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Re: Re: More /.{I->-1} craziness. Schools are conservative.

• To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
• Subject: [mg106734] Re: [mg106683] Re: More /.{I->-1} craziness. Schools are conservative.
• From: Murray Eisenberg <murray at math.umass.edu>
• Date: Fri, 22 Jan 2010 05:37:50 -0500 (EST)
• Organization: Mathematics & Statistics, Univ. of Mass./Amherst
• References: <200912300915.EAA17299@smc.vnet.net> <hhhmn8$o9t$1@smc.vnet.net> <hhpl28$9lf$1@smc.vnet.net> <hip8gf$t4d$1@smc.vnet.net> <8304354.1263643340634.JavaMail.root@n11> <hiuur1$919$1@smc.vnet.net> <hj12vo$bbu$1@smc.vnet.net> <2086370.1263898083144.JavaMail.root@n11> <hj6qel$8qg$1@smc.vnet.net> <201001210951.EAA16210@smc.vnet.net>
• Reply-to: murray at math.umass.edu

"Too old to learn a new program":  I don't think it's especially 
age-related. One of the early innovators at teaching math through 
Mathematica has said, "There are as many young fogies as old fogies."

You allude to the pragmatic constraint, "Do I have time to rethink how I 
teach and what I teach, and to create or adopt new materials or learn 
how to teach in different ways."

But perhaps more essentially there's the thinking, "That's the way I 
learned it, and I turned out OK, so that has to be the right way to 
teach it."

On 1/21/2010 4:51 AM, Richard Fateman wrote:
> David Park wrote:
>> ... [A] and [B] look for flaws in Mathematica...
>> but what about flaws in present practices?
>
> The problems of adoption of software as you advocate are NOT especially
> dependent on the problems or flaws that we point out.  Indeed, most
> people who fail to adopt this software are not even aware of these
> flaws, but simply say the programs are too expensive and would require
> additional time to learn or teach, or  would take extra time in courses
> to teach, and would require extra people, and how about the cost of
> computer labs, and anyway I'm too old to learn a new program, etc.



-- 
Murray Eisenberg                     murray at math.umass.edu
Mathematics & Statistics Dept.
Lederle Graduate Research Tower      phone 413 549-1020 (H)
University of Massachusetts                413 545-2859 (W)
710 North Pleasant Street            fax   413 545-1801
Amherst, MA 01003-9305

• References:
  • Re: More /.{I->-1} craziness. Schools are conservative. So are [people]
    • From: Richard Fateman <fateman@cs.berkeley.edu>