven which ways don’t work 😂
note that conventions aren’t necessarily “optional”
Yes they are.
when being understood is essential
You don’t understand how to do 2+3x4-5 without knowing which conventions people use for the order of the plus and minus?
Here I am only concerned about the next generation of maths student and how viral content like this can discourage them unnecessarily
Dear colleague,
By qualification I meant explanation. My doctorate is irrelevant to the truth.
Since you asked, my larger point was about the unhelpful nature of this content, which makes students of math feel inordinately inferior or superior hinged entirely on a single point of familiarity. I don’t handle early math education, but many of my students arrive with baggage from it that hinders their progress, leading me to suspect that early math education sometimes discourages students unnecessarily. In particular, these gotcha-style math memes IMO deepen students’ belief that they’re just bad at math. Hence my dislike of them.
Re: Dave Peterson, I’ll need to read more about this debate regarding the history of notation and I’ll search for the “proven rules” you mentioned (proofs mean something very specific to me and I can’t yet imagine what that looks like WRT order of operations).
If what riled you up was my use of the word “conventions” I can use another, but note that conventions aren’t necessarily “optional” when being understood is essential. Where one places a comma in writing can radically change the meaning of a sentence, for example. My greater point however has nothing to do with that. Here I am only concerned about the next generation of maths student and how viral content like this can discourage them unnecessarily.
It sure is. I’ve seen a PhD who didn’t read the only textbook he had referenced in his thesis, which proved his idea that teachers were doing it wrong and he wasn’t, was wrong. 😂 Should’ve listened to the people who teach it (or actually read the textbook he referenced 🙄 ).
They don’t. All students get this correct. It’s only adults who have forgotten the rules that get it wrong.
Nope. Students never get these wrong.
All you have to do is see which way gives wrong answers for 2+3x4 and you’ve proven which ways don’t work 😂
Yes they are.
You don’t understand how to do 2+3x4-5 without knowing which conventions people use for the order of the plus and minus?
It doesn’t. None of them get it wrong. 🙄